Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool and the reasons for using it: years to replace income, outstanding obligations, future education costs, and what you've already saved.
The typical approach is to total what your earnings would have supported, then subtract current assets. It doesn't have to be perfect—life insurance comes in standard amounts—but the goal is protection for the years when it counts.
Coverage estimate
Estimate = earnings × years + loans + schooling − existing resources, rounded to the nearest $5,000. Use this as a starting estimate, not as guidance.
Why those inputs
Income years. Advisors typically suggest between ten and twenty years to replace earnings; what fits your situation depends on how long your dependents will require support. In Oceanside, families with small children often select the upper range because costs for care, rent, and education stack on top of each other.
Debts. For most households, a mortgage represents the biggest debt. Having enough coverage to pay it off gives surviving family members the freedom to make their own choice about staying in the home.
Education. Set aside a typical per-child amount in current dollars. It's better to include it now than to buy a separate policy later.
What you've got. Bank reserves that could pay bills, plus workplace group life coverage. Employment-based insurance typically disappears when employment ends, so many people factor in less of it.
After settling on a number, the quote tool lets you see what that coverage costs monthly through each carrier for 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 years. Households often choose slightly more coverage than their initial estimate, since higher amounts cost just slightly more at younger ages.