How much term insurance at 30, earning ₹1.5 lakh a month
Term insurance answers one question: if your income stopped permanently tomorrow, could your family carry on? At 30, earning ₹1.5 lakh a month, the standard answer is around ₹2.7 crore — roughly 15 times annual income. Then add what you owe and subtract what you have already built, because a family with a home loan needs more cover than one without.
- Baseline cover
- ₹2.7Cr
- Annual income
- ₹18L
- Cover until
- Age 60
- Add for loans
- Full outstanding
15× annual income
at ₹1.5 lakh a month
30 years of term
on top of the baseline
The multiple shrinks as you age
| Age | Rule of thumb | Cover on ₹18L a year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 years | 15× annual income | ₹2.7Cr | |
| 30 years | 15× annual income | ₹2.7Cr | This page |
| 35 years | 12× annual income | ₹2.16Cr | |
| 40 years | 12× annual income | ₹2.16Cr | |
| 45 years | 10× annual income | ₹1.8Cr | |
| 50 years | 10× annual income | ₹1.8Cr |
A younger earner has more years of income left to replace, so the multiple is higher — and the premium is lower.
Building the number properly
| Component | How to size it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Income replacement | 15× annual income | ₹2.7Cr |
| Outstanding loans | Full balance across all loans | Add your actual figure |
| Children's education | Future cost at today's plan | Add your actual figure |
| Existing assets | Subtract liquid savings and investments | Subtract your actual figure |
Cover replaces the gap, not the whole life. Assets you have already built count against it.
Why buy it at 30 rather than later
Term premiums are set by your age and health when you buy, and stay level for the whole term. Every year you wait costs more, permanently — and a health event in between can make cover expensive or unavailable at any price. At 30, a policy running to 60 covers 30 years of earning years.
Who actually needs it
Anyone whose income supports someone else. A single earner with dependants needs it most. A second earner still needs it, because the household budget assumes both incomes. A homemaker's contribution is real but is usually better covered by health and accident cover than by term life. Someone with no dependants and no loans may genuinely not need it at all.
Getting the claim paid
The overwhelming majority of rejected claims trace back to something not disclosed at purchase — smoking, a pre-existing condition, real income. Disclose everything, keep the policy alive without lapses, and make sure your family knows the policy exists and where the documents are. Cover nobody knows about is cover nobody claims.
Where FamTally comes in
FamTally tracks every policy the family holds — type, sum assured, premium, frequency and renewal date — and totals your life and health cover so gaps are visible instead of assumed. Renewal reminders arrive before the date, not after, which is what stops a lapse from resetting waiting periods. Free to use.
Stop doing this in a spreadsheet
FamTally keeps your loans, income, expenses, assets, insurance and goals in one place, forecasts five years ahead, and answers questions about your own numbers. Free, and built for Indian families.
Start freeQuestions people ask
How much term insurance do I need at 30?
Around ₹2.7 crore if you earn ₹1.5 lakh a month — about 15 times annual income — plus outstanding loans, minus what you have already saved.
How long should the term be?
Until your income stops mattering to your family: usually retirement, or until the last loan closes and the children are earning. A policy to age 60 covers 30 years from here.
Is my employer's group cover enough?
No. It is typically a small multiple of salary and it ends the day you leave the job — often exactly when you are least able to buy new cover.
Term or endowment?
Term, for cover. Endowment policies bundle thin cover with mediocre returns; separating protection from investing gets you more of both.