A recent post on X triggered a debate about whether education plays a role in getting insurance in India. The user behind the post claimed that several insurance companies refused to offer them a term insurance policy because they did not have a degree or higher education certificate.
The claim quickly drew attention online, with many people asking whether insurers in India require a certain level of education before issuing health or term insurance policies.
The answer is not straightforward, say experts. While education is not the main criterion for buying insurance, some insurers do consider it as part of their broader risk-assessment process, particularly for term insurance policies.
Varun Agarwal, head of term insurance at Policybazaar.com, said insurers often have internal underwriting benchmarks when evaluating applications.
While insurance is a universal need, the eligibility for term coverage often involves specific underwriting benchmarks. “Insurers do have minimum educational criteria. In several cases, some insurers require applicants to have completed at least the 10th standard, while many mandate a 12th pass,” he said.
These are primarily part of the insurer’s risk assessment and documentation standards, ensuring that customers fully understand the policy terms and financial commitment associated with long-term protection products, Agarwal said.
Term insurance policies usually run for decades and involve regular premium payments, industry experts say. Because of this long-term commitment, insurers often consider a combination of factors such as income stability, occupation, education, and financial awareness before approving large cover amounts.
Not everyone in the industry agrees that education should influence the decision on life insurance cover.
Hitesh Soni, a qualified personal finance professional, said his experience suggests that the issue is more nuanced and sometimes varies across insurers.
“For male applicants, there is no issue with regard to qualification. However, for female applicants, the mortality experience is not favourable, and the insurance company does not issue life insurance policies to females with education below the matriculation level. In the case of male applicants, the insurance company may still consider the proposal after verification of income details,” he said.
An insurance company may believe that women who have studied below Class 10 have a higher risk profile based on its internal mortality data and may decide against offering life insurance to female applicants whose education level is below matriculation (Class 10 pass), he said.
Class 10 certificate confusion
Some experts also point out that confusion often arises because people assume that a Class 10 certificate is mandatory for insurance. In reality, the document is frequently used for age verification or other such purposes.
Arun Ramamurthy, co-founder of Staywell.health, said insurers follow the documentation and verification norms set by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which allow several types of identity and age proof.
In India, life insurers follow IRDAI KYC and underwriting guidelines, which allow multiple documents for age verification. While a Class 10 (SSC) certificate is commonly accepted as proof of age, it is neither mandatory nor gender-specific, he said. Insurers may also accept documents such as Aadhaar, passport, PAN card, birth certificate, or driving licence, depending on their internal underwriting requirements, he said.
Underwriting is the process by which insurers evaluate the risk of insuring a person. During this process, companies typically look at the applicant’s age, income, health condition, lifestyle habits such as smoking, occupation and financial stability.
Age, income and risk profile matter
Sarita Joshi, head of health and life insurance at Probus, said education alone does not determine whether someone will get a policy.
“Insurers evaluate age, proof of income, medical history and overall risk profile. If someone’s application was declined, it would typically be due to underwriting criteria, not academic qualifications,” she said.
In many cases, applicants who do not meet certain underwriting criteria may still be offered a lower cover amount or a different policy structure rather than being completely rejected.
“The most important criteria for financial underwriting for term insurance are the annual income and age. Insurers do ask for the education level of the application, but this is not the primary criterion for underwriting,” said Abhishek Bondia, Principal Officer and Managing Director of Securenow.in.
Experts say the discussion around education mainly relates to term insurance, which provides financial protection to the family in case of the policyholder’s death. These policies often involve large sums assured, so insurers tend to be cautious while approving them.
Health insurance
Health insurance, however, is a different category altogether.
Unlike life insurance, health insurance is meant to cover hospital bills and medical expenses. Because of this, insurers generally do not apply education-related filters when issuing health policies.
Industry experts say there is no minimum educational qualification required to buy health insurance in India. The focus in health insurance underwriting is mainly on age, pre-existing diseases, medical history and waiting periods.
Soni said health insurance is treated more as a basic financial protection product that should be accessible to everyone.
“There is no minimum education criterion to buy health insurance because health cover is considered a necessity. The regulator wants every person in India to have protection against hospital expenses. Health insurance is meant to cover treatment costs, not replace the breadwinner’s income,” he said.
They say rejection of a term insurance application can happen for many reasons, including unstable income, risky occupation, health conditions, incorrect disclosures or mismatches in documentation.
In most cases, the rejection is linked to risk evaluation rather than the applicant’s academic background.
