How Much Life Insurance Do You Need?

Though nobody likes to think about their death, preparing financially in case something unexpected happens to you is important. The essential aspects of estate planning include drafting a will, establishing power of attorney and advanced directives, and ensuring the financial security of your family in the event of your death.

A life insurance policy may help provide financial security for your family if you pass away. Term life coverage is sufficient for most people, though your unique situation will influence your coverage needs.

Here’s what you should know about purchasing life insurance, why it’s important, and how to determine how much you need.

How to determine the amount of life insurance you need

It’s important to consider your personal situation when determining how much life insurance coverage you need. Factors to consider include whether you have dependents, your finances, and your salary.

Do you have any dependents?

If you have a spouse or children, you may be more likely to want life insurance coverage to provide income replacement if you die. That way, your family can maintain their standard of living or cover future costs. Think about how much your family spends now versus potential future costs when considering how much life insurance you need.

For instance, you might look at your current monthly expenses, including costs for housing, child care, utilities, credit cards, groceries, leisure, and other expenses. You might also consider any future expenses, like college tuition for your child, as you calculate how much life insurance coverage you need.

Would your partner be able to afford these costs without your income, or would they struggle financially? If you’re concerned, purchasing a policy large enough to replace several years’ worth of income could make sense.

Read More: How Much Does Life Insurance Cost?

What are your financial resources and future expenses?

You must consider both your current and future resources when making life insurance decisions. This extends beyond your annual income to future Social Security benefits, your pension, retirement savings, and income from rental properties and other assets.

Future expenses are also an important consideration. Potential costs to consider for your partner include living expenses in retirement, healthcare costs, end-of-life expenses, and more. Factoring in college expenses also makes sense if you have young children. If you’ve saved a large sum of money, you might opt for less life insurance coverage.

What’s your salary?

You may hear that you should purchase a life insurance policy equal to 10 times your annual salary, but you could want even more coverage depending on your situation.

Let’s say your annual salary is $75,000. If you purchase $750,000 worth of life insurance coverage, your family will have the equivalent of 10 years’ worth of your income if you pass away. You must ask yourself whether this will cover all future needs.

If you plan to pay for college tuition — especially for more than one child — it might not be. Estimating the cost of college for each child and adding that figure to the $750,000 could make more sense for your situation. If you’ll be paying roughly $100,000 for two children, it might be worth purchasing $950,000 of life insurance coverage.

See More: Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance

Understand your life insurance options

When it comes to life insurance, you have many options to choose from. Many people find term life coverage sufficient, but other coverage options are also available.

Term life insurance

With a term life policy, you purchase life insurance coverage for a set time period. For instance, you might opt for a 30-year term life policy totaling $1 million. Insurers commonly offer coverage for terms of 10 to 30 years, and coverage amounts vary depending on the company you choose.^[1]

Term life coverage typically comes with affordable premiums, often totaling just a few hundred dollars a year. This makes this type of coverage a smart choice for budget-focused people and families. Just be aware that your term will eventually expire, so another type of life insurance could be a better option if that expiration is a concern. You may also need to meet certain requirements, such as being younger than 60, to qualify for term life coverage.

Whole life insurance

As the name suggests, whole life insurance is permanent coverage that pays out a guaranteed death benefit. Provided you stay current on your premiums, you won’t need to worry about your policy expiring after a set term. Premiums don’t change over time with whole life coverage.

In addition to paying out a death benefit, whole life insurance provides a savings component that builds cash value as you pay your premiums.^[2] Once you build up a cash reserve, you can opt to borrow against it, use it to supplement your retirement savings, and more.

Whole life coverage typically costs more than term life coverage, with premiums adding up to several thousand dollars each year depending on the size of your policy.

Universal life insurance

Like whole life coverage, universal life insurance is permanent as long as you pay your monthly premiums. It also provides a cash value component and a guaranteed death benefit.

Despite the similarities, universal life insurance works slightly differently than whole life insurance. With universal life coverage, you can often adjust your premiums and death benefit over time, though the specific rules can vary by insurer.

For instance, if you’ve been paying into the policy for several years, you might opt to decrease your premiums if a large cost arises. Or as you get older, you might want to increase your death benefit.

Premiums for universal life coverage typically cost less than premiums for whole life coverage but exceed what you’d pay for term life insurance.

Learn More: Types of Life Insurance

Calculating your life insurance needs

When you apply for life insurance, your insurer will ask for your name, age, gender, health information, and family history. This information, as well as the type of policy you want, helps determine the cost of your life insurance.

Factors related to you

• Age: In general, the younger you are when you get coverage, the more affordable that coverage may be. Life insurance companies tend to view younger people as less susceptible to serious health risks.

• Gender: Men typically pay more for life insurance coverage than women due to shorter life expectancies.

• Health status: You may also pay less for coverage if you don’t have any health issues. Fewer health issues generally means lower risk for insurance companies to take on.

• Family medical history: Your family medical history will also factor into the cost of your coverage. If you don’t have a family history of serious health issues, your premiums could be lower.

• Occupation: Whether your occupation is low-risk or high-risk can also play a role. If you work in a high-risk profession, you might end up with more expensive life insurance coverage. The American Psychological Association includes jobs in agriculture, construction, emergency response, and healthcare as high-risk occupations.^[3]

• Lifestyle: The insurance company will want to know if you smoke, use drugs, or have any past driving violations. The lower the risk your lifestyle presents, the more affordable your coverage is likely to be.

Factors related to your policy

• Chosen policy type: Your policy type will also affect the cost of your premiums. Term life policies generally cost less, while whole life policies often cost the most for policyholders.

• Policy size/coverage amount: If you opt for a larger amount of coverage, you’ll also likely pay higher premiums than you would with a smaller amount of coverage.

• Life insurance rider: A life insurance rider, or add-on, can be used to customize or change your policy. For instance, you might add an accelerated death benefit rider to help cover your medical costs if you contract a terminal illness. Depending on your insurer and the add-on you need, riders may or may not affect your premium costs.

See More: Best Life Insurance for Seniors

How much does life insurance typically cost?

While your individual history and coverage needs will affect your costs, life insurance could be more affordable than you think. The cost of term life coverage is often overestimated by a large margin, according to a 2022 Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association and Life Happens study.^[4]

The study indicates that the average cost of a 20-year $250,000 term life policy for a healthy 30-year-old is around $170 per year. But more than half of survey respondents thought the policy would cost over $500 annually. This overestimation of costs presents a barrier that may stop people from purchasing coverage.

Term life is typically the least expensive coverage. If the same 30-year-old opted for a $250,000 whole life policy, they’d likely pay over $2,000 in annual premiums, while premiums for universal life insurance may be over $1,000 per year.

See Also: Term Life vs. Whole Life Insurance: What’s the Difference?

Life insurance coverage FAQs