Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A calculator tool with the thinking that supports it: how many income years, debts, education costs, and existing assets.
The typical technique involves totaling your income replacement requirements and subtracting current assets. Precision isn't essential here; term policies come in fixed increments, and your objective is a level that maintains household stability through your highest-need years.
Coverage estimate
Estimate = income × years + debts + education − current assets, rounded to the nearest $5,000. This serves as a baseline figure, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. Advisors typically recommend 10 to 20 years of income as a guide; the optimal span depends on your dependents' duration of support needs. San Gabriel households with young kids frequently lean toward 20+ years because expenses for daycare, housing and schooling cluster together.
Debts. For most families, a mortgage represents the biggest financial obligation. Enough coverage to settle it gives survivors the option to stay put rather than having finances dictate the decision.
Education. Set aside an estimate per child in present-day dollars. Planning for it now is more efficient than trying to buy additional insurance down the road.
What you have. Investable assets and workplace group plans. Keep in mind that group coverage typically terminates with employment, so counting all of it may overstate your real safety net.
Once you settle on a figure, the quoting tool displays monthly costs from 10 to 30 year periods across multiple carriers. Picking a bit above your target is fairly typical, as the per-month cost difference is negligible when you're younger.