How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? Run the Numbers
The DIME method, interactive.
Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education — the four numbers that decide how much life insurance a family actually needs. Enter yours, adjust how many years of income to replace, subtract what you already have, and the calculator shows a starting range. It does not show premiums and it is not a recommendation; a licensed agent sizes the term, the amount, and the carrier with you. Everything stays in your browser until you choose to send it.
Your numbers
What you already have
How to read the number
Debt is everything that would land on someone else: loans, cards, co-signed notes. Income is the years of your paycheck the household would need to keep running — most families anchor on the years until the youngest child is independent. Mortgage is the balance that would make the house safe. Education is what you would want set aside per child. Add them, subtract coverage you already hold and savings you would actually spend, and the result is the gap a policy would fill.
The range is the number plus or minus fifteen percent, because the inputs are estimates. Two common adjustments: a stay-at-home parent has an income to replace even without a paycheck (childcare, household management), and group life through an employer usually ends with the job, so many families count only part of it. The full guide walks through both.
What the calculator cannot do is tell you what a policy costs or which kind fits. Term, whole, and universal life solve different problems, and health and age move the premium more than anything else. That is the conversation a licensed agent has with you — and the number you just ran makes it a short one.
The calculator, answered plainly.
Is the DIME method accurate?
It is a widely used estimating method, not a formula a carrier uses. It errs toward covering the obvious obligations and tends to land near what a licensed agent would arrive at after a needs conversation. Treat the result as a starting range.
Why does it not show a premium?
Premiums depend on age, health, tobacco use, term length, and the carrier's underwriting of your history. A number without those would be a guess, and we do not publish guesses. A quote compares real offers across 20+ carriers.
Should I count my employer coverage?
Partly. Group life is real coverage while you have the job and often ends when you leave. Many families count it toward the total but do not rely on it as the foundation.
Is my information stored?
No. The calculator runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you click through to a quote and fill out that form.