Most people tend to pick a number out of thin air when deciding on the cover they need.
A simple rule of thumb is that the insurance cover must be ten to twenty times that of the insured individual’s annual income. Which means if a person’s annual income is Rs 10 lakhs, she must purchase an insurance plan that offers a cover of approximately 1.5 crore. Sometimes, one looks at the premium that one is willing to pay and chooses whatever cover can be bought with that premium. This is not the right way to decide on the amount of cover you will need. The correct way to decide on the sum insured is to look at your future expenditure with a rational mind.