Young Indians are buying life insurance much earlier than previous generations, with coverage among people aged 21 to 30 rising more than 60 per cent in FY26, said a report.
Life insurance, once seen as a product linked to marriage, children or middle age, is increasingly becoming an early-career financial decision, said Go Digit Life Insurance’s “Transparency Report 4.0”.
“People are significantly widening their safety nets. Digit recorded over 50 per cent growth in the base sum assured this year. Leading this shift are Gen Zs in the 21-30 age group, where coverage amounts surged by over 60 per cent,” the report said.
It comes at a time when rising medical costs, uncertain employment conditions, debt obligations and growing awareness around financial planning are pushing younger earners to prioritise protection products earlier in life.
Young women driving early adoption
“Women are prioritising protection earlier than men, particularly in the 21-30 age bracket, embracing both savings and term plans,” the report said.
The company said there is also a visible difference between metro and non-metro customers. Consumers in smaller towns are beginning their savings and protection journeys earlier than urban customers.
“In metro cities, 50 per cent of our customers wait until after age 40 to invest in savings products. Conversely, non-metro residents start earlier, with an average entry age 5 per cent lower than their urban counterparts,” the report said.
The trend indicates that insurance penetration is gradually moving beyond large cities as awareness and digital distribution improve across smaller towns.
Why younger consumers are buying insurance earlier
Industry experts have often linked early insurance adoption to rising financial literacy among younger Indians, especially after the pandemic. However, the report suggests that concerns around accidents and unexpected risks may also be influencing purchasing behaviour.
According to Digit Life’s claims data, the average age of accident victims stood at just 33 years, while more than one-third of accident-related cases involved people in the 21-30 age group.
“Road safety data remains a sobering reminder to stay alert. The average age of accident victims is just 33 years old, with over one-third of incidents involving those aged 21-30,” the report said.
For younger earners, buying term insurance early also helps lock in lower premiums because policies are generally cheaper at younger ages and before the onset of medical conditions.
Financial planners have long argued that buying adequate cover early allows individuals to secure long-term financial protection at lower costs while protecting dependents against income loss.
Insurance buying becoming a digital habit
The report also showed changing buying patterns among younger consumers, with insurance increasingly becoming part of routine digital consumption behaviour.
Nearly 20 per cent of all retail insurance purchases happened during weekends during FY26, indicating that customers are researching and buying policies outside traditional working hours.
“Fridays are out; Mondays and Tuesdays are the new hotspots for buying Digit Glow Term Plans and Digit Icon savings plans respectively. Interestingly, nearly 20 per cent of all our retail purchases still occur on Saturdays and Sundays,” the report said.
Digit Life’s WhatsApp servicing platform handled more than 12,000 customer chats and supported close to 3,500 customers during FY26, highlighting the growing preference for mobile-first and conversational service platforms.
The company also reported a 361 per cent jump in call centre volumes during the year, while 71 per cent of customers received first-time resolution for their queries.
Faster claims settlement becoming a key factor
The report suggested that younger consumers are also increasingly evaluating insurers on service quality, claims settlement speed and transparency.
Digit Life Insurance said it settled Rs 458 crore in claims during FY25-26, up 59.18 per cent year-on-year. The insurer settled 76 per cent of death claims within three days, while the average death claim settlement turnaround time stood at 1.82 days.
“In life insurance, reliability is experienced — not announced,” the report said, adding that customers increasingly value “speed, transparency, reliability, and responsiveness” from insurers.
The insurer also reported that its end-to-end death claim settlement time improved to six days in FY26 from 13.78 days in FY25.
Insurance moving from reactive to proactive purchase India’s younger workforce is beginning to view insurance less as a tax-saving product and more as a core financial planning tool.
The report described this as a “behavioural transformation” where insurance is increasingly becoming a proactive purchase driven by awareness, uncertainty and long-term financial planning goals.
For insurers, this shift could reshape product design, distribution and servicing strategies over the coming years as younger, digitally native customers demand faster onboarding, mobile-based support and simpler products.
Go Digit Life Insurance’s Transparency Report 4.0 covers the company’s claims settlement performance, underwriting timelines, customer servicing metrics, technology systems and financial growth indicators for FY26.