How much life insurance do you need? Enter your debts, income, mortgage and education costs to get a coverage number in about 2 minutes. No sales pitch, just math.
Your details (DIME method)Common rule of thumb
DIME adds up four things your family would need covered: Debts, Income, Mortgage and Education.
D
Debts (not the mortgage)
$
Total balance you owe today.
$
$
$
Funeral, medical bills and legal costs. $15,000 is a starting guess; change it to fit your plans.
I
Income to replace
$
The pay your family would lose each year.
M
Mortgage
$
E
Education
More than 4? Pick 4 and raise the amount per child.
$
How much you want set aside for each child. $75,000 is a starting guess.
−
What you already have (subtracted)
$
Include coverage through work.
$
Money your family could use right away.
Coverage results
Coverage to buy
$0
D
Debts (not the mortgage)
$0
I
Income replacement
$0
M
Mortgage payoff
$0
E
Education fund
$0
−
Insurance and savings you have
$0
Coverage gap
$0
Rough monthly cost of term life insurance
Ballpark illustration only, for a healthy 35-year-old non-smoker. Real prices depend on your age, sex, health and insurer and can be much lower or higher. Get quotes before you decide.