By Amanda Shih & Nupur Gambhir
Expert reviewed by Patrick Hanzel, CFP®
Link to original article: POLICYGENIUS
Your life insurance coverage should be about 10 to 15 times your income. Here’s how to determine the right amount to get based on your financial goals.
The amount of life insurance you get should be enough to replace your lost income and cover all of your family's future expenses, like mortgage payments and bills. But it's easy to undervalue your policy and get too little coverage.
For example, someone making $100,000 a year may think they only need $500,000 of life insurance. But in reality, that death benefit amount would only protect their family for five years. The key to protecting your family is to get enough life insurance to last them years down the line, so that their finances are never jeopardized.
Not sure how much life insurance you need? We’ve got you covered.
How much life insurance coverage should you have?
Figuring out how much life insurance you need is pretty easy: just use the life insurance rule of thumb and calculate 10 to 15 times your income. This is the best way to account for inflation and household expenses, and to ensure that your beneficiaries have enough money for the long term.
Why you should figure out how much life insurance you need
Figuring out how much life insurance you need before you get any life insurance quotes is the best way to get accurate estimates. Online quote tools default to common coverage amounts and term lengths, but the protection your family needs is unique. An average person might need a $500,000 policy, but if you have more debt or a higher salary, a quote tool could give you a lower cost estimate than is realistic and leave you surprised by your final premium later.
Five ways to estimate how much life insurance you need
There are many different ways to estimate how much life insurance you should buy. Try a couple of methods and decide which works best for you. People with several financial responsibilities, like multiple loans and dependents, may benefit from a more detailed estimation like the DIME Method. If getting a quick and simple estimate is the priority, our life insurance calculator or multiplying your income will be faster, though slightly less accurate. If budget is your priority, the 1% income method will give you an affordable policy, though the payout may be a little lower than the ideal amount.
For everyone: Use our life insurance calculator
Not interested in doing the math? We get it — that's why we created a coverage calculator so you can easily figure out how much life insurance you need: HERE
For a quick answer: Multiply your income by 10
One common rule of thumb is to multiply your annual income by at least 10 times (and up to 15 times) to get your estimated coverage amount. This is an easy way to make an estimate based on the number of years you want to financially support your family. In other words: How many years of your income would your family lose if you passed away today?
Younger shoppers might want to multiply by a higher number, to account for all of your earning years and future income increases.
For more detailed estimates: The DIME Method
The DIME method requires you to gather up the most information, but you’ll get the most accurate estimate by using it. In this method, you tally up the following:
Outstanding debts
Your income multiplied by the number of years your family will depend on it
The amount left on your mortgage
The cost of your children’s education
Your tally of your debts, not counting your mortgage, should include co-signed debt like car loans and student loans that your co-signer would become responsible for when you die. You can also include personal debt that might be taken out of your savings, like credit card debt.
As suggested above, remember to factor in income growth and the number of working years you have left.
For parents: Buy 10 times your income, plus $100,000 per child
Becoming a parent changes your lifestyle and your budget so, naturally, it changes your life insurance needs too. Parents can make a quick estimate by using the “multiply by 10” rule of thumb, then adding at least $100,000 for every child you have or plan to have.
Remember to factor in future expenses you’d want to cover for a child too, like college tuition and extracurricular activities. If you or your partner will be a stay-at-home parent, that person should have their own policy that accounts for the work they do at home that would need to be replaced, like cooking, cleaning, errands, and childcare.
For the budget conscious: Use the 1% income rule
The 1% rule is simple: Choose a coverage amount that will get you premiums totaling about 1% of your annual income.
“It’s important to make sure that the policy you are purchasing is one that you can afford even on your worst day, month, or year,” says Patrick Hanzel, certified financial planner and advanced planning team lead at Policygenius. One percent is an amount most people can fit into their current budget without making other sacrifices. If affordability is your top priority, the 1% rule may be the right estimation method for you.
What is the minimum amount of life insurance you need?
You can buy as little as $5,000 of life insurance if you buy a burial insurance policy, whereas most term life insurers require you to have a benefit of $50,000 or more. Most of the term life insurance providers on the Policygenius marketplace have a coverage minimum of $100,000.
But the smallest amount of coverage available isn’t the same as the minimum amount of protection you should have. At the lowest end, your life insurance policy should be able to support your dependents’ everyday needs for several years and cover your end-of-life expenses. You can potentially lower the benefit of the new policy you buy if you have significant savings or existing life insurance.
What if I don’t get enough coverage?
If you don’t buy enough coverage or your policy doesn’t last long enough, it can jeopardize your family’s financial health. A recent study found that 44% of people would suffer financially within six months if their family’s primary wage earner passed away, and 28% would see that impact within a month. [1]
Without enough life insurance to replace your income, your family may not be able to keep up with short- and long-term expenses. For example, if your policy doesn’t leave your family with enough money to make mortgage payments, they could fall behind and lose their housing.
The life insurance gender gap
Women are historically underinsured for life insurance compared to men, with just 47% of women owning a policy in 2021 compared to 58% of men. [2] A recent report from LIMRA, a financial services research, consulting, and professional development organization, found that 43% of women say they need or need more life insurance. A lack of knowledge, and specifically about how much coverage to buy, has a significant impact on this gap. [3] Eight in 10 women also overestimate the cost of a policy.
Anyone who contributes to your household should have insurance protection, regardless of gender. Using the estimation methods above are a great first step in making a confident decision about your own life insurance plan or confirming that you have the right amount of coverage. If you still have questions after making an estimate, an insurance or financial professional can talk you through your next steps.
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