NeedTally
Coverage planning

How much life insurance do I need?

The useful answer is not “ten times your income” and it is not “whatever the quote tool suggests.” Start with the people who would carry the financial load: income that would disappear, debt that would remain, a mortgage you may want cleared, and plans for children or dependents.

NeedTally makes those choices explicit. It can show a quick income-based number and a DIME-style obligation tally. Neither is a personal recommendation. Together they give you a better list of questions.

Coverage tally

Your planning range

Low
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Mid
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High
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Coverage gap after existing coverage—

Audit of your tally (midpoint)

Planning range (midpoint)—

When this page helps

A marriage, new child, home purchase, job change, or expiring term policy has made the old number feel stale. This page is also useful when two adults disagree about whether the mortgage needs to be paid off.

When it does not

Do not use a generic range to settle a legal beneficiary dispute, business buy-sell agreement, special-needs trust, or tax strategy. Those cases need advice beyond a browser calculator.

How it works

  1. Decide whose income the household would have to replace.
  2. Pick a number of replacement years rather than assuming income must be replaced forever.
  3. List obligations that would remain: debt, mortgage, education, and final expenses.
  4. Record existing term, group, and permanent coverage separately.
  5. Read the gap, then challenge the assumptions with the people affected.
Example 1

Mortgage-first household covers a $340,000 mortgage and six years of income DIME result may exceed a plain income multiple The loan is the central obligation.

Example 2

Income-first renter with two children, no mortgage, limited savings, twelve years of income plus education Need may be driven by time, not debt

Common traps

“How much do I need?” is different from “how much can I afford each month?” Keep the two questions separate.
A policy's face amount does not tell you whether it is still in force or when its term ends.
Counting a spouse's income twice can inflate the need
Enter only the income that would disappear and must be replaced.
There is no universal right answer to whether a mortgage should be paid off.

Compare the next question

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Questions

It can be a quick scale check, but it does not automatically include mortgage payoff, debt, education, existing coverage, or how long income actually needs replacing.

Related

This is a planning estimate, not insurance, legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy a policy.