How to Calculate Your Insurance Coverage Amount
Decide if you need life insurance., Consider term life insurance., Consider whole life insurance., Visit an insurance professional or financial adviser., Determine your current outstanding debt payments., Determine your future obligations...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide if you need life insurance.
While life insurance is important, not everybody needs it.
The purpose of life insurance is to cover immediate expenses at death, as well to replace your income and provide for your family or dependents should something happen to you.
Therefore, if you are single and/or have no children, life insurance is a costly and likely unnecessary solution.If you have a partner, children, or anybody who would be affected financially by something happening to you, life insurance is an important way to keep them protected.
If you have significant assets, life insurance may not be necessary as well.
The key question is "Do I have the means now to ensure my family is taken care of should something happen to me?" If the answer is no, consider insurance.
Even if you are single, you may consider minimal insurance to cover final expenses (cost of a funeral, etc.) if you don't think you have enough other assets to cover these costs. -
Step 2: Consider term life insurance.
There are two basic types of life insurance — term life insurance and whole (or permanent) life insurance.
Term life insurance does exactly as the name suggests — it guarantees coverage for a particular period of time (anywhere from one to 30 years).
If you die during the term, your dependents are paid the agreed-upon death benefit (which may be a percentage of your pension or predetermined amount granted from the insurance policy).If your goal is simply to protect your family for a period (until your children grow up or until your significant other reaches the age where they are eligible for pension/social security) term insurance is the best, most affordable option.
It is also useful if certain expenses you are worried about covering, like a mortgage payment, end at a certain date. , Whole life insurance does not end before you die like term insurance, but rather continues up until your death.
In addition, part of your whole life premium goes towards a savings/investment component that grows tax-free over time.
Experts typically recommend term insurance, as it is significantly less expensive than whole life insurance and provides the same amount of coverage, just without a savings element..
Because you are covered for your whole life (as long as you pay your premiums), whole life insurance is significantly more expensive than term insurance (sometimes 10 to 20 times more).
The fact there is a savings component to your premium adds to the cost.
While the savings component is good for people who have difficulty saving, some experts say that Roth IRA's, 401(k)'s and IRA's are far more efficient and effective ways to save.
Use these first.
Consider whole life insurance if you can afford it, or if you have significant business or estate costs after you die (like estate taxes) that you need to protect your family from.
If you have children or a partner with special needs or requirements who will be dependent long-term, you could also consider whole life. , An insurance agent or broker can walk you through the various options and help you choose a type of coverage that works for your particular family and financial situation.
He can also assist you with the process of calculating your required coverage. , It is very important that your life insurance amount is large enough to cover payments on any outstanding debts.
The important thing to know here is the monthly amount you pay towards your current debt, rather than the total amount.
If your mortgage payment is $1,600 per month, multiply this by 12 to determine your annual mortgage expense.
Do this for all your outstanding debts.
This will include car payments, line of credit payments, or any other obligations you have.
Add the amounts together to determine your total annual debt spending. , It is possible that you are saving each month for future obligations like retirement, education for your kids, or future expenses like car purchases.
Should something happen to you, your life insurance would need to be large enough to continue putting funds aside for these obligations.
Whatever the current amount of monthly savings you are using, multiply this by 12 and add it to the amount you calculated for your total debt payments.
If you currently are not saving anything, you will want to determine how much you should save each month to cover your obligations.
Since your life insurance amount will replace your income should you die, you will not need to factor retirement savings each month into your calculation.
You will need to factor in savings for things like children's education.
To do this, you can use an online calculator, which will take the total cost of your children's education, the time until they go to post-secondary, and the interest rate you are likely to receive on those savings.
It will then calculate how much you need to put aside monthly.
Search Bankrate.com College Savings Calculator online for a high-quality calculator. , Once you know how much you need to pay for debt monthly and how much you need to save monthly for future obligations, you need to determine what your family's monthly expenses are.
This is the amount you will need to cover with your life insurance.
The easiest way to determine monthly expenses is to look at your bank statements.
They will contain an accurate record of how much money leaves your account every month.
Alternatively, consider using personal budgeting software.
These programs allow you to sync your accounts the program and will accurately track what your total monthly spending is.
Popular programs include "Mint" and "You Need A Budget."
Add up your monthly debt expenses, monthly savings, and total monthly family expenses.
Then, subtract your partner's income or any other income that comes in from sources other than you.
This is an important step, because it determines how much of the total family expenses would need to be covered if you were not there.
For example assume your monthly debt, savings, and expenses are $4,000.
Multiply this by 12 to get the annual amount.
Your total family expenses would therefore be $48,000 annually.
Assume your partner makes $25,000 annually.
Subtracting $25,000 from $48,000 gives total remaining expenses of $23,000.
You would therefore need enough money to provide $23,000 annually. , The goal is to determine the lump sum payment you need to generate $23,000 of annual income.
When you receive a lump sum, you can invest that money to generate interest.
Interest rates vary depending on how you choose to invest your money (dividend paying stocks can pay up to 6%, whereas money market funds may only pay 1%).
Assume you can get 4% on your money.
To determine how much money you would need to generate $23,000 annually (assuming a 4% interest rate), divide $23,000 by
0.04. $23,000/0.04 equals $575,000.
Therefore, you will need $575,000 of total coverage.
If you were to invest this money at a rate of 4%, it would provide your family with $23,000 of income per year. (Note that figures do not consider the use of any principal.) , Of course, that $23,000 would be taxed (reducing the amount), and inflation would drive up the cost of living.
