Life Insurance WorksheetYour Life Insurance EstimatePrepared with the CBIS life insurance calculator
Free life insurance calculator
How Much Life Insurance Do I Need?
Last updated
A quick, free estimate for your family. Most families look for enough to cover debts and the house, replace income for the years the family would need it, and fund goals like college, minus what they already have. Add your numbers, see the math, and get an approximate amount to start the conversation.
Every line comes from what you entered. Change a field above and this updates right away.
Breakdown of your approximate life insurance need
Income replacement10 years × $85,000
$850,000
MortgageBalance you entered
$300,000
Other debtsBalance you entered
$15,000
Education2 children × $100,000
$200,000
Childcare and household helpOptional, under More costs
$0
Support for aging parentsOptional, under More costs
$0
Final expensesAmount you entered
$15,000
Transition cushion3 months of $7,083 a month
$21,250
Total needAll lines above added up
$1,401,250
Minus savings and investments
−$25,000
Minus existing life insurance
$0
Additional coverage to considerRounded: about $1,375,000
$1,376,250
What to do with your number
This estimate is a starting point. The simplest next step is to see what coverage near this amount could cost. A licensed CBIS agent can also go over it with you, including things a calculator cannot see.
Next step
See a sample life insurance rate
Pick a coverage amount and answer a few questions to see a sample rate, with no obligation. Estimate only. Your final rate depends on underwriting.
Send CBIS a short note about life insurance. A licensed CBIS agent will follow up about your request.
Your calculator numbers are not sent with this form. If you want an agent to see them, type them in the note.
A plain-language guide to sizing coverage
The calculator above gives you a number. This guide explains the pieces behind it, with local costs, example families, and the questions people ask most.
Ways people estimate it
Income multiple. Many people look at about 5 to 10 times their annual income. It is quick, but it ignores your debts, savings, and family, so treat it as a rough check, not a rule.
DIME: Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education. Add up what your family would need to pay off and keep paying. The calculator on this page follows this method, then adds final expenses, a short cushion, and two optional costs: childcare and household help, and support for aging parents.
Needs minus what you have. Subtract the coverage and savings your family could already use. The calculator does this step too, so the result is the additional coverage to consider.
What life insurance may need to cover in San Diego
Local costs move the numbers. These figures come from the sources shown, so check them against your own costs.
$8,300National median cost of an adult funeral with viewing and burial in 2023. It does not include cemetery, marker, or vault costs. The calculator starts final expenses at $15,000 for that reason, and you can change it.National Funeral Directors Association, Dec. 8, 2023
Sources checked Oct. 23, 2026. Medians describe the middle of the market, not any one home or family.
Example families
These are made-up examples, not real clients. Each one uses the same math as the calculator. Balances are example amounts, not statistics. Load any example to see it in the calculator, then change it to fit your family.
Young family, one parent at home
Example
One parent earns $95,000. The other stays home with two kids, the youngest age 2. Example mortgage balance of $650,000.
Example math: Young family, one parent at home
Income$95,000 × 10 years
$950,000
Mortgage
$650,000
Other debts
$20,000
Education2 × $100,000
$200,000
Final expenses
$15,000
Cushion3 months of income
$23,750
Total need
$1,858,750
Minus existing coverage and savings
−$30,000
Example estimateRange $1,650,000 to $2,000,000
$1,825,000
The parent at home needs a plan too. The MIT Living Wage Calculator puts child care for two kids in San Diego County at $30,581 a year for a household where every adult works. Over 10 years that is $305,810, before inflation. To size coverage for the parent at home, run the calculator for that parent: income $0, and the yearly child care cost under Childcare and household help in More costs (optional).
Two working parents with a mortgage
Example · Two working parents with a mortgage
Parent A
Earns $110,000. Has work coverage of $110,000 and $20,000 in savings. Covers half of an example $800,000 mortgage and half of the college fund.
Example math: Parent A
Income$110,000 × 10 years
$1,100,000
Mortgage
$400,000
Other debts
$10,000
Education2 × $50,000
$100,000
Final expenses
$15,000
Cushion3 months of income
$27,500
Total need
$1,652,500
Minus existing coverage and savings
−$130,000
Example estimateRange $1,375,000 to $1,675,000
$1,525,000
Example · Two working parents with a mortgage
Parent B
Earns $90,000. Has work coverage of $90,000 and $20,000 in savings. Covers the other half of the mortgage and the college fund.
