Find out if your current coverage is enough to protect your dependents' financial future
How your insurance need decreases as debts are paid and income replacement shrinks
Based on your inputs, you have a coverage gap of $932,581. Consider purchasing additional term life insurance to close this gap.
The estimated monthly premium for a 20-year term policy to cover the gap is approximately $233/month (rough estimate — actual rates vary by health and insurer).
Life insurance replaces your economic contribution if you die while others depend on it. This calculator estimates the coverage your family would need using the DIME framework — Debt, Income replacement, Mortgage, Education — and compares it to what you already have through work or existing policies.
The right number isn't a fixed multiple of salary; it's whatever fills the gap between what your dependents would need and the assets and coverage already in place. For most families, that gap is largest when children are young and shrinks toward zero as savings grow and obligations fall away.
Coverage ≈ Debt + (Income × years) + Mortgage + Education costs − existing assetsQuick heuristics say 10–12× income, but the DIME method is more honest: add debts, the mortgage balance, income replacement for the years your family needs it, and future education costs, then subtract savings and existing coverage. This calculator runs that math with your numbers.
For pure income protection, level term is dramatically cheaper — often 5–10× less premium for the same death benefit — and matches the years dependents actually rely on you. Permanent policies bundle lifelong coverage with an investment component; they suit specific estate and business situations more than typical family protection needs.
Rarely. Group coverage of 1–2× salary is far below the 10×+ most families with young children need, and it typically ends when you leave the job — possibly when you're older or less healthy. Treat it as a supplement to an individually owned policy, not a substitute.
When no one would face financial hardship from losing your income: kids independent, mortgage retired, and savings sufficient for a surviving partner. Many people simply let term policies expire at that point rather than renewing.
Rules of thumb like 10x your salary miss what actually matters. The DIME method calculates coverage from your real debts, income, mortgage, and education costs.