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How Much Life Insurance Do You Need And How Much Is It Going To Cost?

Deciding How Much Life Insurance You Need

Are you wondering how much life insurance you need? In order to make a decision about the right amount of life insurance, it's important to consider the reasons you are purchasing a policy. Some people purchase life insurance to make sure their family's needs are provided for, while others seek insurance coverage to protect their businesses and business partners.

Family Protection Considerations

If your primary reason in seeking insurance coverage is to make sure your family won't have to struggle financially if you pass away, you need to think about how much money they'll need to live comfortably without you. It will be important to get enough insurance to make up for the loss of your salary for the rest of your working years. For example, if you have young children, child care expenses are likely to increase if one of the parents is no longer living.

Business Considerations

Business owners, on the other hand, often purchase key person life insurance to protect their companies and business partners from the financial loss of the death of key people (which is often an owner). Also, life insurance is used to fund the purchase of the business interest of a deceased owner instead of having to pay cash or take on the relatives of the deceased owner as partners. This helps the heirs as well since they get fair value for the business without having to be concerned about the future of the business. The remaining owner(s) can then move on with the business without concern. This can be combined with key person life insurance on the owner to help offset the expenses of continuing to operate in the absence of one of the partners. To determine how much buy sell life insurance is sufficient, you'll need to consider what the fair market value of the stock is expected to be for the foreseeable future. For the key person life insurance one needs to estimate the out of pocket cost necessary to proceed without one of the owners (or non-owner key person).

 

Protect Your Mortgage with Term Life Insurance

Many people choose term life insurance to provide mortgage protection for their families. When you purchase a term life insurance policy, you're setting up coverage that will be in place for a specific period of time. If your primary reason for purchasing life insurance is to leave your family with money to pay off the house if something happens to you, it makes sense to select a life insurance policy with a term that matches the repayment period for your home loan.

In addition to deciding how much term life insurance you need to provide your family with mortgage protection, you'll also need to decide what type of term life insurance policy is best for you. Some people choose level term life insurance policies, and others opt for decreasing term life insurance.

Decreasing Term Life Insurance

With this type of life insurance policy, the amount of coverage decreases during the time you have the policy. People who are concerned only with leaving enough money to cover the remaining balance on their home loan sometimes choose this type of coverage because they may think it is less expensive than other types of policies.

Level Term Life Insurance

With a level term policy, when your purchase life insurance, how much your beneficiaries will receive in the event of your death is determined at the time you buy the policy. With this type of policy, beneficiaries are able to use proceeds not needed to pay off the outstanding mortgage balance to take care of any other expenses as they see fit. With the prices so low for level term life insurance, it often costs less to get that type instead of decreasing term life insurance and the benefit does not decrease.  If price is comparable or better, opt for level term life insurance.

Using Life Insurance Calculators

Figuring out how much life insurance you need to get can be quite challenging. Purchasing life insurance is an important decision, and it certainly isn't one that should be made lightly. Selecting the correct amount of coverage is just as important as choosing the right type of policy. When you want to figure out how much life insurance is enough, a life insurance calculator can be very beneficial.

There are several different types of calculators available online. They're free and easy to use. You can quickly and easily evaluate your life insurance needs using several different calculations, such as the human life value or multiple of earnings method. To get results, you'll simply need to enter a few details about your goals, finances, and other relevant factors into the calculator of your choice.

 

Questions that Impact How Much Life Insurance You Need

"How much life insurance do I need?" That's a question that many people ask when they begin thinking about purchasing a life insurance policy. Many factors impact the amount of insurance you should buy. Make sure to ask yourself all the relevant questions before making a final decision.

Questions to Ask Yourself

Some of the factors that need to be considered when determining how much life insurance is enough include:

  • How much money will your loved ones need to live comfortably if you pass away?
  • Do you own a business? If so, what financial impact will your passing have on the company and your co-owners?
  • Does your family have access to the funds needed to pay burial expenses?
  • Is your family's home paid for, or is there still a mortgage on the property?
  • Will your family need financial assistance with estate taxes?
  • How much money can you expect to leave to your loved ones from your retirement plan or other investments?
  • Do your life insurance proceeds need to provide enough money to pay for college for your children?

 

Balancing Coverage with Cost

Many people postpone purchasing life insurance because they think it's too expensive. Many factors impact the cost of life insurance, and financial protection for your family's future doesn't have to cost a fortune. When you take the time to get life insurance quotes, you'll be able to understand that variables that allow you to balance life insurance coverage with premium costs. You might be surprised to find out just how affordable life insurance protection really is.

