How Should Term Insurance Change Across Your Life Cycle?

Written by : Knowledge Centre Team

2025-11-14

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Insurance is often one of the first financial steps people take when they begin working, as it provides essential protection against unexpected events that could impact a family’s financial security.

Term insurance, in particular, is valued for its simplicity and effectiveness. As you move through different life stages, starting your career, getting married, having children, or planning for retirement, your protection needs change. Choosing the right term plan at each stage helps ensure your family stays financially secure throughout.

In this blog, we explore how to align your term insurance with your evolving responsibilities at every stage of life.

Key Takeaways

Term insurance is a pure protection plan that provides financial security to your family in your absence.
Your term cover should evolve as your life stages and responsibilities change.
Avoid common mistakes like underinsuring, skipping riders, or not reviewing your plan regularly.
Riders and flexible features help customise your cover for different life stages.
Buying the right plan early ensures affordable premiums and peace of mind for you and your family.

What Is Term Insurance?

Before we go on to discuss term insurance for different stages of life, let’s first understand what term insurance actually is.

Term insurance is a simple and cost-effective life insurance product designed purely for protection. It offers your family a financial safety net by paying out a lump sum amount, known as the sum assured, if the policyholder passes away during the policy term. This payout helps the family manage living expenses, repay liabilities and maintain their standard of living even in the absence of the primary breadwinner.

Unlike some other life insurance products, term insurance does not provide any maturity benefit if the policyholder survives the term, except in the case of Return of Premium (ROP) plans, which refund the premiums paid. This focus on pure protection keeps term insurance affordable while providing substantial coverage for a relatively low premium.

For those looking to obtain all the benefits of a term insurance policy without any complications, you can opt for the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance. This plan not only allows you to pay your premiums at a tenure that is acceptable to you, but also allows you to increase your coverage with the changing stages in your life.

By offering high coverage at an affordable cost, our iSelect Smart360 Term Plan helps you secure your family’s future with flexibility and ease, making it an essential part of your financial planning.

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How Term Insurance Supports You Through Different Life Stages

As you move through life, your financial goals and responsibilities naturally evolve, and so should your term insurance plan. A term plan that adapts to your changing priorities ensures your family remains protected at every stage, from early adulthood to retirement.

Read on to learn more about the goals you should be setting with your term insurance policy in line with your increasing age.

Young and Unmarried: As a young and unmarried adult who is earning a living for the first time, it may be important to think of your responsibilities towards yourself and your parents. Especially if your parents are close to retirement and might not be in a position to manage their own health, you might be keen to do your best for them. Your term plan, at this stage, is expected to ensure that your parents are taken care of in case anything happens to you.
Newly Married: Once you are married and starting a new family, your priorities are likely to change. While you would still want to ensure your parents’ well-being in case something happened to you, your responsibilities would now expand to include your spouse. When you start a new family, additional responsibilities may also crop up as you take loans to buy a new home or car. Your term insurance policy may now extend to ensure that your spouse is not left with a huge burden of debt in case you are no longer around to help repay the loans.

Additionally, you might want to help your spouse get term insurance as well at a reasonable rate. You could opt for the iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance, through which you can add your spouse to the same policy with discounts on the premium rates. Since you can augment your coverage at different stages of your life, this policy is perfect for any stage of your life and can be the ideal insurance tool for you.

Young Children: Children change the structure of any family from the minute they are born. Parents start focusing on their responsibilities towards the child and begin to dream about the child’s future. At this point in your life, you will want your term insurance plan to be comprehensive enough to help your child achieve their dreams in the long term.

Children in High School: The cost of education is enormous and continues to rise. Higher education is especially expensive, and as a parent, it is natural that you want to be prepared to spend a large amount to ensure your child can study whatever they wish to and follow their dreams comfortably. No parent wants to stifle their children’s dreams owing to a lack of funds,and with the ideal term insurance plan, you can make sure that your children are never compromising in achieving their goals.
Close to Retirement: Retirement is a time of your life that you need to begin planning for early. Ideally, from the time you begin working, you should start setting aside funds that will come in useful when you retire. However, even if you haven’t, there is no cause for worry. All hope is not lost if you have opted for a term plan that increases coverage with the changing stages of your life.

The iSelect Smart360 Term Plan by Canara HSBC Life Insurance is thus one of the best term insurance policies available in India. The policy ensures that you are covered at all the different stages of your life by offering you the option to augment your coverage at different stages in your life. There are also options available in terms of how frequently you wish to pay premiums and how you want the sum assured to be disbursed to your nominees, thereby ensuring that you have time to carefully plan for a situation when you are no longer around.

Common Mistakes to Avoid While Buying Term Insurance

While a term plan is one of the simplest forms of life insurance, many people still make avoidable mistakes when choosing or managing their cover. Knowing what to watch out for can help you make better decisions and ensure your family stays fully protected.

Underestimating Your Coverage Needs: Opting for a low sum assured to save on premiums can leave your family financially exposed. Always calculate how much is really needed to cover living expenses, liabilities and future goals.
Choosing an Inadequate Policy Term: Many people select a shorter policy term to reduce premium costs. However, this can result in your cover ending while you still have dependents or loans to pay off.
Not Adding Relevant Riders: Riders such as critical illness, accidental death benefit or waiver of premium can enhance your term plan significantly. Ignoring these or overlooking them may reduce the policy’s effectiveness when you need it most.
Delaying the Purchase: Procrastinating until later in life means you pay higher premiums due to age and possible health conditions. Buying early locks in lower premiums for the entire term.
Providing Inaccurate Information: Hiding or misrepresenting health or lifestyle details can lead to claim rejection. Always provide complete and honest disclosures when applying.
Failing to Review the Policy Regularly: Your life circumstances change with marriage, children, and loans. Many people forget to increase or update their cover in line with new responsibilities.
Not Comparing Plans Properly: Simply picking the cheapest plan or the first one suggested can be risky. Compare features, claim settlement ratio and insurer reputation before deciding.

Conclusion

Choosing the right term insurance plan is not a one-time decision but a commitment that should adapt alongside your life’s changing stages and responsibilities. From starting your career to raising a family and planning for retirement, a well-chosen term plan ensures that your loved ones remain financially secure no matter what life brings.

Take the time to assess your cover, avoid common mistakes and opt for a plan that offers flexibility to grow with you. Our plans are designed with this in mind, giving you the freedom to enhance your cover as your needs evolve, so you can live confidently today while securing tomorrow.

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.