How much term insurance does your family actually need?
In Have You OPENED the Middle Class TIJORI?, Ankur Warikoo opens the family steel almirah of FDs, gold, property papers and LIC policies, and finds that insurance bought as an investment protects too little. This term insurance calculator works out the cover your family would need and a rough premium for it.
About you
What your family would need
What you already have
Assumptions edit if you want to stress-test
Why insurance bought as an investment protects too little
The video's central idea: every asset in the steel almirah should do exactly one job. FDs protect money but do not grow it. Gold jewellery grows but nobody wants to sell it. A second flat appreciates but earns little rent. Insurance exists for one reason, to look after your family if you are not around. Ask it to also build wealth or pay a pension, and it does both jobs badly.
Life cover of about ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh, and a maturity value after 20 years that works out to about 5% a year.
₹1 crore of life cover, roughly ten times more protection, plus a Nifty 50 index fund SIP the video estimates at ₹26 lakh to ₹35 lakh after 20 years. Same budget, more cover and more money.
If a traditional policy lapses within its first three years, the premiums paid can be forfeited entirely. The video also puts average ULIP returns at about 4% to 5.5%, below what FDs and PPF pay.
| Age | Cover till 60 | Cover till 70 |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | ₹8,628 | ₹10,020 to ₹11,954 |
| 30 | ₹9,528 | ₹12,630 to ₹14,576 |
| 35 | ₹11,880 | ₹16,070 to ₹20,176 |
| 40 | ₹15,852 | ₹21,907 to ₹25,272 |
| 45 | ₹22,008 | n/a |
Yearly premium for a non-smoking man. Cover till 60: median of five plans (nyvo, May 2026). Cover till 70: range across five insurers (Ditto, 2026). Women typically pay about 15% less; smokers pay much more. The video quotes about ₹831 a month for a healthy 30-year-old non-smoker.
How much term insurance do I need in India?
Enough for your family to keep living as they do if your income stops. Add up what it would take to replace household expenses for the years they would need support, pay off your loans, and fund goals like your children's education, then subtract the savings and life cover you already have. As a quick check, Ankur Warikoo's video suggests cover of at least 15 times your yearly income, ideally 25 times.
Is 1 crore term insurance enough?
It depends on your expenses, loans and goals. For someone earning ₹6 lakh a year with no large loans, ₹1 crore is about 17 times income and may be enough. For someone earning ₹15 lakh with a home loan and young children, the need is usually several crore. Use the calculator to see your own number rather than defaulting to ₹1 crore.
How much does a ₹1 crore term plan cost?
For a healthy non-smoking man, market data for 2026 puts it at about ₹8,600 a year at age 25 and about ₹9,500 at 30 for cover till 60, rising to roughly ₹12,600 to ₹14,600 at 30 for cover till 70. The video quotes about ₹831 a month for a healthy 30-year-old non-smoker. Premiums rise with age, so buying early locks in a lower rate for the whole term.
Should I buy term insurance or an endowment or ULIP plan?
For protection, a pure term plan. The video compares two families with ₹40,000 a year. One buys an endowment plan with about ₹10 lakh to ₹12 lakh of cover and a return of about 5% a year. The other spends ₹8,000 on a ₹1 crore term plan and invests ₹32,000 in a Nifty 50 SIP, getting about ten times the cover and more wealth after 20 years. Insurance should do one job: protect your family.
Why do insurance agents push endowment plans over term plans?
Commission. According to the video, an agent can earn 25% to 35% on an endowment or money-back plan, four to five times what a term plan pays. India has about 31 lakh insurance agents, and 96% of LIC's first-year premium comes through them. Term plans are cheap and pay agents little, so they are rarely the first suggestion.
Should I count my employer's group life cover?
Treat it as a bonus, not your main cover. Group cover usually ends when you leave or lose the job, which is often when your family is most exposed. Buy enough personal term cover to stand on its own, and enter only your own policies in the calculator.