Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A calculator tool and an explanation of the parts: how many years of income to preserve, outstanding debt, education costs, and current savings and coverage.
A straightforward method: tally the income your household would need to sustain itself and deduct obligations already covered. This approach is not mathematically exact, and that is intentional: life insurance is sold in standard amounts, and the purpose is a number that would keep the family solvent during the critical years ahead.
Coverage estimate
Calculation: income × years of need + outstanding debts + education expenses − assets already owned, rounded to $5,000. Use it as a starting point for your own analysis, not as personalized guidance.
Why those inputs
Years of income. Financial advisors typically suggest ten to twenty years as a reasonable range; the appropriate duration hinges on how long those who depend on your income would need to be supported. Families with young children often lean toward the higher end since daycare, housing, and schooling expenses peak when kids are still at home.
Outstanding balances. A mortgage represents the largest debt for most households. When life insurance proceeds could satisfy this loan, survivors have the freedom to determine their own future rather than having that choice made by financial pressure.
Schooling expenses. An estimated amount per child calculated in current dollars. Addressing education costs now through life insurance is simpler than purchasing additional coverage down the road.
Existing resources. Liquid savings and workplace group insurance. Workplace coverage typically terminates when employment ends, so conservative estimates count only a portion of workplace benefits.
Once you have a target amount in mind, our comparison tool shows how much monthly payment it would cost from each carrier across 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-year periods. Most people buy slightly more than their initial estimate because the cost difference at younger ages is modest.