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What is Life Assured in Life Insurance?

Neviya LaishramJul 30, 2025

It is important to understand that the “life assured/insured” in life insurance is not necessarily always the policyholder.

The policyholder buys the policy and pays the premiums. In many cases, the same person plays both roles. However, in some cases, like family-owned policies or policies owned by businesses, they can be different individuals. The life assured is the individual whose life is being insured. If something happens to this person during the policy term, the insurer pays out the benefits.

For example, a parent can be the policyholder and pay premiums for a policy where their child is the life assured.

Contents

Key Aspects of Life Assured in Life Insurance
Other Aspects
Understanding Life Assured With Real-Life Cases
- Scenario 1: Meera for Personal Policy
- Scenario 2: Rohit’s Child Plan
Life Assured vs Policyholder vs Nominee: What’s the Difference?
Why Understanding Life Assured Matters for Policyholders
Conclusion
Frequently Asked Questions

Key Aspects of Life Assured in Life Insurance

Here are some key aspects you must know when it comes to life assured:

Who’s Covered

The life assured is the person whose life is insured. The insurance payout is triggered if they pass away or survive (in some policy types).

Who Can Be the Life Assured?

Yourself: When you buy a policy for your own financial protection.
Spouse: Common in family life insurance plans.
Child: In child plans, the child is the life assured; the parent is the policyholder.
Parent: Adult children may insure elderly parents.
Business Partner or Key Employee: Under keyman or partnership insurance, a company insures a valuable team member.

Risk Determines Premium

The premium you pay is based on the life assured’s age, medical history, lifestyle, and occupation. The higher the risk, the higher the premium (the more money you pay). In the case of high coverage, one needs to undergo medical testing and underwriting before confirmation of the policy.

Insurable Interest Matters

If the life assured and the policyholder are different, there must be a valid financial reason cal led insurable interest. This means the policyholder should have a financial or emotional stake in the life assured’s well-being. It ensures the policy is bought for protection, not for profit.

When Benefits Are Paid

The policy benefit, whether it’s a lump sum after death or a maturity payout, is linked to the life journey of the life assured during the policy term.

Providing Accurate Info

If the life assured is also the policyholder, they’re responsible for giving honest, accurate information about their health and lifestyle.

Who Gets the Payout

The policyholder names a nominee, the person who will receive the insurance payout if the life assured passes away.

Other Aspects

Aspect	Description
Sum Assured	Guaranteed payout to the nominee if the life assured passes away during the policy term.
Premium Payment	Cost of the policy, calculated based on the life assured’s risk profile.
Policy Term	Duration for which the life assured is covered under the policy.
Maturity Benefit	Lump sum paid to the policyholder if the life assured survives the policy term (in applicable plans).

Understanding Life Assured With Real-Life Cases

Let’s understand this over a couple of real-life cases.

Scenario 1: Meera for Personal Policy

Meera, aged 35 years, took a life insurance cover of ₹75 lakhs for herself. She is paying the premiums; however, note that she is also the life assured. If anything were to happen to Meera within the term of this policy, the insurer would pay ₹75 lakhs to her nominee.

Scenario 2: Rohit’s Child Plan

Rohit buys a child insurance plan for his 10-year-old daughter, Ananya. Rohit is the policyholder, but Ananya is the life assured or insured. If tragedy strikes during the term of the policy and Ananya passes on, the insurer shall pay the death benefit to Rohit as provided by the terms of the policy.

Life Assured vs Policyholder vs Nominee: What’s the Difference?

These three roles often get mixed up, and it’s easy to see why. However, they each play a very specific part in a insurance policy. Here’s a simple breakdown:

Feature	Life Assured	Policyholder	Nominee
Who are they?	The person whose life is insured.	The one who buys the policy and pays the premium.	The person who receives the money if the life assured passes away.
Do they get the death benefits?	The cover is on their life. The nominee gets the payout if they pass away.	No – unless they’re also the nominee.	Yes – they receive the sum assured if the life assured dies.
Who pays the premium?	Not always.	Always.	Never.
Do they need a medical test?	Yes – underwriting is based on their health.	Only if they’re also the life assured.	No.
Legal Role	Their life is what the policy protects.	They own the policy and have legal rights to make changes, assign, or surrender it.	They have the right to receive the death benefit, but do not own or manage the policy.

Why Understanding Life Assured Matters for Policyholders

Clarifies Coverage: Helps identify whose life is being financially protected under the policy.
Determines Payout Conditions: All benefits, death or maturity, are tied to the life assured’s status.
Impacts the Premium Calculation: The age, health and lifestyle of the life assured can affect the amount of premium.
Ensures Accurate Disclosures: The medical and personal information of the life assured needs to be accurate to avoid a claim denial.
Handles Role Separation: This is essential in cases where the policyholder and life assured are different people (e.g., parent-child, employer-employee).
Seamless Claims: Having the correct details of the life assured will allow for a faster, simpler, and hassle-free claim settlement experience.

Conclusion

To wrap it up, the life assured is the heart of any life insurance policy. They’re the person whose life is being protected. Whether or not they are also the policyholder, everything in the policy, from premiums to payouts, centers around them.

When setting up an insurance policy, whether you're the policyholder or the life assured, it’s important to understand the roles clearly. Knowing who holds which responsibility helps ensure the right coverage, smooth claim processing, and peace of mind for everyone involved.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the frequently asked questions on Life Assured in Life Insurance

Can the life assured pay the premium if he is not the policyholder?

No. The only party that may pay premiums, administer a policy, or vary a policy is a policyholder. A life assured does not have any control over the policy unless he is also a policyholder.

Is the life assured entitled to tax benefits under Section 80C?

No. Under Section 80C, tax benefits are given to the policyholder who pays the premium and not to the life assured, if they are two different persons.

What documents are required for the life assured during policy issuance?

The life assured usually needs to submit the following documents during policy issuance:

Identity proof (Aadhaar, Voter ID, or PAN)
Address proof
Medical tests (if required as per age and sum assured)

Does the life assured receive benefits during his lifetime?

It depends on the type of policy. If the life assured survives the policy term in savings or investment-linked life insurance plans, the maturity benefit is payable, generally to the policyholder. In case of pure term plans, there is no payout during the life assured’s lifetime. The benefit is paid only in case of their unfortunate demise during the policy term.

Can there be more than one life assured in a policy?

Yes. Joint life insurance allows more than one life to be insured. These are good for spouses, parent-child policies, or co-borrowers.

How is the premium calculated for the life assured?

Premiums are based on the life assured’s age, health and medical history, lifestyle habits (like smoking or alcohol use), occupation risk, chosen sum assured and policy term.

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