Term insurance is one of the most preferred types of life insurance plans, majorly because it provides an assurance to financially secure the family in the absence of the insured. However, to ensure it is the ideal policy for your family, it is necessary to get the correct and optimum tenure for your term plan. But the question is how to select the right duration for your term life insurance? 

Well, this can be answered easily if you consider a few critical factors while deciding the final duration of your term policy.

Foremost, you should ask yourself some questions for a better understanding:

• What age do I plan to retire?
• What are my financial liabilities, and how much is needed to cover the amount?
• What monetary duties are pending on my behalf?
• How long will the family take to become financially independent in my absence?
• What are the expected heavy future expenses?
• How much can I afford to pay currently?

Based on these questions, here are some factors that can help you make the decision with more prudence:

1. The tenure should match your expected retirement age: The most critical thing while determining the length of the policy is the age of the person. Most insurance providers offer term plans between 5 to 40 years or until 99 years, with some buffer. Ideally, you should select a term that resonates with your retirement age. Such as, if you are 30 years old and wish to retire at the age of 65, opting for a plan which is at least 35 years long is the best way forward. Longer the length, better the coverage. Since there is no maturity benefit payable, it is best to ensure extended coverage to cover uncertain eventualities. 
2. The plan duration should sufficiently cover future financial responsibilities: A particularly important purpose of term plans is to provide financial adequacy to the dependents and family members in your absence. Hence, the period of your plan should be in accordance with that. If your family has many impending expenses such as the marriage of children, buying a house, etc., then opting for a longer cover is more logical. The term of the plan should be set as per the financial responsibilities of the future.
3. The length should be adequate to pay off the impending current liabilities: The liabilities impact not only the cover amount of the policy but also affect the length of the life insurance plans. A good policy will coincide or exceed the period of liabilities to ensure there are no impending liabilities for the family members in the future. Such as, if you have a loan to your name, the cover amount should be enough to pay that off. The length of the policy should be either equal or more than the EMI duration of the loan. 
4. There should be a balance between the plan duration and its affordability: Among all other factors, you should also place the affordability of the tenure on high importance. The best term plan is the one that strikes a perfect balance between the duration and your affordability. Even though longer tenures reduce the premium of the policy, the duration should still be based on your financial capability. A good period which will not strain your existing resources and levy only minimal stress on the income. It will allow you to pay premiums comfortably. 

Conclusion

Life is extremely vulnerable and uncertain. To ensure efficiency, the life insurance plans should have the maximum coverage possible. More so, because buying young lowers the premiums than purchasing or extending the policy later.  It is always advisable to go for the maximum coverage when young to be financially secure. Term insurance in India offers tenure up to 75 years. Buy young, buy wisely!