How much coverage your family actually needs, using the DIME method.
We Are Calculator
Professional Financial Tools
8/25/2026
A common rule is to cover the years until your youngest child is financially independent, or until your spouse reaches retirement.
Your household spends less without you in it. 70-80% is a typical assumption.
Car loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans.
Funeral, burial, and estate settlement costs. The US median funeral runs roughly $8,000-$10,000.
Liquid assets your family could draw on. Do not include retirement accounts you want preserved.
Include employer group life — but remember it usually ends when the job does.
A lump sum invested conservatively earns a return, so the present value needed is less than the raw sum of future income.
Insurers price on life expectancy, which differs by sex. They are not permitted to price on race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation.
Total need of $993,715 less $60,000 you already have in savings and existing coverage.
$52,500 per year for 15 years. The raw total is $787,500, but a lump sum invested at 4.0% needs only $583,715 to fund that stream.
The common 10x-income rule of thumb would leave your household underinsured — your actual obligations run higher than the shortcut suggests.
National average annual premiums for a 20-year level term policy at $933,715: about $599 at preferred plus (the healthiest tier), $756 at preferred, $1,178 at standard. This is an average, not a quote — your actual offer depends on underwriting, and the spread between health tiers is roughly 2x at the same age. Source: NerdWallet average life insurance rates, data from LifeStein.com brokerage, valid August 1, 2026. Rates scale approximately with coverage; insurers often price large policies at a small discount, so treat this as an upper-middle estimate.