Example math: Parent B
Income$90,000 × 10 years
$900,000
Mortgage
$400,000
Other debts
$10,000
Education2 × $50,000
$100,000
Final expenses
$15,000
Cushion3 months of income
$22,500
Total need
$1,447,500
Minus existing coverage and savings
−$110,000
Example estimateRange $1,200,000 to $1,475,000
$1,350,000
Each parent runs the calculator with their own income and the spouse field at $0, which replaces each paycheck in full. Splitting the mortgage and college fund by share keeps the two policies from paying for the same thing twice. Work coverage counts here, but it usually ends or changes if the job does.
Renters with one child
Example
Earns $70,000, rents, one child age 6. Has $70,000 of work coverage and $10,000 in savings.
Example math: Renters with one child
Income$70,000 × 10 years
$700,000
Mortgage
$0
Other debts
$12,000
Education1 × $100,000
$100,000
Final expenses
$15,000
Cushion3 months of income
$17,500
Total need
$844,500
Minus existing coverage and savings
−$80,000
Example estimateRange $690,000 to $840,000
$760,000
No mortgage, so the mortgage line is $0. Rent is a living cost, so the income line already carries it: the years of income you choose are the years of rent your family could keep paying.
Age 58, kids grown
Example
Earns $120,000, plans to work about 5 more years. Example mortgage balance of $180,000 with 8 years left. Has $100,000 of coverage and $150,000 in savings outside retirement accounts.
Example math: Age 58, kids grown
Income$120,000 × 5 years
$600,000
Mortgage
$180,000
Other debts
$0
Education
$0
Final expenses
$15,000
Cushion3 months of income
$30,000
Total need
$825,000
Minus existing coverage and savings
−$250,000
Example estimateRange $520,000 to $630,000
$580,000
With the kids grown, the need is mostly the years left before retirement and the house. This is a good time for a policy review, and final expense coverage may be worth a look for later years.
Stay-at-home parents
A parent who does not earn a paycheck still does work the family would have to pay for: childcare, school pickups, cooking, and running the house. Life insurance can help cover that cost so the working parent is not left to pay for all of it alone. To size coverage for a parent at home, enter any paycheck they have (or $0) in the income field, open More costs (optional) in the calculator, and enter the yearly cost of childcare and household help. The calculator multiplies it by the years you choose. A common choice is the years until the youngest child finishes high school. The MIT child care figure above is one local starting point.
Other costs to think about
Childcare and household help. Even in a two-income family, losing a parent can mean paying for care and help that parent used to give. Add a yearly amount under More costs (optional).
Caring for aging parents. If you help support a parent, for example with rent, in-home care, or medical bills, your family may want to keep that help going. This is optional. Add a total under More costs (optional), or leave it at $0.
Pay off the mortgage, or keep paying it?
Some families want the mortgage paid off so the house is safe no matter what. Others would rather have income to keep making payments and keep savings for other needs. Either way can work. If you want the house paid off, leave the full balance in the mortgage field. If not, lower it and choose more years of income. CBIS also offers mortgage protection insurance.
Is life insurance through work enough?
Coverage through work is a good start, and the calculator counts it. It has limits:
The amount is set by the plan, often a flat amount or a multiple of salary, and it may be far below what your household needs.
It usually ends or must be converted if you leave or change jobs.
Check your benefits summary for the amount, then enter it as existing coverage. Business owners can read about group term life and business life insurance.
Military and leaving the service
How long and what type
Match the length to the need. Many families pick a term that lasts until the kids are grown or the mortgage is paid. The calculator shows a term-length idea based on what you enter.
Term or whole life. Term life covers a set number of years and usually costs less to start. Whole life is meant to last your lifetime and builds cash value. Read term vs. whole life insurance.
Living benefits. Depending on the policy, some let you use part of the benefit early for a serious illness. See living benefits life insurance.
Price. Rates depend on age, health, nicotine use, the amount, and the length of the term. Buying younger usually costs less. Some coverage that fits your budget is better than none.
Laddering: using more than one policy
Laddering means owning two or more term policies that end at different times, instead of one large policy. Your need is usually highest now, while the mortgage is large and the kids are young, and it shrinks as the mortgage is paid down and the kids grow up.
A simple example: a family pairs a 30-year term that lasts until the youngest child is on their own with a 20-year term sized to the mortgage. When the 20-year term ends, the mortgage balance is much lower, so the family keeps paying only for the policy it still needs. Because total coverage steps down as debts and kids' costs shrink, a ladder can cost less over time than one large policy kept for the full 30 years.
Whether it fits depends on your age, health, budget, and the insurance company, and each policy is approved on its own. A licensed CBIS agent can compare one policy and a ladder side by side.
When to look at it again
Your need changes as life does. Run the numbers again when you get married, have a baby, buy a home, change jobs, get divorced, see the kids leave home, pay off the mortgage, or retire. CBIS offers a free life insurance policy review if you already have coverage.
