Calculate how much life insurance coverage your family needs using the DIME method. Factor in income replacement, debts, education costs, and existing assets to get a personalized recommendation.
Optional — offsets the income gap
Optional
$1,731,590
Suggested term: 20-year policy
Estimated monthly premium: $19 – $31
Your existing coverage and assets cover 1% of your total needs. You need an additional $1,731,590 in coverage.
Your current assets cover 1% of total needs. Additional coverage of $1,731,590 is recommended.
$1,731,590
Monthly Premium Range
$19 - $31
$500,000
Monthly Premium Range
$6 - $9
$1,000,000
Monthly Premium Range
$11 - $18
$2,000,000
Monthly Premium Range
$22 - $36
Estimates based on age 35 for a 20-year term policy. Actual rates vary by health, lifestyle, and insurer.
Income Gap: $75,000/year
Coverage Per Year: With $1,731,590 coverage, your family would receive approximately $75,000 annually for 23.1 years.
Longer terms lock in rates but cost more monthly. The 20-year term covers your 20-year income replacement window.
This calculator uses an enhanced DIME method to determine your optimal coverage amount. It calculates the present value of your family's income needs (adjusted for inflation and investment returns), adds all outstanding debts, projects future education costs with education-specific inflation, and then subtracts any existing coverage and assets.
The result is a coverage amount that would allow your family to maintain their standard of living, pay off debts, fund education, and cover final expenses — without relying on your income.
DIME stands for Debt, Income, Mortgage, and Education. It is a comprehensive approach to calculating life insurance needs that considers all major financial obligations your family would face if you passed away. This calculator uses an enhanced version of the DIME method that also includes childcare costs, final expenses, and existing assets.
The common rule of thumb is 10-12 times your annual income, but this is often inaccurate. A proper needs analysis — like this calculator provides — considers your specific debts, dependents, income, and existing assets. Some people need much less than 10x, while others need significantly more.
Term life insurance covers you for a specific period (10, 15, 20, or 30 years) and is much cheaper. Whole life insurance covers your entire life and builds cash value, but costs 5-15x more. Most financial experts recommend term life insurance for the majority of families, as the cost savings can be invested elsewhere.
Yes. If your family relies on your income to make mortgage payments, the full mortgage balance should be included so they could pay it off and keep the home. If your spouse can comfortably afford the mortgage on their income alone, you may reduce or exclude it.
Inflation reduces the purchasing power of a fixed death benefit over time. This calculator accounts for inflation by using present-value calculations for income replacement and future-value calculations for education costs, giving you a more accurate coverage recommendation.
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