Life Insurance Needs Calculator
Estimate how much life insurance coverage your family would need using the income-replacement method: years of income plus debts and education costs, minus what you already have.
Inputs explained
- Annual income to replace — Your gross annual income your dependents rely on.
- Years of income replacement — How many years of income to provide — 10 is a common rule of thumb.
- Outstanding debts (incl. mortgage) — Debts you'd want paid off, including the mortgage.
- Children's education fund — Amount to earmark for education costs.
- Existing coverage & savings — Current life insurance and savings that offset the need.
How to use it
- Fill in the fields above — each input has a hint describing exactly what to enter
- Press Calculate to get your result instantly, right on this page
- Copy the result, save the tool to favorites, or share and embed it anywhere
Understanding the result
Example: Replacing $60,000/year for 10 years plus $250,000 debts and $50,000 education, minus $100,000 existing coverage, suggests $850,000 of coverage.
Frequently asked questions
Why multiply my income by a number of years instead of using my full remaining working life? The income-replacement method assumes savings, investments, or a working spouse will help cover later years, so it typically uses a shorter multiplier (often 5-15 years) rather than replacing income until retirement.
Should I include my mortgage in 'outstanding debts' if I already have a separate mortgage payoff plan? Only include debts you want this policy to cover; if a separate mortgage protection policy already handles it, leave it out to avoid double-counting coverage.
Is the Life Insurance Needs Calculator free to use? Yes — it is completely free, with no sign-up, no download and no usage limits. You can use it as often as you need.
Is my data private? Yes. The calculation runs entirely in your browser — the values you enter are never sent to our servers, stored or shared with anyone.
What information do I need? Just the following: Annual income to replace, Years of income replacement, Outstanding debts (incl. mortgage), Children's education fund, Existing coverage & savings. Each field includes a hint explaining exactly what to enter.
Can I use it on my phone? Yes — the tool is fully responsive and works on any device, and the same calculator is available in the EasyWorkCalcs mobile app.
Privacy
Everything you enter into the Life Insurance Needs Calculator is processed entirely in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, stored or shared — your data stays on your device.