Most people who don't have a term plan aren't opposed to getting one. They just haven't got around to it yet. "I'll sort it out this year." That sentence, repeated over five years, has a concrete financial cost that's worth understanding.
Consider two people: Vikram buys a ₹1 crore term plan at age 28 and pays roughly ₹8,500 a year for a 35-year policy. Suresh, same profile, same plan, buys at age 33. He pays around ₹11,200 a year for the same cover.
And that's just the financial cost. There's also an eligibility cost. At 28, Vikram is healthy, unencumbered, and breezes through underwriting. At 33, Suresh might have slightly elevated blood pressure, a BMI that's crept up, or a family history declaration that changes his loading. The same plan might cost him 15–20% more — or come with exclusions.
The final cost is the one nobody talks about: the uninsured years themselves. Every month without a term plan is a month your family is financially exposed. Most months nothing happens. But that's true of every month right up until the one where it does.