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How to Choose the Right Life Insurance Policy by Age?

Choosing the right life insurance by age helps match coverage with income, responsibilities and changing financial needs.

Written by : Knowledge Centre Team

2025-08-02

1383 Views

12 minutes read

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Life insurance is indeed a very essential need for your family. It provides you with life coverage and financial security for your family if you pass away during the term of the policy. The question might have arisen to your mind that what is the best age to buy life insurance plan. While many experts suggest that buying life cover at a younger age is always better, several other factors may affect your decision. Age concern in life insurance also depends upon your income.

So, if you want to choose the right life insurance plan by age, you must know the procedure to select the right life insurance plan.

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6 Steps to Buy the Best Life Insurance Plan

No matter at whatever age you start your life insurance plan, you need to know which plan is most appropriate to fulfil your long-term goals.

For this, you need to follow a proper procedure for selecting the right life insurance by age. Here is the complete procedure for choosing the right life cover for your family:

Step 1: Identify Your Goals

First of all, you need to identify the life goals that you want to cover under the life insurance plan.

Life goals can be different for people of different age groups. Given below is a rough idea of what all can be your long-term goals at different stages of your life.

Step 2: Define SMART Goals

Once you have identified your life goals, you must now define each of them in the SMART way.

In easy words, SMART goals are those which are:

  • Specific: Your goals must be well-defined and clear. You must know what goals to achieve, how to attain them, when and why you want to attain them.
  • Measurable: They must have some parameters to measure your progress towards achievement. You must have clarity that how much you want to achieve, and how can you track your progress towards your goals.
  • Achievable: Your goals must be possible for you to fulfil. You must have sufficient resources and capability to meet your goals.
  • Realistic: Within your reach and must be relevant to your life. Your wishes may be endless, but goals are only those that are relevant to your life. So you must know whether you are really committed to reaching your goal, with your given resources and efforts.
  • Time-bound: Your goals must have a deadline for achievement. You must be very clear about how much time it will take to reach your particular life goal.

If you define your life goals in such a way as discussed above, only then you will be able to choose the right life insurance to fulfil them.

Step 3: Types of Life Insurance Plans

Based on your definition of your SMART goals, you can easily select between the following types of life insurance plans:

  1. Term Insurance: This provides you with a life cover for a certain period.
  2. Endowment Plan: This is a life insurance plan designed to give life cover or pay a lump sum maturity value.
  3. Money Back Plan: In a money back plan, the maturity amount is paid in instalments every 5 years.
  4. ULIP: This is a pure investment plan that offers you life cover as well as investment opportunities in equity, debt, mutual funds, and hybrid funds.
  5. Pension Plan: This is a regular income plan that provides you financial security after retirement.
  6. Whole Life Insurance: This type of life insurance plan continues till your life span.

Step 4: Additional Benefits of Life Insurance Plan

Once you have decided on the type of life cover, you must now do further research about the features of your life insurance. You must carefully look at what all riders and add-ons are available in your life cover plan. Critical illness comes as a default inclusive feature in the Canara HSBC Life Insurance Plan iSelect Smart360 Term Plan.

Other riders are:

The cost of these riders is what affects life insurance premiums.

Step 5: How much benefit of a feature do you need?

When you are adding certain riders with your life cover, you must be clear with the amount of benefit you need from each rider. Ultimately, this is what affects life insurance premiums or the cost of your life cover.

life insurance plan riders

Step 6: Make sure you pay a regular premium

If you want the complete desired benefits of your life insurance plan, you must regularly pay all your premiums.

Life Insurance Plans for your 20s

The 20s is the time of life when you are venturing into the real world and testing your mettle with career options. This is a stage when you do not have much responsibility for your dependents. However, you may want to start preparing for marriage, house purchase, car, or simply to build wealth.

Your Goals in the 20s

In any case, you need to invest in the following life goals for a stable financial future:

  • Financial safety from emergencies like accidents and healthcare problems
  • Retirement savings
  • Saving for mid-term goals like home purchase and marriage
  • Paying off any ongoing debt
  • Buying a new vehicle or car

The minimum age for life insurance is 18. However, at this stage, you can start with a life insurance plan that provides you maximum life cover at an affordable cost.

This is the best age to get life insurance. If you are buying life insurance in your 20s, you should consider the following life insurance plans:

  • Term insurance plan with life-stage increment option
  • Critical health and Mediclaim insurance
  • Accidental insurance cover (important if you have a vehicle)
  • Unit Linked Insurance Plan with lifetime investment option to help you save for your retirement
  • 10 -15-year ULIP for your midterm goals

These plans can help you achieve your financial goals while keeping your taxes low.

