Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool to help you work through the pieces: income years, debt obligations, education budgets, and existing resources.
A straightforward approach: sum up the years of income your household depends on, add what would go to any debts, add what you want set aside for education, then deduct what you already have saved or receive through work. The result does not need to be exact—insurance is sold in round figures, and the target is simply enough to maintain your household through the years when dependents need help.
Coverage estimate
Quick math: (yearly income × number of years) + debts + education costs − savings you have = a figure you round to the nearest $5,000. This is a reference point; it is not personalized financial guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. Ten to twenty years is the typical range; your number reflects how long your dependents would need that income. Households in this region often select toward the higher end when young children are present, since housing, child care, and education expenses are all high at the same time.
Debts. A home loan is typically the biggest debt. Having coverage large enough to pay it off gives the family the option of staying in the home without having finances forced by that obligation.
Education. A per-child estimate in current dollars. It is less complicated to account for this now than to buy additional coverage later.
What you have. Cash you have set aside and group life coverage you may receive through your job. Since group coverage normally terminates if you leave the job, it is common to count only a fraction of it.
Once you have settled on an amount, the quote tool will show you the cost for each carrier and each time period from 10 to 30 years. Many people choose slightly more than their estimate because the monthly cost is modest when you are younger.