{
  "slug": "life-insurance-needs",
  "title": "Life Insurance Needs Calculator",
  "heading": "Life Insurance Coverage Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/life-insurance-needs",
  "summary": "How much term coverage your family actually needs.",
  "description": "The DIME method adds debt, income replacement, mortgage, and education, then subtracts existing assets and coverage. It beats the lazy '10x income' rule because it accounts for what you already have.",
  "formula": "Coverage = Debt + income × years + mortgage + education − savings − existing policies.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=life-insurance-needs",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "income",
      "label": "Annual income to replace",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 95000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "years",
      "label": "Years of income replacement",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": 40
    },
    {
      "id": "mortgage",
      "label": "Mortgage balance",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 285000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "debt",
      "label": "Other debts",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 22000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "education",
      "label": "Future education costs",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 120000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "final",
      "label": "Final expenses",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "savings",
      "label": "Savings and investments",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 60000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "existing",
      "label": "Existing coverage",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 100000,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "gap",
      "label": "Coverage you still need",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "rounded",
      "label": "Rounded policy size to quote",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "need",
      "label": "Total need before offsets",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "assets",
      "label": "Assets and coverage you already have",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "incomePortion",
      "label": "Income replacement portion",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "multiple",
      "label": "Multiple of your income",
      "format": "decimal",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Annual income to replace: 95000 $",
      "Years of income replacement: 15",
      "Mortgage balance: 285000 $",
      "Other debts: 22000 $",
      "Future education costs: 120000 $",
      "Final expenses: 15000 $",
      "Savings and investments: 60000 $",
      "Existing coverage: 100000 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "Coverage you still need: $1,707,000.00",
      "Rounded policy size to quote: $1,750,000.00",
      "Total need before offsets: $1,867,000.00",
      "Assets and coverage you already have: $160,000.00",
      "Income replacement portion: $1,425,000.00",
      "Multiple of your income: 18"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter annual income to replace ($).",
      "Enter years of income replacement.",
      "Enter mortgage balance ($).",
      "Enter other debts ($).",
      "Enter future education costs ($).",
      "Enter final expenses ($).",
      "Enter savings and investments ($).",
      "Enter existing coverage ($).",
      "Read your coverage you still need on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "income": 57000,
        "years": 9,
        "mortgage": 170000,
        "debt": 13000,
        "education": 70000,
        "final": 9000,
        "savings": 35000,
        "existing": 60000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "income": 95000,
        "years": 15,
        "mortgage": 285000,
        "debt": 22000,
        "education": 120000,
        "final": 15000,
        "savings": 60000,
        "existing": 100000
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "income": 152000,
        "years": 24,
        "mortgage": 455000,
        "debt": 35000,
        "education": 190000,
        "final": 24000,
        "savings": 95000,
        "existing": 160000
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "How does the life insurance coverage calculator work?",
      "a": "The DIME method adds debt, income replacement, mortgage, and education, then subtracts existing assets and coverage. It beats the lazy '10x income' rule because it accounts for what you already have. The underlying maths is: Coverage = Debt + income × years + mortgage + education − savings − existing policies."
    },
    {
      "q": "What do I need to enter?",
      "a": "8 values: annual income to replace, years of income replacement, mortgage balance, other debts, future education costs, final expenses, savings and investments, and existing coverage. Each field starts with a sensible default, so you can change one number at a time and watch the result move."
    },
    {
      "q": "What does the coverage you still need result mean?",
      "a": "It is returned as a money amount in US dollars and updates live as you edit the inputs, so you can compare two or three versions of a scenario in a few seconds."
    },
    {
      "q": "Is this calculator free, and do I need an account?",
      "a": "Yes, it's free, and no account is required. Nothing you type is stored on our servers — the maths runs entirely in your browser."
    },
    {
      "q": "How accurate is the result?",
      "a": "It applies the standard formula exactly, so the arithmetic is precise. Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them."
    },
    {
      "q": "Who is this tool for?",
      "a": "It's built for anyone comparing money scenarios before committing — budgeting a payment, sanity-checking a quote, or seeing what a change in rate or term actually costs."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/disability-insurance-needs",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/emergency-fund",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/term-vs-whole-life"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Life Insurance Needs Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/life-insurance-needs)"
}