Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A simple calculator and the ideas behind it: how many years to cover, what debts matter, education planning, and what you already have in place.
Add up what would replace your income if you weren't working, subtract what's already covered by savings and existing insurance, and you have a useful starting point. The number doesn't need to be exact—policies are written in round numbers anyway—but it should reflect what your household actually needs.
Coverage estimate
Formula: (Annual income × Years of support) + Debts + Education costs − Existing savings and coverage = Your target, rounded to the nearest $5,000. This is just a starting point, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
How many years of income. Between ten and twenty years is the typical range that financial professionals suggest. Your situation determines the right choice. Many El Cerrito families lean toward the longer end—20, 25, or even 30 years—because the years when young children need childcare, housing, and school overlap with mortgage payments and other big costs.
Debts. The biggest debt for most households is a mortgage. Enough coverage to pay it off lets the people you care about decide what to do with the home—keep it or move on—without financial pressure forcing the choice.
Education. A rough provision per child in today's money. If you wait and try to add more coverage later, you'll pay higher rates because you're older.
What you already have. Savings available for emergencies or major expenses, and any coverage you get through work. Most group policies end when employment ends, so people often count only a fraction of workplace benefits.
Once you have a target number, the quote tool will show you what that amount costs for 10 through 30 years, side-by-side across carriers. Many people end up buying somewhat more than they calculated because the cost difference is small at younger ages.