Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
This guide covers the logic and a calculator tool. We walk through income replacement, managing existing obligations, education funding, and accounts you already own.
A straightforward approach: add up what your income supports and subtract resources already available. This doesn't need to be perfectly accurate - coverage amounts are sold in round increments anyway, and the purpose is ensuring your household stays stable during the critical years.
Coverage estimate
Formula: (annual income × years) + outstanding debts + education costs - existing resources, rounded to the nearest $5,000. Use this as your starting estimate, not as financial advice.
Why those inputs
Income years. Most financial planners suggest between ten and twenty years as a baseline for income replacement; the exact figure depends on when dependents will become self-sufficient. In this region, households with young children frequently choose the upper end because education, housing and childcare expenses hit their peak during the same years.
Debts. Most households carry a mortgage, which is often the largest single debt. If coverage would pay off the mortgage, the surviving family gets to choose where to live next without cash flow forcing that decision.
Education. Set aside an estimate per child using current-year dollars. Including education coverage from the start is easier than buying another policy later to fill that gap.
What you have. Bank accounts available for family use, and any life insurance through an employer. Group coverage from work typically stops when you leave the job, so it's common to count only a fraction of it.
Once you have figured out your target amount, the quote tool will display the cost from all carriers across different term lengths, from 10 to 30 years. Many people find that buying somewhat more than their estimate is reasonable because the added cost per month stays quite low when you're young.