Skip to the calculator

If you weren’t here,
what would they need?

Your income until the youngest is grown, tuition for every child through twelfth grade, the mortgage paid off. Less what you have saved and the cover you already have through work. What is left is the gap.

Needs, added up line by line · Tuition per child · A term length that fits

Start

FreeNo accountRuns in your browser

Cover still to buy

$1,895,000

The family’s need

$2,085,000

A term that fits

20 years

The need is $2,085,000. You have $150,000 in cover and $40,000 saved, so $1,895,000 is still uncovered.

What the need is made of $2,085,000
  • Income$1,200,000
  • Tuition$570,000
  • Mortgage and debts$300,000
  • Final expenses$15,000
  • Savings$40,000
  • Cover through work$150,000
  • Gap$1,895,000

When the need runs out

The term ends when your youngest turns 22, in 2046.

Education, not insurance advice. Amounts in today’s dollars. Premiums depend on your health and age, so we don’t estimate prices.

Your family

$/yr
The income your family would lose. If both parents earn, run it once for each.
Separate with commas. Leave empty if you have no children.
$
The balance on your mortgage statement plus car loans and cards. Not your monthly payment.
Fine-tune 7 more inputs
Replace income for
years
$/yr

Used when there are no children, or when you choose a set number of years.

Tuition a year, per child, through twelfth grade
    From age 3 to 18. Change any child’s figure; it counts the years each one has left. For year-by-year costs, Israel and college, use the education cost planner.
    $
    $
    $
    Group life through work, often one or two times salary, plus any policy you own. Group cover usually ends when the job does.

    The gap

    Cover still to buy

    $1,895,000

    A 20-year term

    Income to replace $60,000 a year for 20 years
    $1,200,000
    Tuition through twelfth grade 38 school years
    $570,000
    Mortgage and debts
    $300,000
    Final expenses
    $15,000
    The need
    $2,085,000
    Savings and investments
    −$40,000
    Cover you already have
    −$150,000
    Gap
    $1,895,000

    Education, not insurance advice. Premiums depend on your health, age and the insurer, so we don’t estimate prices. Amounts are in today’s dollars: no inflation and no investment growth, on the rough view that the two cancel out. Taxes on a payout are not modelled; life insurance paid because of death is generally not taxable income.

    Figures checked November 2026. Source: IRS, life insurance proceeds (proceeds paid because of a death are generally not taxable income). The method, the 22nd-birthday cut-off and the default figures are our illustrations, not rules.

    How the number is built.

    What it adds

    • Income. Your yearly income, less what the surviving parent earns, for every year until your youngest turns 22. Or a number of years you choose.
    • Tuition. Each child’s yearly tuition for every school year left, from age 3 through 18.
    • Debts and final expenses. The mortgage balance and other loans, paid off on day one, plus a funeral and the costs around it.

    What it takes away

    • Savings. Money the family could draw on. Leave out retirement accounts if the survivor will need them later.
    • Cover you have. Group life through work and any policy you own. Work cover usually stops if you change jobs.
    • The gap. The rest. Zero means you are covered for these needs today.

    Why a term, and how long

    • Term life pays only if you die during the term, which keeps it far cheaper than permanent cover for the same amount.
    • Length. Long enough for the youngest to be about 22, rounded up to the usual 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 years.
    • Prices. Get quotes from more than one insurer or broker. Your health and age set the price.