Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A calculator plus methodology: the income replacement timeline, debt considerations, education funding, and resources you own.
The usual approach: total what your income would need to replace, subtract current resources. Perfect accuracy is unnecessary since policies sell in round increments; aim for household stability.
Coverage estimate
Standard calculation: (monthly/annual salary × years of coverage needed) + outstanding loans + child education − existing assets, rounded to nearest $5,000. Not advice, just a starting point.
Why those inputs
Income years. Coverage spanning ten to twenty years is typical; your specific number hinges on how long dependents need support. Young families often extend to twenty plus years because childcare, housing and education expenses peak together.
Debts. Mortgage debt typically dominates; with coverage to pay it off, the family retains the home without forced sale.
Education. Budget a per-child sum in present-day values. Including education now beats adding a separate policy later.
Existing assets. Cash set aside and workplace group insurance both count. Jobs end, so people typically count a portion of work coverage.
Once you have a target amount, use our quoting tool to see ten through thirty-year costs from each participating carrier. At younger ages the per-benefit cost growth is gradual.