Quick Overview
Many people start their search for affordable term life insurance by looking for the lowest premium on comparison platforms. While that’s understandable, true affordability isn’t just about today’s price; it’s about choosing an insurer that will remain financially solvent and dependable 30–40 years later, when your family may actually need to make a claim.
Affordable term life insurance is therefore not just about saving money, but about securing peace of mind at the right price. Additionally, term plans have become more affordable after GST on individual term insurance premiums was removed effective 22 September 2025.
With that context in place, let’s look at some affordable term life insurance plans you can realistically consider.
List of Affordable Term Life Insurance Plans
Some popular and affordable plans include:
These plans are often featured when people search for an affordable term life insurance quote or an affordable term life insurance policy.
However, cheap doesn’t always mean good.
Term insurance works the same way. You can absolutely go with a low‑premium option as long as the insurer is financially strong, well‑established, and has a clean claim settlement history. In most cases, the difference between a reliable insurer and the cheapest one is just 15–20% more premium per year.
That small difference buys decades of stability.
Why Should Affordability Not Be the Only Factor in Choosing Term Insurance?
Life Insurance is a 30–40 Year Commitment
You are not buying a one‑year subscription. You are locking into a contract that may last until age 60, 65, or 70. The insurer needs to survive market crashes, regulations, pandemics, and economic cycles.
Claims Matter More Than Discounts
A cheap premium is useless if the claim process becomes slow, complicated, or disputed when your family needs it most.
Financial Strength Varies Widely
Insurers like HDFC Life and SBI Life may be slightly more expensive, but from a long-term solvency and trust perspective, they are extremely strong. On the other hand, new‑age insurers (for example, pure digital startups like Digit and Acko ) are still building their track record. Life insurance is not the place to experiment.
Premiums Are Fixed for Life
All term plans lock your premium for the entire policy duration. Paying ₹2,000-4,000 more per year today may feel painful, but over 30 years, it’s a small price for certainty. True affordability is about what you can safely sustain, not what looks cheapest today.
How to Find the Most Affordable Term Life Insurance?
Here’s how to find a plan that is both budget‑friendly and reliable:
1) Compare Premiums Across Insurance Companies
Always compare at least 5–7 insurers. Look for premium pricings that are closer to each other, not extremes. If most plans cost ₹12,000–₹14,000 and one costs ₹8,000, ask why. Ultra‑cheap premiums often come with trade‑offs in insurer strength, service quality, or underwriting strictness.
2) Increase Cover Before Optimizing Price
From the premium comparison tables below, notice something interesting:
Moving from ₹1 crore to ₹2 crore usually increases the premium by only 60–80%, not 100%.
That means you nearly double protection without doubling cost, making higher covers far more cost‑effective (on a ₹ per lakh basis) for income replacement and inflation protection. You can use our term insurance cover calculator to figure out the perfect coverage for you.
3) Balance Cost with Insurer Quality
A good middle ground in India is insurers like:
They offer strong claim records, solid financials, and competitive pricing, a practical balance between affordability and safety. If you want a closer look at the best term insurance companies in 2026, you can refer to our linked guide.
4) Avoid Unknown Players for Long‑term Policies
For life insurance, track record matters. You’re committing for decades, so don’t choose a term plan just because an app looks slick or the ads are everywhere. Prefer insurers with a long operating history, strong financials, and a proven claims process.
5) Choose the Right Policy Term
Coverage tenure is a big lever on premiums.
Plans “till 70 or 75” cost much more than plans “till 60 or 65”. In most cases, the smarter choice is to keep cover till retirement or till major liabilities end (home loan, children’s education, family dependency).
If you’re choosing between:
- A higher cover for a moderate tenure (till 60 or 65), and
- A lower cover stretched till 80–85,
In this case, the first option is usually better.
Your family’s biggest financial risk is not at age 75 or 80. It’s during the high‑dependency years, when your income pays EMIs, school fees, living costs, and daily expenses. A higher cover during this phase replaces income properly.
Extending a policy to very old ages sharply increases premiums because insurers price in higher mortality risk. You often end up paying more for less useful protection. A practical approach is strong coverage during working years, then relying on retirement savings and assets later.
6) Lock Premiums Early
Buying at 25 instead of 35 can reduce premiums by 40–50% over the policy lifetime. Early purchase is one of the easiest ways to secure long‑term affordability.
7) Skip Unnecessary Riders (and Avoid ROP)
Riders increase cost. First, secure a strong base cover. Add riders only if truly needed.
Some riders are genuinely useful:
On the other hand, riders like Accidental Death Benefit (ADB) are not essential for everyone and can be skipped if your base cover is already adequate.
Also, be cautious about Return of Premium (ROP) plans. They often increase premiums materially. In most cases, you’re better off buying a pure term plan and investing the premium difference separately.
Premiums of Some Affordable Term Life Insurance Plans
Premiums are calculated for a person seeking a ₹1 crore sum assured, with coverage up to age 70, for a non-smoking male, with no added riders or 1st year discounts.
Premiums For a Person Seeking ₹2 Crore Sum Assured
What an Affordable Term Life Insurance Policy Really Means
Affordability is personal:
- For some, ₹800/month is affordable
- For others, ₹2,000/month is comfortable
The goal is sustainable premiums + dependable insurer + adequate cover.
Why Choose Ditto for Term Insurance?
At Ditto, we’ve assisted over 8,00,000 customers with choosing the right insurance policy. Why customers like Aaron below love us:
- No-Spam & No Salesmen
- Rated 4.9/5 on Google Reviews by 15,000+ happy customers
- Backed by Zerodha
- 100% Free Consultation
You can book a FREE consultation. Slots are running out, so make sure you book a call or WhatsApp us now!
Conclusion
Affordable term life insurance is not about chasing the lowest premium. It’s about buying reliable protection at a price you can sustain for decades. A slightly higher premium from a trusted insurer is often a smarter financial decision than the cheapest policy on the internet. Your family won’t remember how cheap your policy was. They will remember whether it worked when it mattered.
Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated on:
