Your coverage need is the income your family would miss, plus debts and one-off costs, minus what you already have set aside. Enter a few numbers and this life insurance calculator shows every line of that sum.
By Amara Taylor · Last updated October 9, 2026 · Sources: NAIC and the Social Security Administration
Coverage to consider
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Enter your income and the years you want to cover, then press Calculate.
| Years | Coverage gap |
|---|
Estimate only. It is not a quote, and it does not model inflation, taxes or investment growth. The sections below explain what is left out.
Add the income your family would need for a set number of years, your debts, and one-off costs such as education and final expenses. Then subtract the life insurance and savings you already have. What is left is a starting figure. The number of years you choose usually moves it more than anything else.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) says some experts suggest five to eight times your current income, then advises working through your own family income, dependents, education costs, debts and final expenses for a more accurate amount. This calculator takes that second route, which is why it asks for a few numbers instead of multiplying your salary.
Many people do this sum at some point. In the 2026 Insurance Barometer Study, an online survey of 5,237 U.S. adults aged 18 to 75 fielded in January 2026 by LIMRA and Life Happens, 52% said they own at least one life insurance policy and 38% said they need life insurance or more of it (margin of error 3 percentage points).
A few terms recur on this page. The death benefit, also called the face amount, is the sum the insurer pays when the insured person dies. The beneficiary is the person or organization you name to receive it. The coverage gap, sometimes called the protection gap, is the part of your estimated need that your existing cover and savings do not already meet.
In this calculator, the need is the total of income replacement, debts, an education fund and final expenses, less the coverage and savings you already hold. If your resources already exceed the total, the gap shows as zero.
| Line | What to enter | How it is counted |
|---|---|---|
| Income replacement | Yearly income your family would lose, and how many years they would need it | Income × years. No raise, inflation or investment return is applied. |
| Debts | Mortgage balance and other loans you want cleared | Added in full, once. |
| Education fund | The total you want set aside | Added in full, once. Optional. |
| Final expenses | Funeral and related costs, from a real quote | Added in full, once. Optional. |
| Existing coverage and savings | Policies, group cover from work, savings you would use | Subtracted from the total. The result never goes below zero. |
Rounding is the only other step. The result card also shows the gap rounded up to the next $25,000, a tidier figure to take into a conversation with an agent.
The two households below are made up for this page. Both were run through the same sum this calculator uses, so you can check the arithmetic against your own.
| Line | Household A | Household B |
|---|---|---|
| Income to replace | $75,000 | $60,000 |
| Years needed | 10 | 8 |
| Income replacement | $750,000 | $480,000 |
| Debts (A: mortgage and loans, B: car loan and cards) | $240,000 | $15,000 |
| Education fund | $80,000 | $0 |
| Final expenses (assumed in this example) | $10,000 | $10,000 |
| Total need | $1,080,000 | $505,000 |
| Existing coverage and savings | $135,000 | $50,000 |
| Coverage gap | $945,000 | $455,000 |
| Gap as a multiple of yearly income | 12.6× | 7.6× |
| Rounded up to the next $25,000 | $950,000 | $475,000 |
Household A lands above the five-to-eight-times range NAIC mentions because it carries a large mortgage and an education goal. Household B sits inside the range. A household with no debts and a partner who earns well could land far below it. A flat multiple cannot tell these cases apart, and a line-by-line sum can.
| Years of income replaced | Coverage gap |
|---|---|
| 5 years | $570,000 |
| 10 years | $945,000 |
| 15 years | $1,320,000 |
| 20 years | $1,695,000 |
| 25 years | $2,070,000 |
Every extra five years adds $375,000, which is five years of the $75,000 income. That is why the years input deserves the most thought. Match it to something concrete: the year your youngest child turns 18, the year the mortgage ends, or the age at which your partner could reasonably be self-supporting.
A stay-at-home parent or carer has no salary to replace, but the work still has a cost. Enter what it would cost to pay someone to do it, such as childcare, transport and household help, and set the years to the period your children would need that care. Whether the household needs a policy on that parent at all depends on what the other income could cover. That is a call for you and a licensed adviser, not something a calculator settles.
Survivor benefits from Social Security. The Social Security Administration (SSA) says a spouse, divorced spouse, child or dependent parent of a worker who paid Social Security taxes may qualify for survivor benefits. Unmarried children generally receive them until age 18, or 19 if still in elementary or secondary school full time. Total family benefits are capped at 150% to 180% of the worker's benefit, and a qualifying spouse or child can claim a one-time $255 payment within two years of the death (SSA Publication 05-10084, April 2026). This calculator does not subtract any of it. Ask the SSA what your family could receive.
Inflation and investment return. A payout invested well could cover more than its face value; prices rising could cover less. The sum ignores both, so it is neither cautious nor generous.
Taxes. No tax is modeled. How a payout or any income from it is taxed depends on your circumstances, so check with a tax professional.
Premiums. This tool sizes the amount of cover. It does not estimate what a policy costs, and it does not sell or quote insurance.
Cover that can disappear. Group life insurance through an employer often ends or changes when you leave. If you count it, count it only for as long as you expect to keep the job.
NAIC describes term insurance as cover for a set number of years that pays only if you die during that term and generally does not build cash value. Permanent insurance, which includes whole life, universal life and variable universal life, covers the insured for life and carries a death benefit, in some cases with cash savings, and premiums tend to be higher. This page answers how much. The type and length of policy are separate questions that depend on how long your family relies on you and what you can afford.
Run the numbers more than once with different years, because the answer should hold up under small changes. Then talk to a licensed agent or company, and check that they are licensed in your state. NAIC lists each state insurance department, which can confirm licensing and take complaints.
Two of the numbers above sit on other pages here. If your monthly housing payment is part of what your family would need to keep covering, the mortgage calculator shows it with taxes and insurance. If you would rather replace take-home pay than gross income, the paycheck calculator shows what actually lands in your account.
Only for as long as you expect to stay. Group coverage usually belongs to the job, so it can end or change if you leave, and replacing it later may cost more or need a health check. Your plan document says what happens when employment ends.
Often less, but not always none. Ask who would be left with your debts or your funeral costs. A co-signed loan or a mortgage you share can pass a bill to someone else, depending on the loan terms. If nobody would be affected, you may need little or no cover.
When something big changes: marriage, a birth or adoption, a new mortgage, a job change, or a large shift in savings. Otherwise, a quick check every year or two keeps the years and debts current.
No. The calculation runs in your browser, and the amounts you enter are not stored or sent to us. Site analytics may record that the tool was used, but not the figures.
Go deeper: the life insurance needs calculator compares DIME, income multiples and human life value side by side, and the term vs whole life calculator compares policy costs. For the background, read how the DIME method works, how long term life insurance should be and where the income multiple rule fails.
Estimate for planning and learning. Not insurance, financial, tax or legal advice, and not a quote. Anchor AI Tools does not sell insurance or collect your details for leads. See the disclaimer and our editorial standards.
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Last updated: October 9, 2026 · Written and tested by Amara Taylor, Content Lead, Anchor AI Tools. Not yet reviewed by a licensed life insurance professional.