Life Insurance Calculator
How much would your family need if you weren't here? Get a quick answer, or add up the real costs.
Coverage you need
$3.5M to $5.25M
A common rule of thumb is 10 to 15 times your income. For $350,000 a year, that's $3.5 million to $5.25 million.
- 10 times your income
- $3,500,000
- 15 times your income
- $5,250,000
- Life insurance you have
- $0
Which end of the range?
- Lean toward 15 times if you have young kids, a big mortgage, or a spouse who doesn't earn much.
- 10 times can be enough if your kids are older or you've already saved a lot.
Want a sharper number?
Coverage you need
$3,690,000
That's what your family would need, minus what you already have. It's about 10.5 times your income. Rounded up, that's $3.75 million.
- Living costs (20 years)
- $3,000,000
- Debts
- $525,000
- College
- $250,000
- Final costs
- $15,000
- What your family would need
- $3,790,000
- Savings
- -$100,000
- Life insurance you have
- $0
- Coverage you need
- $3,690,000
Where the money would go
Want real numbers? My team at Pattern can show you personalized quotes with real prices.
An estimate, not a quote or a promise of coverage. What you can buy depends on your health, age, income, and the insurance company.
Quick or detailed?
- Quick estimate uses a common rule of thumb: 10 to 15 times your income. It's a fast gut check.
- Add up the real costs builds the number from your life: years of living costs, debts you'd want paid off, college, and final costs. Then it takes out the savings and coverage you already have.
Try both. If they land close, you can feel good about the number.
What to count
- Living costs. What your family spends in a year. Not your whole paycheck, since taxes and retirement savings go away.
- Debts. Your mortgage and loans you'd want paid off. Federal student loans are canceled if you die, so leave them out. Private loans may not be.
- College. Four years at an in-state public college runs about $124,000 today, with housing and food (College Board, 2025-26).
- Savings. Only money you'd want your family to use for this.
Keep in mind
- Life insurance through work usually ends when you leave the job. It's often only 1 or 2 times your salary.
- This uses today's dollars. It doesn't count investment growth or rising prices.
- Life insurance payouts generally aren't taxed as income for your family.
Protect your paycheck, too
Life insurance covers your family if you die. Disability insurance covers you if you're alive but can't work. See what your plan at work would really pay with the disability insurance calculator.