Life Insurance Needs Calculator

Recommended Coverage never drops below $0 on this calculator, so a result of $0 means your current resources already meet or exceed the financial needs modeled here. That doesn't necessarily mean you're over-insured — it just means this particular gap analysis doesn't identify an additional need, though your circumstances may still warrant coverage this model doesn't capture.

The core purpose of income replacement is bridging the years your family would otherwise struggle without your earnings, and that need is typically at its highest while children are still financially dependent. Once the youngest child is grown and self-supporting, the ongoing need for full income replacement generally declines, which is why many people set this figure to roughly that timeline.

No — it multiplies your current annual income by the number of years directly, using today's dollars throughout rather than modeling how costs and income needs might rise over a long replacement period. For a long horizon, consider padding the Years to Replace Income input or annual income figure somewhat to account for that gap.

Outstanding Debts covers non-mortgage obligations like car loans, credit cards, student loans, and personal loans, while Mortgage Balance is kept separate as its own line item since it's typically the single largest debt a family carries. Keeping them apart makes it easier to see how much of your total need comes from housing specifically versus other debt.