Varun Agarwal linkedin

Head of Term Insurance at Policybazaar.com

“The goal should not be to buy the lowest price term plan, but to choose the plan that covers for your family’s future needs.” — Varun Agarwal

That belief sits at the core of how Varun Agarwal approaches the term insurance category.

As Head of Term Insurance at Policybazaar, Varun leads one of India’s largest digital term insurance businesses, focused on making protection simpler, more accessible, and more relevant for Indian consumers. With over 12 years of experience across P&L leadership, business strategy, and digital transformation, he brings together analytical rigor and consumer-first thinking to solve one of India’s biggest financial challenges—underinsurance.

His professional journey has been shaped by deep involvement in B2C and consumer technology ecosystems, where trust, scale, and simplicity are critical to adoption. That experience continues to influence how Policybazaar builds solutions that are not only data-driven, but practical and easy for customers to navigate.

Varun holds an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering, combining strategic thinking with a strong technical foundation.

Varun Agarwal’s Leadership Focus and Vision

In his current role, Varun is focused on strengthening Policybazaar’s presence in the term insurance segment, which continues to see significant growth potential in India. His broader goal is to make term insurance more accessible, affordable, and easier to understand for consumers across different income groups - an objective aligned with IRDAI’s ‘Insurance for All by 2047’ vision, which aims to expand insurance inclusion and protection coverage across the country.
As Varun has highlighted in industry discussions, higher sum assured plans can often offer better value, with insurers providing up to 15% premium discounts that improve affordability for customers seeking stronger financial protection. These perspectives reflect his broader focus on making protection solutions more relevant and accessible across customer segments. This also reflects Policybazaar’s broader focus on helping consumers move beyond buying the affordable plan to choosing cover that is truly sufficient for their needs.

Expanding Protection Opportunities for NRIs

Varun has also drawn attention to the growing relevance of Indian term insurance solutions for global Indian consumers through Policybazaar’s digital distribution platform. He has highlighted that
NRI customers may benefit from premiums that can be 20–50% lower than comparable overseas policies, potentially resulting in savings of several lakhs over the policy term.

This trend is reflected in consumer adoption patterns as well, with over 60% of NRI term insurance buyers being below 40 years of age, while ₹3 crore cover bookings have grown by 45%, indicating rising demand for higher protection among globally mobile customers.

Improving the Insurance Journey for Consumers

With a strong focus on consumer needs, his leadership has focused on making the term insurance journey simpler, clearer, and more accessible. From improving plan comparisons to reducing friction in the purchase process, the focus has been on helping consumers make informed decisions with greater confidence.

Recent company performance reflects this shift in consumer behaviour, with the broader protection category growing by 44 percent year-on-year. This indicates a clear move towards risk-based financial protection among Indian consumers.

By bringing together technology, distribution, and customer experience, Policybazaar is contributing to a more transparent and efficient insurance journey. This is especially important in India, where financial protection is becoming a priority, but decision-making still requires clearer guidance.

A Consumer-First Approach

Varun’s approach is grounded in understanding what customers actually need, rather than relying only on traditional industry practices. He focuses on clarity, ease of comparison, and building trust, all of which play an important role when someone is making a long-term financial decision like buying term insurance.

The effort is not just to increase adoption, but to ensure that people choose the right level of coverage based on their life stage and financial responsibilities.

Addressing India’s Protection Gap

Term insurance has become an important part of financial planning for many Indian families. At the same time, many people still delay buying it or end up with inadequate cover due to a lack of awareness or confusion around choices.

As per the How India Buys Insurance 2.0 report by Policybazaar, while 52.4% of Indians are aware of term insurance, only 9.6% currently own a policy, highlighting a clear gap between awareness and actual adoption. This gap underscores the need for greater awareness, simpler products, and easier access to coverage.

Varun further highlights that 87% of individuals without term insurance underestimate their family’s financial needs, often leading to inadequate coverage. His focus has been on promoting informed decision-making and encouraging adoption of adequate cover aligned with the 15–20x income benchmark, helping consumers choose protection that truly meets their needs.

This is where Varun Agarwal’s role becomes important. By simplifying the process, improving transparency, and aligning products with real needs, he has contributed to addressing this protection gap by supporting greater awareness and category adoption.

From driving conversations around up to 15% premium efficiencies, to highlighting 20–50% savings opportunities for NRIs, his work supports a larger shift towards making financial protection more practical, accessible, and relevant for Indian families.

Ultimately, his focus is not just on increasing term insurance adoption—but on helping more families get covered in a way that truly supports their long-term needs.