Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool to help you estimate coverage, plus the logic behind each component: the years you'd want to cover, major debts, education goals, and what you've already set aside.
A straightforward approach: add what your income would cover if something happened, then subtract what's already in place. It doesn't need to be exact—term coverage amounts round to the nearest $5,000 anyway. The goal is a number that keeps your household functioning during the years that matter most.
Coverage estimate
Calculation: income × years of replacement + debts + education fund − savings and existing group coverage = estimate. Round to $5,000. This is just a starting point, not advice.
Why those inputs
Income years. Between 10 and 20 years of replacement income is typical; what's right for your situation depends on when your dependents would become self-sufficient. In El Cajon and similar communities, families with young children frequently opt for longer terms because childcare, rent or mortgage payments, and education costs often peak simultaneously.
Debts. Your largest debt is probably a mortgage. Coverage sufficient to pay it off lets the people you support choose to stay in the home without being forced to sell.
Education. Set aside a rough amount per child in today's dollars. Including it now is simpler than trying to increase coverage later.
What you already have. Savings that could cover expenses and group insurance through an employer. Note that employer-provided coverage usually ends when employment does, so you might only count part of it.
Once you know what you need, the quote tool will show you the monthly cost for 10-, 15-, 20-, 25-, and 30-year options from all participating carriers. Going a little higher than your estimate costs much more early on when you're young.