One of the most common questions consumers have when looking to buy life insurance is “how much life insurance do I need? There are MANY options for coverage from $1,000 to several million, so what’s best for me?”
The first question to ask yourself is what is the purpose for the life insurance. Is it just to cover funeral and final expenses, is it to allow your loved ones to maintain a certain lifestyle or is it to help them bridge the financial gap while they secure other means of income in the mid-term?
If you are looking just to cover final expenses, the calculation of insurance you need is relatively simple and involves the addition of one-month’s worth of expenses plus any outstanding bills or credit card balances, plus an estimated budget for funeral expenses.
If you are looking to provide more than just relief from final expenses, there are a number of factors to consider including the age of any dependents, current debts and savings and your spouse’s ability to generate income in your absence.
Perhaps the easiest way to determine how much life insurance you need is by figuring out the income that would be lost in the event of death or terminal illness. Replacing lost income means the remaining spouse should be able to maintain the standard of living for the family by being able to support the mortgage, education savings, and cover domestic bills and expenses without having to make sacrifices.
Another option is to determine the monthly income stream required and then to multiply that over a specific time period.
Let’s use Rob and Alison as an example. Alison does not work outside the home, staying home with her two young children. Their goal is to ensure Alison will not have to return to work in the event of Rob’s death. The payout required will provide the finances to maintain the family’s current standard of living. Rob and Alison have agreed that insurance should pay off the mortgage on the house, car loan, and credit card debt they have. It should also leave enough to cover monthly living expenses until Alison is eligible for CPP at age 65.
Rob and Alison now need to determine how much money is required to maintain that current lifestyle. They tracked their expenses for 3 months and determined that $2,000 each month is needed to cover bills, groceries, etc. So that’s $24,000 annually in addition to the coverage required to pay off the mortgage, the car loan and the credit card debt. Alison is 42 years old, so she will need to have 23 years of living expenses.
Life Insurance Amount Mortgage $168,000 Car Loan $11,200 Pay off credit cards $2,675 Living expenses (23 years x $24,000) $552,000 Total Coverage needed $733,875
As you can see from the example, calculating the amount of life insurance you need is a lot like planning for your retirement. You need to figure out your financial goals, calculate how much income is necessary to satisfy those goals then determine the amount you require to make that happen.
Another method is to look at a combination of the lost income and outstanding debt. Aside from the exercise of determining your own life insurance requirement, it is also a good idea to refer to the various Life Insurance Calculators available on-line, as these may uncover some variables that may have been overlooked!
This document is not personalized financial advice - for a complete insurance needs analysis, please contact a professional licensed financial advisor.
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