Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A simple calculator and the logic that powers it: how many income years, your major debts, education costs you'd want covered, and what savings you have, then work out a coverage amount.
A straightforward approach: add up your annual income and multiply it by the years you want to cover, add major debts like a mortgage, add an estimate for education and other costs, then subtract what you already have saved.
Coverage estimate
Estimate = (annual income × years needed) + debts + education costs − current savings. Round up to a carrier's standard amount, like $500,000 or $750,000.
Why those inputs
Income years. Most families need coverage that replaces income for ten to twenty years—from when your dependents arrive until they're independent.
Debts. A home mortgage is the largest debt for most households. Coverage should replace that if you die before it's paid.
Education. A rough cost per child in today's dollars for the years of school you'd want covered if you weren't here to provide income.
What you have. Savings set aside for emergencies and group coverage through an employer, both of which reduce the amount you'd need to buy as a policy.
Once you know the dollar amount you want to apply for, the quote tool shows what that amount costs monthly across all carriers.