Life Insurance
Choose Life Cover That Fits Your Family
Life insurance protects the people who depend on your income. Some plans offer pure protection at a low cost; others combine cover with savings or market-linked investment. Choosing well means knowing what each type does and does not promise. As an IRDAI-licensed direct broker for life and general insurance, MILES compares plans from several life insurers, explains charges and guarantees in plain words, and helps your family if a claim is ever made.
Reviewed by Vinay Jain, Principal Officer (IRDAI Reg. No. 954) · Last reviewed
How MILES Helps With Life Insurance
Compare Life Insurers
We compare premiums, claim processes and plan features from several life insurers instead of pushing one company.
Protection First
We size your life cover to income, loans and goals before discussing any savings or investment plan.
Plain-Language Illustrations
We explain benefit illustrations, charges and what is guaranteed versus what depends on bonuses or markets.
Family Needs Reviewed
We look at dependants, existing cover and employer benefits to find the real gap in your protection.
Ongoing Reviews
We revisit your cover after marriage, children, a home loan or a new business so it keeps pace.
Claim Support For Nominees
We help your nominee with documents and follow-up so a death claim moves without avoidable delay.
What is life insurance?
Life insurance is a contract in which a life insurer pays a sum of money to your nominee if you die during the policy term, in return for premiums. Some plans also pay a benefit if you survive to maturity, which turns them into a savings or investment product as well as protection.
Life policies in India are issued by life insurers registered with IRDAI. MILES is a direct broker licensed for both life and general insurance, which means we can compare plans from several life insurers and advise on the right mix, rather than selling one company’s range. This page sits within our insurance solutions and links to each type of life plan we arrange.
The main types of life insurance
Every life plan falls somewhere between pure protection and long-term saving. The more a plan saves or invests, the higher the premium for the same life cover.
| Plan | Best for |
|---|---|
| Term Life Insurance | The highest life cover for the lowest premium, to protect income and loans |
| Endowment Plans | Disciplined saving for a fixed goal, with life cover and a maturity benefit |
| Unit Linked Insurance Plans (ULIPs) | Long-term, market-linked investment with life cover and fund choice |
| Whole Life Insurance | Lifelong cover and leaving a legacy or estate liquidity for heirs |
Protection versus savings
Pure protection
A term plan pays only on death during the term. There is no maturity value in the standard version, which is why it costs so little. For most earning adults, a term plan is the first life policy to buy.
Savings and investment plans
Endowment, whole life and money-back plans build a cash value alongside life cover. Participating plans share in the life insurer’s profits through bonuses, which are declared each year and are not guaranteed in advance. Non-participating plans set out fixed benefits in the policy. ULIPs invest part of your premium in market-linked funds, so the fund value rises and falls with the markets and the investment risk is borne by the policyholder.
Returns on savings and ULIP products are not guaranteed unless the policy document specifically states a guaranteed benefit. Always read the benefit illustration, which shows projected values at the assumed rates prescribed for illustrations, and ask which parts are guaranteed.
How much life cover you need
A simple approach adds up what your family would need if your income stopped:
- Several years of household expenses
- Outstanding home, car and business loans
- Children’s education and marriage goals
- An emergency reserve
Then subtract savings, investments and existing life cover, including any group term life insurance from your employer. The balance is the gap to fill, usually with a term plan. Premiums and benefits may qualify for tax treatment under the Income-tax Act, subject to prevailing tax laws and the conditions that apply to your policy.
How MILES helps
- Needs first: we calculate your protection gap before recommending any product.
- Compare life insurers: we set out premiums, riders, policy terms and service standards from several insurers side by side.
- Explain the fine print: we walk through charges, surrender values, lock-ins and what is and is not guaranteed.
- Accurate proposals: we help you disclose health, habits and income correctly, which protects the claim later.
- Claims support: if the worst happens, we help your nominee file the claim and follow it up. See our claims page for details.
What we need for a quote
- Date of birth, gender and city of residence
- Annual income and occupation
- Tobacco use and any existing health conditions
- Existing life cover, personal and through your employer
- Your goal: protection, savings, investment or legacy
You can also contact us to talk it through before sharing any details.
Cover, exclusions and premiums depend on the insurer’s policy wording and underwriting. MILES Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd. is an IRDAI-licensed direct broker (Life & General, Reg. No. 954); the insurance is issued by the life insurer. Insurance is the subject matter of solicitation.