Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool plus background on the reasoning: earning periods, liabilities, education requirements, and current coverage.
A popular method involves totaling expected income support and deducting existing reserves. Precision is secondary—term insurance comes in increments, and the focus should be on a realistic amount that provides stability throughout key years.
Coverage estimate
Calculation: yearly earnings × number of years + liabilities + schooling costs − existing assets, adjusted to the nearest $5,000. This serves as a reference, not guidance.
Why those inputs
Years of earnings. Most financial professionals advise 10 to 20 years of earnings; your specific needs hinge on the duration of dependent support necessary. In Coachella, many families with younger children lean toward 20 or 30 years due to overlapping costs for housing, education and childcare.
Outstanding obligations. For many households, home loans represent the primary obligation. Sufficient coverage to clear these obligations gives survivors the flexibility to determine their own future without being constrained by finances.
College and beyond. Budget a modest sum per child, calculated in today's money. Adding it now is simpler than purchasing another plan down the line.
Current coverage. Bank reserves you could use, and employer-sponsored protection. Since employer coverage normally finishes when employment ends, you might only count part of it.
Use the quote tool to discover costs for your selected limit across 10 to 30-year periods, seeing each carrier's pricing. Opting for slightly higher amounts is widespread—the cost difference is minimal early on.