A Practical Guide to Life & Term Insurance Policies
Life and term insurance is one of the few financial decisions where getting it wrong is only discovered by your family, after you are no longer there to fix it. At PNPC Global, we advise individuals and businesses on life and term insurance the way a Chartered Accountant should — starting from your actual income, liabilities, dependants, existing cover, and tax position, not from whichever plan pays the advisor the highest first-year commission. We review proposal forms before you sign, check nominee and assignment paperwork, coordinate key-man and partner insurance for businesses, and stand beside your family if a claim ever needs to be pursued.
Understanding the Service
Life insurance is a contract under which an insurer, regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) under the Insurance Act 1938 and the IRDAI Act 1999, pays a sum assured to a nominee or beneficiary on the death of the life assured (or, for endowment/whole-life plans, on maturity or survival) in exchange for periodic premiums. A term insurance policy is the purest and most capital-efficient form of this contract: it provides a pure death-benefit sum assured for a defined term, with no maturity value if the life assured survives the term, which keeps premiums a fraction of what an equivalent sum assured would cost under a traditional endowment, money-back, or whole-life plan that bundles in a savings or investment component.
At PNPC Global, our role is advisory, not distribution-first.
For the full scope, current process and what PNPC includes, see the dedicated Life & Term Insurance Policies service page.
When You'd Need This
- You have dependants (spouse, children, parents) whose financial security depends on your income continuing — the single clearest case for adequate term cover
- You carry a home loan, business loan, or other long-tenure debt that would otherwise fall on your family or co-borrower if something happened to you
- You are a business owner or promoter whose expertise, client relationships, or personal guarantees are critical to the company's ability to continue operating or service debt — the case for Keyman Insurance
- You and your co-founders or partners have cross-holdings that need a funded buy-sell mechanism so a partner's family is bought out fairly without straining the company's cash flow
Before You Assume You Need This
- You are looking for someone to sell you a specific policy today at the lowest possible engagement — PNPC's role is independent advisory and review, not policy distribution or agency commission-based sales
- Your requirement is purely a health/mediclaim policy purchase with no life cover, estate, or business-structuring dimension — a dedicated health insurance broker may serve a narrow need faster
- You need immediate claim intimation on an active emergency (a death has just occurred and immediate claim filing is the priority) — contact the insurer's claim helpline first; PNPC's claims support is best engaged once initial intimation is done and documentation support is needed
Common Questions
What is the real difference between a term plan and other life insurance products?
A term plan is pure risk cover — you pay a premium, and if the life assured dies within the policy term, the nominee receives the sum assured. There is no maturity payout if the life assured survives the term (unless you buy a more expensive return-of-premium variant). Endowment, money-back, whole-life, and ULIP products bundle in a savings or investment component, which means the same sum assured costs several times more in premium. For pure income-replacement protection, a term plan delivers the highest cover per rupee of premium.
How much life cover do I actually need?
There is no single correct multiple of income — 'buy 10x your salary' is a starting heuristic, not an answer. The right figure comes from your outstanding liabilities (home loan, business loan, other debt), the number of years your dependants will need income replacement, your children's education and marriage cost timelines, your spouse's independent income (if any), and any existing cover you already hold through your employer or personal policies. PNPC computes this as a Human Life Value figure specific to your numbers.
Is life insurance premium tax deductible?
This deduction is available only under the old tax regime. Under the new default regime introduced under Section 115BAC (as revised in Budget 2025), Section 80C deductions are not available, which materially changes the tax-efficiency case for insurance-linked savings products for taxpayers who have moved to the new regime.
Where PNPC Fits In
Life insurance is the one financial product your family will only truly evaluate after you are gone — get it structured right, disclosed accurately, and reviewed regularly by a CA firm with no commission stake in which policy you choose. Talk to PNPC Global before you sign the next proposal form.
PNPC Global has advised Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad businesses since 1986. Explore the full Loans & Insurance practice for related services, or go straight to the Life & Term Insurance Policies page for specifics.
Rates, thresholds and filing dates are set by the relevant authority and revised periodically. Treat anything numeric here as "ask PNPC for the current figure," not as a quoted fact.