If you're salaried at a mid-to-large company in India, there's a reasonable chance your employer provides some form of group term life cover — typically 3x to 5x your annual salary. It's not a lot, but it's something. It's a baseline most salaried employees never think about.

If you're self-employed — running a small business, freelancing, consulting, or practising as a professional — you have none of that. Zero baseline cover. No employer standing behind you. And paradoxically, you probably have more financial dependents than the average salaried person: employees, vendors, family members relying on your business income.

"When a salaried employee's income stops, it affects one household. When a business owner's income stops, it can affect dozens of families."

There's also the business continuity angle. If you have a partner or co-founder, their financial exposure if something happens to you is severe. A keyman insurance policy — essentially a term plan on a key person in the business, paid by the business — is something every small business owner with partners or employees should consider.

For personal protection, the calculation is the same as anyone else — income replacement, outstanding business loans, personal liabilities, dependents. The difference is just that nobody is going to prompt you to sort it out. You have to take the initiative yourself.