Life insurance calculator
A life insurance calculator should make the assumptions visible before it makes a recommendation-looking number. Enter income replacement, debt, mortgage, education, final expenses, and life insurance already in force. NeedTally shows an income-multiple check beside a DIME tally, then shows what remains after existing coverage.
The result is a planning range. It is not a premium quote, an underwriting result, or a reason to ignore a policy you already own.
Coverage tally
Your planning range
Audit of your tally (midpoint)
| Planning range (midpoint) | — |
When this page helps
You are trying to put a first number on a family protection conversation; a spouse asks what the mortgage, debt, and lost income would add up to; or you want to test whether an old policy plus employer coverage still covers the same job.
When it does not
Use a licensed professional for a complete policy review, estate plan, business succession arrangement, or tax question. If your question is only what a term policy might cost, size the coverage need first — premium pages come later.
Assumptions
Defaults use editable planning multipliers as of 2026-08. Income method adds a $25,000 final-expenses estimate. Low / mid / high apply 0.68× / 1.00× / 1.14× to the obligation stack before existing coverage is subtracted for the gap.
How it works
- Income method: annual income × chosen replacement years, then add debt, mortgage, education, and final expenses.
- DIME method: debt + income replacement + mortgage + education (without a separate final-expenses line).
- NeedTally shows low / mid / high bands from the obligation stack.
- Existing coverage is subtracted to show a coverage gap or surplus at midpoint.
Two-income household, young child: $80,000 income, 10 years, $20,000 debt, $250,000 mortgage, $60,000 education, $20,000 final expenses DIME mid around $1.15M; 10× income check $800k The gap shows that mortgage and education choices are driving the result.
No mortgage, no children: $65,000 income, 5 years, $15,000 debt, $15,000 final expenses, $200,000 existing coverage Planning need may be far lower than a generic 10× rule Actual obligations are smaller, so the sheet shrinks with them.
Common traps
Compare the next question
Questions
It places income replacement and DIME side by side. You can edit the underlying years, debts, mortgage, education, final expenses, and existing coverage rather than accepting a hidden default.
Related
This is a planning estimate, not insurance, legal, tax, or investment advice, and not a recommendation to buy a policy.