Free tool
How much life insurance do you actually need?
Most rules of thumb are guesses dressed up as math. This works from your real obligations instead — and everything stays in your browser.
Your numbers
Drag each one to match your situation. Nothing is sent anywhere — this runs entirely in your browser.
Income your household would need
For a stay-at-home parent, use what it would cost to replace the childcare and household work you do.
A common marker is until your youngest finishes school.
What would have to be paid off
Car loans, credit cards, co-signed private student loans
What's left to pay on your home
College or school costs you'd want covered
What's already in place
What your family could draw on already
Including coverage through work
Estimated coverage gap
$1,115,000
- Income replacement (15 yrs)
- $900,000
- Debts, mortgage & education
- $295,000
- Total need
- $1,195,000
- Less savings & existing coverage
- −$80,000
An educational estimate, not a quote or an offer of coverage. What a policy costs depends on your age and health and is determined by underwriting.
How the DIME method works
DIME stands for Debt, Income, Mortgage, and Education. You total what your household would actually have to cover, then subtract what's already in place. The remainder is your gap.
It beats a multiplier because it reflects your situation. A renter with no children and a homeowner with two kids five years from college can earn the same salary and need wildly different amounts of coverage.
The number people forget
Unpaid work. Childcare, transport, household management, and eldercare all have a market cost that someone would have to pay if you weren't there. For a stay-at-home parent it's often the largest figure on the page — which is why coverage on both parents is usually right, not just on the earner.
What this calculator deliberately won't do
It won't quote you a premium. Life insurance pricing is individually underwritten — your age, health, and history set the rate — so any number a web page showed you would be a guess about a hypothetical person. This sizes the coverage; a real quote prices it.
Now find out what it costs
Rates for the same person vary between carriers, so an independent agent can compare several at once. Free, and no obligation.
Common questions
What is the DIME method?
A way of sizing life insurance from real obligations rather than a rule of thumb. DIME stands for Debt, Income, Mortgage, and Education — you total those, then subtract savings and any coverage you already have. What's left is the gap worth insuring.
Should I include my mortgage?
Yes, if a surviving partner couldn't carry it alone. The point of the calculation is what your household would actually have to pay, and for most families the mortgage is the largest single item.
Is 10 times my income enough?
It's a reasonable starting estimate, but it ignores your specific debts, how many years your family would need income, and unpaid work like childcare. Two people on identical salaries can need very different amounts.
What should a stay-at-home parent enter for income?
Use what it would cost to replace the work you do — childcare, transport, household management, and any eldercare — at local market rates. That figure is frequently larger than families expect.
Does this tell me what a policy will cost?
No. This estimates how much coverage you need, not the premium. Pricing is individually underwritten based on your age and health, so only a real quote gives an accurate cost.