Mumbai, November 12, 2026: The Insurance Awareness Committee (IAC-Life) has launched the next phase of its Sabse Pehle Life Insurance (SPLI) campaign. While the earlier phase was about general awareness, the upcoming phase aims to target specific reasons that make consumers apprehensive about life insurance. The new campaign will focus on consumers who remain reluctant despite being aware of life insurance.
At the core of the campaign are films that address consumer concerns through relatable storytelling. Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Shoojit Sircar, these films seek to bring authenticity and nuance to conversations around life insurance, avoiding a prescriptive approach in favour of narratives that acknowledge consumer concerns and encourage a fresh perspective. Through everyday situations and human-centred narratives, the films aim to make the benefits and relevance of life insurance easier to understand and encourage consumers to reconsider assumptions preventing them from obtaining comprehensive financial protection.
In Hindi, the campaign features actors Vikrant Massey of ‘Musafir Cafe’ fame and Shweta Tripathi of ‘Mirzapur’ fame, while Kalidas Jayaram and Aishwarya Rajesh will represent the campaign in the South Indian markets. The regional approach is intended to make the messaging more relatable to audiences across different cultural and market contexts.
The campaign marks an evolution in the industry’s efforts to build awareness and consideration for life insurance across India. While the previous phase used emotional storytelling to connect life insurance with people’s aspirations and the dreams they seek to protect, the upcoming phase takes on a more challenging audience: consumers whose decisions are shaped by deep-seated scepticism about the category.
According to the campaign’s underlying audience assessment, this group, termed ‘rejectors’, accounts for 28% of Indian consumers. Their reluctance is not necessarily rooted in a lack of awareness, but in specific apprehensions about the category, including doubts about whether insurance companies will honour claims, the perceived lack of returns from term insurance and uncertainty about earning income over the long term through savings plans.
The new phase builds on the success of the earlier campaign. According to the post-campaign evaluation conducted by Kantar in July 2026, top-of-mind awareness increased from 57% to 66%, spontaneous awareness rose from 85% to 94%, and purchase intent improved from 49% to 56%. Building on this momentum, IAC-Life is now sharpening its focus on converting awareness into greater consideration by addressing specific barriers to adoption.
A key element of the strategy is the increased emphasis on rural audiences. The share of media investment allocated to rural markets has been raised to 30%, from 23% in the previous year, reflecting the importance of reaching consumers beyond metropolitan centres and making life insurance communication more accessible across diverse geographies.
The integrated media plan combines television and connected TV with digital and social media, OTT platforms, outdoor advertising, cinema and retail media. The campaign will be rolled out in Hindi as well as regional languages, including Bengali, Punjabi, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Marathi, Odia and Assamese, to ensure wider audience coverage and stronger regional relevance.
Rural outreach will include digital wall painting and other outdoor initiatives across 425 towns, while digital platforms and influencer-led content will provide additional opportunities to address consumer questions in accessible formats.
The campaign has been rolled out in two bursts across 18 active weeks, beginning with a festive-season launch and sustain phase — from end-October to mid-December 2026, followed by a second burst during January–March 2027. The festive launch also provides an opportunity to connect the idea of protecting a family’s financial future with a period when households are focused on celebrations, aspirations and planning for the future.
Unveiling the details of the new campaign, Kamlesh Rao, Chairperson, IAC-Life, said, “Building awareness of life insurance is only the first step; it is equally important to understand and address the concerns that prevent people from considering it. Through the next phase of ‘Sabse Pehle Life Insurance’, we aim to engage more meaningfully with consumers who remain sceptical about the category, acknowledge their questions and encourage them to make informed decisions about protecting their families’ financial futures. By taking this conversation across languages, regions and rural communities, we hope to make life insurance a more integral part of how people think about long-term financial security.”
The Sabse Pehle Life Insurance initiative reflects IAC-Life’s continued commitment to strengthening awareness and encouraging informed consideration of life insurance. By addressing consumer apprehensions alongside the importance of financial protection, the campaign aims to help more Indians recognise the role life insurance can play in safeguarding their families’ futures, in line with the broader vision of ‘Insurance for All by 2047’.
Campaign films:
Sabse Pehle Life Insurance, Master Links - Hindi Films
1. 6+ Lac Crore Benefits paid : https://youtu.be/ldghm3gMNWs
2. Term with ROP : https://youtu.be/KRrFApRaZ5A
3. Savings Plan with 20-30 yrs Guarantee : https://youtu.be/2xtPAsxZrHw
Master Links - Tamil Films
1. 6+ Lacs Crore Benefits paid: https://youtu.be/fI5k_ph-0Z8
2. Term with ROP: https://youtu.be/qRPrgpJmX-U
3. Savings Plan with 20-30 yrs Guarantee : https://youtu.be/91WBoCr6dLk
