One in four term insurance policyholders (25.24%) is aged 26–35, according to ABSLI data as of 31st March 2025. This makes young professionals a significant segment, though the 36–45 age group still leads at 41.68%.

Bangalore: For India’s young earners, the late twenties and early thirties are years of momentum as careers accelerate, families take shape, and ambitions expand. Yet despite this progress, the habit of securing long-term protection lags behind. According to data released by Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance (ABSLI) as of 31st March 2025, one in four term insurance policyholders is aged 26–35, making up 25.24% of the total active customer base.

While this is a substantial share, the 36–45 age group leads with 41.68%, followed by the 46–55 bracket at 23.96%. This reveals a critical gap: younger earners are postponing vital cover, missing out on the affordability and eligibility benefits that diminish sharply with age.

What Holds Young Earners Back

Many young earners juggle EMIs, discretionary spends, and savings goals, often making insurance feel secondary. Their relative youth and good health foster a sense of invincibility, leading to the belief that protection can wait. Even when they explore options online, the abundance of products and complex jargon can lead to decision inertia. Short-term priorities add to the problem, with more focus on visible wealth-creation tools like mutual funds or trading rather than the invisible but essential safety net of insurance.

For many, insurance also lacks the instant gratification that investments provide, making it harder to prioritise. In addition, peers and social circles rarely emphasise protection planning at this age, reinforcing the tendency to delay until life shocks or larger responsibilities make the need unavoidable.

Why Buying Early Matters

As incomes rise and financial independence grows, many 26–35-year-olds are laying the foundation for their future. Yet long-term protection often remains overlooked, even as young earners actively plan for their goals.

Securing cover in this window, however, delivers clear advantages: significantly lower premiums locked in for decades, higher eligibility with fewer medical exclusions, and policies that can be aligned with non-negotiable responsibilities such as loan repayments, retirement planning, and other long-term commitments. By postponing, young earners risk entering their forties and fifties when premiums rise steeply and medical conditions can limit access to adequate cover.

Reframing insurance for Young India

For insurers, this underlines the need to rethink their approach. Term insurance should not be framed merely as a safety net but as an enabler of aspirations. Protection can be positioned as the foundation that makes milestones like entrepreneurship, travel, or home ownership achievable with confidence.

Processes must reflect the digital-first, mobile-led lifestyle of this cohort, with transparency and ease of purchase as non-negotiables. Products too need to evolve, offering flexibility and everyday relevance through add-ons such as wellness benefits, savings riders, or tenure options that grow with life stage. Communication must shift from fear-driven narratives to authentic, empowering messages that resonate with ambition.

“As insurers, we must meet India’s young earners where they are: ambitious, digitally savvy, and eager to shape their futures. Term insurance should be seen as a lifestyle enabler, not just a backstop,” says Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO, Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance.

Engaging the 26–35 cohort early creates mutual wins: customers gain affordable, comprehensive cover at the right stage of life, while insurers build long-term relationships that strengthen retention and trust. More importantly, nurturing early adoption will contribute to the sustainable growth of India’s life insurance industry, ensuring that the country’s young, ambitious population achieves both security and prosperity in tandem.