Wealth maintenance need signifies that the individual has reached a stage where he has already accumulated some money and is willing to protect and grow it in a tax-favoured manner. Some of the products that are suitable for this are Short-pay endowments, pensions and single premium policies.

And lastly, retirement needs come up when one reaches a stage where they cannot anticipate future inflows of money. "So all your accumulated wealth has to ensure that you go through the golden years of life without any worry. You could consider single pay/short pay pensions or immediate annuities for such a need. A flexible unit-linked endowment structured with regular partial withdrawals also could be suitable for such a need," says Relan.

"Insurance as an asset class is emerging not only as a means of protection for dying too young but against the risk of living too long. In that sense, the right insurance must have not just protection element but an investment portion too. This is possible if people look at life insurance as a long-term financial plan and allocate at least 20% of their monthly savings to this important asset class," says Dr P Nandagopal, MD & CEO, IndiaFirst Life Insurance.

Here are tips to follow once you decided on your needs.

1)  First understand the product clearly and try to analyse whether it fits in with your needs.

2) And understand which part of the amount is illustrated is guaranteed and which is not.

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