Life Insurance Needs Calculator
A clear estimate of how much coverage it would take to meet your family's obligations if your income stopped.
Your situation
Adjust anything that does not match. The result updates as you type.
How long would your family need that income to continue?
Car loans, credit cards, personal loans.
Only money your family would actually use for the items above.
Estimated coverage need
$800,000
How this was calculated
What this calculator does
Life insurance is usually sized around a simple question: if your income stopped tomorrow, what would your family still have to pay for? This calculator adds up those obligations, subtracts what is already in place, and shows the difference.
It is a planning estimate, not an application or a quote. Every figure comes from what you enter, and you can change any of them.
How the maths works
- Multiply your annual income by the number of years your family would need it replaced.
- Add the mortgage balance, other debts, education funding and final expenses.
- Add those together to get total obligations.
- Subtract life insurance you already hold and savings genuinely earmarked for these obligations.
- What remains is the estimated coverage gap.
A worked example
Someone earning $80,000 who wants 10 years of income replaced, with a $200,000 mortgage, $20,000 of other debt, $100,000 for education and $15,000 of final expenses, has $1,135,000 of obligations. With $250,000 of existing cover and $85,000 in earmarked savings — $335,000 of offsets — the estimated need is $800,000.
Frequently asked questions
- How many years of income should I replace?
- It depends on what the money is for. Replacing income until the youngest child finishes school is a common starting point; so is replacing it until a surviving partner reaches retirement. Try a few numbers and see how the answer moves.
- Should I include my retirement savings as an offset?
- Only the portion your family would genuinely spend on these obligations. Money a surviving partner needs for their own retirement is not really available to pay off a mortgage, and counting it twice understates the gap.
- Does this tell me what a policy would cost?
- No. This estimates how much coverage the obligations you entered would take. Premiums depend on carrier underwriting, your health history, age, tobacco use and the state you live in, and are quoted separately.
- Is the result a recommendation?
- No. It is an educational estimate based only on the figures you provided. It is not financial advice and not an insurance underwriting decision.
This calculator produces an educational estimate from the figures you enter. It is not financial, tax or legal advice, and it is not an insurance underwriting decision.
Actual coverage availability and premiums are determined by insurance carriers based on underwriting, health history, age, tobacco status, state availability and other factors.
Your income may be one of your family’s most valuable financial assets.
See approximately how much coverage may be needed to replace income, debts, education costs and other financial obligations.