How much life insurance do I actually need?

Add up what would still have to be paid if your income stopped — mortgage, other debt, years of household expenses, anything you intend to fund like childcare — then subtract savings and coverage you already have. The remainder is the gap worth discussing.

Isn't my coverage at work enough?

Sometimes. Group coverage is usually a multiple of salary and typically ends when the job does, so it's a starting point rather than a plan.

What's the difference between term and permanent coverage?

Term covers a defined period, like the years you have a mortgage and children at home. Permanent coverage is designed to last for life and costs more for the same amount of coverage. Which fits depends on what you're protecting and for how long.

Can I have too much life insurance?

Yes. Paying for coverage beyond what your obligations require takes money away from other things. If you already have enough, we'll tell you.

Do business owners need something different?

Often. Beyond family protection there are questions about what happens to the business, to any loans personally guaranteed, and to partners or key employees.

Family protection

If your income stopped tomorrow, what happens next?

Life insurance isn't really about insurance. It's about protecting the people who depend on what your income provides — the mortgage, the groceries, the childcare, the normal life that doesn't pause.

Take the Family Protection Checkup Talk through my situation

What you're actually covering

Start with the obligations, not the product.

01
Income replacement
How many years would your household need to keep operating normally? That number does more work than any rule of thumb.
02
The mortgage
For most families this is the single largest obligation, and the one that makes staying in the home possible.
03
Debt that would follow
Car loans, cards, co-signed or personally guaranteed loans don't disappear.
04
Children and childcare
Costs you're currently absorbing with time as much as money.
05
What already exists
Savings, employer coverage, and any policy you already own. Subtract before you shop.

Straight talk

You may already have enough protection. If your obligations are modest, your savings are solid and nobody relies on your paycheck, the honest answer might be that there's nothing to buy here.

Commonly overlooked

Employer coverage ending with the job — often at the worst moment.
Beneficiary designations that never got updated after a life change.
Stay-at-home parents, whose work has real replacement cost.
Business owners with loans they personally guaranteed.
Coverage sized to an income from years ago.

Protection questions people ask

Keep reading

How much life insurance do I need?The useful version of this question isn't a formula. It's: if your income stopped tomorrow, what still has to get paid, and for how long?

Dreamlife Innovations does not sell insurance and does not offer coverage. Everything published here about life insurance and family protection is educational. When you want to move forward, we connect you with an independent, licensed insurance professional, and any coverage, pricing and underwriting decisions are made by the issuing carrier.

Our partners, installers and licensed professionals are independent businesses — not employees of Dreamlife Innovations, Inc. They receive no salary, benefits or retirement plan from us, and we work with them on a referral basis. Dreamlife may receive compensation when a customer we refer completes a transaction. That compensation never changes our recommendation, and we will tell you plainly when we think something is not right for you.

Seven questions about your household.

Not a quote request. The checkup shows you which areas are worth reviewing — including the possibility that you're already covered.

Take the Family Protection Checkup

7 questions. Not a quote request.

Start with the obligations, not the product.

Income replacement

The mortgage

Debt that would follow

Children and childcare

What already exists