There are many different kinds of life insurance policies, and you'll need to think about what type of coverage you want so that you can get an accurate answer to how much is life insurance going to cost. To get a good idea of the cost difference between whole life insurance and term life insurance prices, it's a good idea to request a free instant quote from www.LifeInsure.com.

You can get pricing information on several types of coverage quickly and easily using the online insurance agency's instant quote feature. You'll just need to enter a little bit of information about yourself, such as what state you live in, how old you are, and some very brief information about your health history. You can get quotes for both whole life insurance and term life insurance at different amounts and designs.

 

Determine Life Insurance Needs with the Multiple of Income Method

Looking for the simplest method of determining how much life insurance is enough to provide protection for your family without getting into formulas? There are a number of different ways to calculate the proper amount of coverage. While many different variables can impact the amount of coverage you need, the multiple of income method can be a quick way to determine the minimum amount of coverage you might need.  We do recommend though to take the minute or two to use the interest method described in these tips.

Life insurance calculator tip using multiple of income:

This technique for determining life insurance needed simply involves multiplying your annual income by a multiplier, based on your age at the time the policy is purchased.

  • 25 years old? Choose life insurance valued at approximately 25 times your annual income.
  • 35 years old? You'll want to get life insurance that covers about 20 times your yearly earnings.
  • 45 years old? Based on multiple of income method, it's recommended that you get life insurance worth approximately 15 times your annual income.
  • 55 years old? It's a good idea to make sure that you're life insurance policy is for an amount about 10 times your annual earnings plus any estate tax liability that may be due.

 

Consider Inflation When Choosing Life Insurance

When figuring out how much life insurance you might need to provide protection and peace of mind for your family, it's important to consider the impact of inflation. It's important to look at inflation from the perspective of how it might affect your earnings and the impact it can have on cost of living.

If you only consider how much money you earn right now and your family's current expenses, you might not make the best possible decision about life insurance coverage. Over time, your rate of pay is likely to increase from either performance or merit raises, as well as through cost of living adjustments. At the same time, the cost of consumer goods is likely to increase in keeping with the rate of inflation.

When purchasing life insurance, you need to think about how much coverage you need to protect your family's living standards. Twenty years from now, it's likely that your loved ones will need more money to live comfortably than they'll need tomorrow, or even five years from now. That's why it's important to consider inflation when purchasing life insurance.

 

Calculating Life Insurance Needs with the Interest Method

When purchasing life insurance, it's important to make sure that you're getting enough coverage to provide your family with the protection and peace of mind that they need. The more coverage you get, the higher your premiums will be. However, if you don't have enough coverage, you aren't providing sufficient protection for you loved ones. That's why it's so important to put serious thought into answering the question, "How much life insurance do I need?"

There are several different approaches to figuring out how much life insurance is enough. The interest method is one of the most commonly used techniques for estimating life insurance needs. Simply think about how much money, on a yearly basis, your family would need to live comfortably. Once you have that number in mind, come up with a realistic interest rate you could expect to earn on invested money.

You can use these two figures – the amount of yearly income needed to live comfortably and a realistic interest rate – to calculate the minimum amount of life insurance you need. Divide the annual income figure by the interest rate, and the number you get represents the amount of life insurance you should get. The resulting figure provides the amount of cash that you'll need to invest in an interest bearing account to provide your family with the annual income they need. Example:  Let's say your family would need $100,000 per year and you feel that 5% is a realistic interest rate.  Dividing $100,000 by 5% (.05) would come to $2,000,000 needed to provide $100,000.  You can deduct any cash or liquid assets from the $2,000,000.

Determining the Right Amount of Business Life Insurance

Business owners have special needs when it comes to life insurance. If you own a business – whether by yourself or with one or more partners – it's a fact that business life insurance is an important investment. It's important for business owners to think about what will happen to their company, and to their families, in the event of a worst case scenario occurrence.

The amount of business life insurance you need depends on a variety of factors. Different businesses will need different amounts of coverage. When trying to determine how much life insurance is needed for business owners, it's necessary to stop and think about how the proceeds of the policy will be used.

For example, if there are several owners, it's likely that there is a buy-sell agreement in place that specifies that the business will purchase the deceased partner's share from his or her estate at market value. It's important that the company hold a life insurance policy that will provide sufficient proceeds for such a transaction.

In many cases where the business is sole proprietorship, it's up to the heirs to sell the business following the owner's death. In such a case, money will be needed to take care of ongoing expenses during the transition. Even if the business is shut down right away, there are still likely to be financial obligations to creditors, landlords, etc.

