Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A simple tool plus explanation: income years, what you owe, education costs, and what you've already set aside.
A straightforward method is to total what your earnings would have paid for, then subtract existing resources. It doesn't need to be exact: policies are written in round numbers, and the goal is a figure stable enough for your household during the years that matter most.
Coverage estimate
Amount = (annual income × years of coverage) + debts + education − current resources, rounded to the nearest $5,000. This is a starting point only, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
Years of support. Advisors commonly suggest ten to twenty years of income replacement; your specific number hinges on how long your dependents would rely on that income. In Palm Springs, families with young children frequently select the longer range since child care, housing, and school expenses reach their peak simultaneously.
Loans and mortgages. A mortgage is typically the biggest obligation; enough coverage to pay it off lets your family choose whether to keep the house, unburdened by the need to service debt.
Education. Set aside a rough figure for each child in today's dollars. Including it now avoids the need for a second policy down the road.
Existing coverage. Bank accounts that could go to your heirs, and workplace group insurance. Group coverage often ends when you leave that job, so plenty of people count only part of it.
Once you know your target amount, the quote comparison tool can show you the monthly cost across a 10- to 30-year period from every carrier. Many families opt for coverage slightly higher than their estimate since the price difference is often modest at younger ages.