Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool and the logic: years of income to protect, debts you would leave, education to fund, and what you have already saved.
Add up what your income supports, subtract what you already have saved or as group coverage, and that is your estimate. Precision does not matter much here: you buy coverage in round numbers anyway, and the goal is to have enough to keep your household stable through the critical years.
Coverage estimate
One formula: (annual income × years of need) + expected debts + education funding − current savings and group coverage, rounded to the nearest $5,000. Start with this, then adjust as needed.
Why those inputs
Income years. Ten to twenty years of income is the range most planners use; your number depends on how long your dependents will need support. A Manteca household with young children often chooses the longer end because childcare, housing and education costs peak at the same time.
Debts. For most households a mortgage is the biggest obligation. If coverage is large enough to pay it off, survivors can stay in the home without being forced to sell by money pressures.
Education. Set aside a rough amount per child in today's dollars. Including education costs now is simpler than buying a second policy later.
What you have. Savings you could draw on, and any group life insurance through your employer. Since group coverage ends when employment ends, many people count only a fraction of it.
Once you have a target amount, use the quote tool to see what each carrier would charge for 10 to 30 years of coverage. Many people buy slightly more than their estimate because monthly cost differences are modest when you are younger.