There are also situations in which the heirs will take over as new owners of the business. Funds will likely be needed to hire someone to perform the day to day duties performed by the deceased owner. There may be financial consequences of such a transition. For example, so customers may not be sure they want to continue working with the new owners. Proceeds from life insurance can provide working capital to ensure that service does not suffer during the transition period.

 

Understanding How Much Life Insurance Costs

Want to find out how much is life insurance going to cost? Many factors impact life insurance premiums, including the age and health of the insured, the type of coverage desired, and how much life insurance you need. Ultimately, the decision on what type of policy to get and how much life insurance is enough protection for your family lies with you. Before making your choice, it’s important to understand what makes some types of coverage cost more than others.

Whole Life Insurance

If you're looking for permanent protection, you'll want to consider getting whole life insurance. When you get this type of coverage, the policy will remain in effect throughout your lifetime, as long as you make premium payments per the terms of the agreement. You can use whole life insurance policies as collateral for loans, and in some cases, you can even choose to receive cash payments from the policy while you are still living. That's why whole life costs more – and is worth more – than other types of life insurance policies.

Term Life Insurance

If your primary concern in choosing life insurance is price, you may want to consider a level term life insurance policy. As with a whole life policy, you can select the amount of life insurance coverage you want. Rather than being permanent, however, this type of policy will expire after a certain period of time. If you are still alive at the end of the policy, the coverage will cease. If you've opted for a return of premium policy, you'll get back the premiums you paid in at the end of the term for this type of term insurance; otherwise a term policy (without return of premium) will simply end or sometimes can renew at a higher rate reflecting your age at that time. That's why term policies cost less than whole life policies in the early years. 

 

Fast Life Insurance Quotes

What is the price of life insurance? That's a question that's hard to answer without additional information. Many factors impact life insurance cost, so it's hard to give a general answer to questions about how much people will have to pay for the coverage they need. The good news is that getting life insurance quotes online is fast, simple, and free. You can find out how much life insurance will cost you quickly and easily using LifeInsure.com's simple online quote request form.

To get the pricing information you need, you'll just need to enter a little information in the brief, easy-to-complete online form. You don't even have to provide your name or address or other personally identifying information to get the quotes. In just a few short minutes, you'll be able to get quotes on the coverage you need. You can even check coverage and pricing options on several different types of policies. Before you know it, you'll have all the facts you need to make a sound decision about protecting your family with life insurance.

 

Factors that Impact How Much Life Insurance Costs

How much does life insurance cost? The answer to that question depends on a number of variables. Insurance premiums are established based on various factors that impact risk. If you are in a low risk category, your life insurance premiums are going to be lower than someone who is in a higher risk category.

Age of Insured: The younger you are when you take out your life insurance policy, the less your premiums are likely to be. Many people put off purchasing life insurance until later in life, only to find that the premiums are much higher than they expected. It makes sense to buy life insurance early in life, because the policy will be less expensive.

Health: Your overall health has a major impact on how much life insurance costs. If you are in good health and have few significant health risk factors, your premiums are going to be lower than those of an individual who has health problems. This is another reason why it’s important to get life insurance sooner rather than later. Some people who put off getting insurance until later than life find that they have become ineligible for coverage, or that they have to pay very high rates if they are able to get a policy.

Tobacco Usage: Life insurance policies for non-smokers cost less than those for smokers. The type and frequency of tobacco usage can also impact policy cost. Those who smoke cigars or use smokeless tobacco in moderation are in a more favorable rate class than individuals who smoke cigarettes. Use of nicotine patches and gum also impacts life insurance premiums.

 

Eliminate Guesswork with Life Insurance Calculators

Looking for the best way to evaluate how much life insurance is enough? There are several different ways of estimating insurance coverage. The recommended method for determining coverage may vary significantly from one life insurance professional to another. When you want to be sure that you're making the right decision about the amount of protection your family needs, it’s a good idea to use an online life insurance calculator.

Using a calculator can take the guesswork out of estimating your basic life insurance needs. Instead of using a single mathematical formula to evaluate insurance needs, life insurance calculators typically take multiple factors into consideration, such as inflation, interest rates, human life value, and other important variables.

Make sure that you are using a calculator provided by reputable sources. Be wary of calculators not provided by insurance professionals. Instead, use options provided by highly rated life insurance companies and online life insurance agencies. Their calculators designed specifically to be tools for helping people make sound decisions about their life insurance needs.

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