Life Insurance Plans for your 30s

In your 30s you have added responsibilities and new goals take shape. Thus, in this decade your savings must go towards these additional goals:

  • Increased term cover
  • Increase the health cover to include other family members
  • Child’s higher education and marriage goals
  • Home renovation and interior budget
  • Car or vehicle renewal and upgrade
  • You can start preparing to prepay your home loan as well

In this decade your life encounters many new financial goals. Thus, apart from upgrading the existing life insurance policies, you may need to buy a few more:

  1. Term Insurance: You can increase the life cover amount in the term life cover with life stage increment option with just a request after marriage, childbirth and home purchase
  2. Health Insurance: Include your spouse and child within your Mediclaim insurance, and increase the sum insured
  3. Child Plans: Start investing in child education plans with goal protection options, such as Promise4Growth Plus from Canara HSBC Life Insurance.
  4. ULIP: Your earlier ULIP investments for mid-term goals would become useful now. However, you need to start a few more to continue investing for upcoming expenses.

Life Insurance Plans for your 40s

The 40s is the decade when many of the things you started in your 20s and 30s will see to their conclusion. New investment options and goals also open up or become visible in this decade:

  • Children’s higher education goal is approaching
  • Your savings level is higher than ever
  • Retirement and post-retirement income (pension) becomes a visible concern
  • You may think of adding money for a second house property

In this decade keeping up with your financial priorities, you should consider the following life insurance plans:

  1. 100 Year ULIP: Start another lifetime ULIP investment towards tax-free retirement pension
  2. Guaranteed Savings Plan: Use these plans to fill the gap for children’s marriage goals.
  3. Pension Plans: You become eligible for investing in annuity plans within this decade. Use deferred annuity plans to enhance and secure an income for your post-retirement life.

Life Insurance Plan for your 50s

This is the decade when you finally fulfil your important responsibilities and finally head to the point of freedom. This freedom, however, must have the support of your pockets. Thus, in this decade, this will become your priority.

Your life insurance choices must reflect this change in the scenario:

  1. Pension Plans: Invest in guaranteed pension plans like Guaranteed income for life to secure an income stream in retired life.
  2. Guaranteed Savings Plans: These plans will help you to build a corpus for your retirement age. You can use this corpus to pay off any ongoing debts or spend on modifying your house to suit your future.
  3. Health Insurance Cover: Your general health insurance cover may continue as far as 65 years of age. But afterwards, you will need a senior citizen’s health cover to look after your old age healthcare needs.

Must read: Tem Insurance in your 50s

Life Insurance Plan for your 60s

By now you have looked after almost all your financial needs, and pretty much set your remaining goals as well. Now you just need to sit back, relax and watch everything unfold before your eyes, perhaps even with a little financial help from you.

Your life insurance priorities will change completely at this age, and will focus more on the following:

  • Whole Life Plans for Legacy: This is the only future goal remaining for you in your 60s. Thus, preparing for this makes more sense now, if you have not already.
  • Single-Premium Savings Plans: Guaranteed Savings Plans with a single premium investment option are the best for ensuring a legacy for the next generation.

With the legacy goal set in motion, you have done your bit towards your family and progeny. Now, you can chill and enjoy life as it unfolds.

Disclaimer - This article is issued in the general public interest and meant for general information purposes only. The views expressed in this blog are solely those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Canara HSBC Life Insurance Company Limited or any affiliated entity. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability, or availability with respect to the blog or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained in the blog for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk. You should consult with a qualified professional regarding your specific circumstances before taking any action based on the content provided herein.

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Life Insurance - Top Selling Plans

We bring you a collection of popular Canara HSBC life insurance plans. Forget the dusty brochures and endless offline visits! Dive into the features of our top-selling online insurance plans and buy the one that meets your goals and requirements. You and your wallet will be thankful in the future as we brighten up your financial future with these plans.

Family Shield: Enhanced Protection

iSelect Smart360 Term Plan
  • 3 Plan options
  • Life cover till 99 years
  • Steady income benefit
  • Block your premium at inception

Start Young, Pay Less, Stay Secured

Young Term Plan
  • Life cover till 99 years
  • Coverage for spouse
  • Block your premium rate
  • Covers 40 critical illness

Fixed Returns, Zero Risks & Worries

iSelect Guaranteed Future Plus
  • 4 Plan options
  • Life cover + Guaranteed benefits
  • Accidental death benefit
  • Premium protection cover