Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool to work through the math, plus an explanation of each piece: how many years of income, what you owe, education costs, and insurance already in place.
The standard approach is to calculate what your income would have supported, then subtract the coverage you already own. This calculation does not need to be exact—term policies are sold in large increments anyway, and the point is to land on a number that would let your family stay stable during the years when your income matters most.
Coverage estimate
Estimate = (annual income × years until retirement) + debts + education costs − existing coverage, rounded to $5,000. This is a guide, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. The standard range advisors recommend is ten to twenty years; what works for you depends on how many years your dependents count on your paycheck. Families with young children in Ridgecrest typically select the upper end of the range because school, child care, and housing expenses are all demanding during the same period.
Debts. For most households, the largest debt is a mortgage. If coverage could pay that off, the people who survive you can choose to stay in the home or move without being pushed by financial pressure.
Education. Include a ballpark figure per child in current dollars. It is simpler to account for college costs in the original policy than to buy additional coverage down the road.
What you have. Count savings available for emergencies and group policies through your employer. Group coverage typically stops when employment ends, so most people include only a fraction of it in their calculation.
Once you have an amount in mind, the quotes page lets you see what that costs across 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30-year terms from every carrier. Many people buy somewhat more than their calculation because the monthly cost difference is modest when you are younger.