Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A calculator and the method behind it: years of replacement income, debts, education, and what you already have.
Add up years of income and subtract existing resources. The result is not a precise calculation, and it should not need to be: you buy life insurance in round numbers, and the goal is an amount that lets your family maintain its standard of living through the years that matter most.
Coverage estimate
Estimate = income × years + debts + schooling − existing assets, rounded to $5,000 increments. Use it as a starting point.
Why those inputs
Income years. Ten to twenty years is the typical span; the right answer depends on how long your dependents would need support. Families with young children often choose the longer range because housing, childcare, and education expenses are highest in those years.
Debts. A mortgage is typically the largest. Coverage sufficient to clear it lets your family choose whether to stay in the home, without needing to sell due to cash constraints.
Education. A rough allowance per child in today's dollars. Building it in now is simpler than buying another policy afterward.
What you have. Savings available for emergencies, and group policies through your employer. Most group coverage ends when employment does, so many people count only a portion of it.
Once you have a number, the quote tool shows the monthly cost for 10-to-30-year terms from each carrier. Many households choose slightly higher than their calculation because the monthly difference is small at younger ages.