Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool that works through the logic: years of income, debts to settle, schooling to fund, and what you've already got set aside.
Most people add up what their paycheck covers and then subtract anything already protecting it. Exact math isn't the goal—term insurance comes in chunks anyway—and the real aim is a number that keeps things stable through the years your family depends on you.
Coverage estimate
Formula: (annual income × years) + total debts + education costs − existing coverage, round to the nearest $5,000. It's a rough starting place, not expert guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. Most advisors point to a ten- to twenty-year window; the number you land on hinges on when kids or dependents won't need money anymore. Families with young kids in Walnut Creek lean toward the longer horizon since child care, housing costs, and school all land hard at the same time.
Debts. For most households the biggest is a mortgage. Having enough insurance to pay it off means heirs can stay in the home if they choose, not because they have to.
Education. Set aside a ballpark figure per child in current-year money. Baking it in now is easier than getting a second policy down the road.
What you have. Bank balances you could tap into and any group life through your employer. Group usually walks out the door with you when you leave that job, so people often only count a piece of it.
Once you know the amount, the quote tool will show costs from all carriers for 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 year terms. Many people go higher than their estimate because the extra monthly cost is tiny when you're younger.