Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool and its reasoning: years of income, debts, education costs, and what you already have in place.
Add up what your income replaces and subtract existing coverage—that gives a ballpark. It need not be exact; term coverage comes in round numbers and aims to keep the family stable during the important years.
Coverage estimate
Calculation: income × years + debts + schooling − existing assets, rounded to $5,000. This is a starting point only, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. Most advisors use ten to twenty years as the range; what fits your situation depends on when dependents will be independent. In Belmont, where both housing and education expenses are substantial, families with young children usually select the higher end to ensure security during the expensive years.
Debts. Your mortgage is usually the largest liability. Coverage equal to the mortgage amount lets heirs retain ownership without pressure to sell.
Education. A reasonable per-child amount in today's dollars. Including education now is simpler than adding a second policy down the road.
Existing coverage. Bank balances that could be used, plus group insurance through work. Group benefits often disappear when employment ends, so many people exclude or discount them.
Once you have your target, the quote tool shows what 10- to 30-year options cost with each carrier. Buyers often increase the estimate slightly because the monthly cost difference is modest in your younger years.