Printable worksheet
Prefer pen and paper? Print this page, fill in your own numbers, and bring it to a call. Nothing you write here is sent anywhere.
Life insurance worksheet
A Yearly income your family would need × years
B Mortgage payoff
C Other debts (car, cards, student or co-signed loans)
D College or school for each child
E Childcare and household help per year × years
F Support for aging parents (optional)
G Final expenses
H A few months of income as a cushion
Total need (A through H)
I Minus savings and investments, including college funds (not retirement accounts)
J Minus life insurance you have (work coverage may end if you change jobs)
Coverage to consider (total minus I and J)
This worksheet is for education only. It is not a quote, offer, or advice. Coverage and rates depend on the insurance company and underwriting.
Questions people ask
Is 5 to 10 times my income enough?
It can be a useful rough check, but it is not a rule. It ignores your mortgage, debts, kids, and savings. In a high-cost area like San Diego, a family with a large mortgage may need more, and a family with savings and no kids may need less. The calculator shows both your estimate and this range so you can compare.
Is $500,000 of life insurance enough?
It depends on what it has to cover. Add up your income for the years your family would need it, your mortgage, debts, and college goals, then subtract what you already have. Next to a San Diego County median home price of $1,090,000 (C.A.R., August 2026), $500,000 may not go as far as it sounds.
Should I count life insurance through work?
Yes, count it as existing coverage, but remember it usually ends or changes when you leave the job, and the amount is set by the plan.
Do both parents need life insurance?
Often, yes. If either parent's income or work at home would be hard to replace, that parent may need coverage. Two-income families can size each policy to that parent's share of the bills.
I rent. How do I count housing?
Leave the mortgage at $0. Rent is a living cost, so the income line covers it. Choose enough years of income for your family to keep paying rent and other bills.
How much life insurance do I need at 60?
Often less than at 35, because kids are grown and the mortgage may be smaller. Still look at any debts, a spouse who depends on your income or pension, and final expenses. Final expense coverage is one option for later years.
What is life insurance laddering?
It means using two or more term policies with different lengths, such as a 30-year and a 20-year term, so coverage drops as needs like the mortgage and kids' costs shrink. It can cost less over time than one large policy, but it depends on your health and the insurance company. See Laddering: using more than one policy.
What happens if I outlive my term policy?
The coverage ends and there is no payout. Some term policies can be converted to permanent coverage before a set age, depending on the policy. Ask about this before you buy.
Is a life insurance payout taxed?
According to the IRS, life insurance proceeds a beneficiary receives because the insured person died generally are not counted as income. Interest paid on the proceeds is taxable, and there are exceptions. Ask a tax professional about your situation. Source: IRS, Life insurance and disability insurance proceeds.
How much will coverage cost?
It depends on your age, health, nicotine use, the amount, and the length of the term, so nobody can give you a real price from this page. To see a sample rate, use the Get a Free Sample Rate button above.
Talk it over with a local San Diego agent, or do it yourself
CBIS is a family-owned independent insurance agency with an office in Santee, serving families across San Diego County since 1982. Bring your number to a free call, or start a quote and apply online on your own. Both options are in What to do with your number above. You can also contact CBIS, visit the office page, or read how CBIS gets paid.
About this estimate
The math, in plain language
CBIS adds up what your family would need if your income stopped: your income (less a spouse or partner's, if you enter it) times the years you choose, plus your mortgage and other debts, plus an education fund for each child, plus final expenses, plus a few months of cushion. If you open More costs (optional), it also adds childcare and household help per year times the same years, and a total for supporting aging parents. Then it subtracts the life insurance and savings your family already has. What is left is the additional coverage to consider, shown as a rounded amount with a range of about 10% either side.
What this estimate leaves out
Taxes, inflation, and investment growth. They partly offset each other, so the estimate does not adjust for them.
Estimate only. This calculator is for general education. It is not financial, tax, legal, or insurance advice, and it is not a quote, an offer, or a guarantee of coverage or price. The result depends on the numbers you enter and on simple assumptions, so your actual need may be higher or lower. A licensed CBIS agent can review your situation with you.
The numbers you enter in the calculator stay in your browser. The calculator does not save them or send them anywhere. Only what you type into the message form and choose to send goes to CBIS.
Coverage is subject to the terms of each policy and to approval by the insurance company. CBIS · CA Agency Lic. #0F09685.
Questions? A licensed CBIS agent can review your numbers with you, free and with no obligation.
Client Benefit Insurance Services, Inc. Family-owned since 1982
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