Inflation is an issue, but fortunately your overall family expenses would likely fall over time, offsetting its effects.
For example, goods may get more costly, but once your child goes to post-secondary school you will also be able to reduce your savings that you applied towards their education.
The same applies for mortgage payments.
As for taxes, the $23,000 per year you would get from interest would be gross, that is to say, before taxes.
You will want to make sure you have $23,000 after taxes.
To determine this, you can use Bankrate's Net-to-gross paycheck calculator.Once you determine the gross income you would need to give you $23,000 annually, simply divide that gross income by
0.04 to give you the total coverage you need. , The above should give you a solid ballpark figure as to what your coverage needs are.
You should always confirm your results though.
You can do this by contacting an insurance broker/agent, or a financial planner/adviser.
They can help you to confirm your needs are accurate and take into account any unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, there are plenty of life insurance coverage calculators online.
Try them to out to see how the results compare to your own. -
Step 3: Consider whole life insurance.
-
Step 4: Visit an insurance professional or financial adviser.
-
Step 5: Determine your current outstanding debt payments.
-
Step 6: Determine your future obligations.
-
Step 7: Calculate your family's monthly expenses.
-
Step 8: Add up your total annual expenses and subtract your partners (or any other income).
-
Step 9: Calculate the insurance coverage amount.
-
Step 10: Factor in taxes and inflation.
-
Step 11: Confirm your results.
Detailed Guide
While life insurance is important, not everybody needs it.
The purpose of life insurance is to cover immediate expenses at death, as well to replace your income and provide for your family or dependents should something happen to you.
Therefore, if you are single and/or have no children, life insurance is a costly and likely unnecessary solution.If you have a partner, children, or anybody who would be affected financially by something happening to you, life insurance is an important way to keep them protected.
If you have significant assets, life insurance may not be necessary as well.
The key question is "Do I have the means now to ensure my family is taken care of should something happen to me?" If the answer is no, consider insurance.
Even if you are single, you may consider minimal insurance to cover final expenses (cost of a funeral, etc.) if you don't think you have enough other assets to cover these costs.
There are two basic types of life insurance — term life insurance and whole (or permanent) life insurance.
Term life insurance does exactly as the name suggests — it guarantees coverage for a particular period of time (anywhere from one to 30 years).
If you die during the term, your dependents are paid the agreed-upon death benefit (which may be a percentage of your pension or predetermined amount granted from the insurance policy).If your goal is simply to protect your family for a period (until your children grow up or until your significant other reaches the age where they are eligible for pension/social security) term insurance is the best, most affordable option.
It is also useful if certain expenses you are worried about covering, like a mortgage payment, end at a certain date. , Whole life insurance does not end before you die like term insurance, but rather continues up until your death.
In addition, part of your whole life premium goes towards a savings/investment component that grows tax-free over time.
Experts typically recommend term insurance, as it is significantly less expensive than whole life insurance and provides the same amount of coverage, just without a savings element..
Because you are covered for your whole life (as long as you pay your premiums), whole life insurance is significantly more expensive than term insurance (sometimes 10 to 20 times more).
The fact there is a savings component to your premium adds to the cost.
While the savings component is good for people who have difficulty saving, some experts say that Roth IRA's, 401(k)'s and IRA's are far more efficient and effective ways to save.
Use these first.
Consider whole life insurance if you can afford it, or if you have significant business or estate costs after you die (like estate taxes) that you need to protect your family from.
If you have children or a partner with special needs or requirements who will be dependent long-term, you could also consider whole life. , An insurance agent or broker can walk you through the various options and help you choose a type of coverage that works for your particular family and financial situation.
He can also assist you with the process of calculating your required coverage. , It is very important that your life insurance amount is large enough to cover payments on any outstanding debts.
The important thing to know here is the monthly amount you pay towards your current debt, rather than the total amount.
If your mortgage payment is $1,600 per month, multiply this by 12 to determine your annual mortgage expense.
Do this for all your outstanding debts.
This will include car payments, line of credit payments, or any other obligations you have.
Add the amounts together to determine your total annual debt spending. , It is possible that you are saving each month for future obligations like retirement, education for your kids, or future expenses like car purchases.
Should something happen to you, your life insurance would need to be large enough to continue putting funds aside for these obligations.
Whatever the current amount of monthly savings you are using, multiply this by 12 and add it to the amount you calculated for your total debt payments.
If you currently are not saving anything, you will want to determine how much you should save each month to cover your obligations.
Since your life insurance amount will replace your income should you die, you will not need to factor retirement savings each month into your calculation.
You will need to factor in savings for things like children's education.
To do this, you can use an online calculator, which will take the total cost of your children's education, the time until they go to post-secondary, and the interest rate you are likely to receive on those savings.
It will then calculate how much you need to put aside monthly.
Search Bankrate.com College Savings Calculator online for a high-quality calculator. , Once you know how much you need to pay for debt monthly and how much you need to save monthly for future obligations, you need to determine what your family's monthly expenses are.
This is the amount you will need to cover with your life insurance.
The easiest way to determine monthly expenses is to look at your bank statements.
They will contain an accurate record of how much money leaves your account every month.
Alternatively, consider using personal budgeting software.
These programs allow you to sync your accounts the program and will accurately track what your total monthly spending is.
Popular programs include "Mint" and "You Need A Budget."
Add up your monthly debt expenses, monthly savings, and total monthly family expenses.
Then, subtract your partner's income or any other income that comes in from sources other than you.
This is an important step, because it determines how much of the total family expenses would need to be covered if you were not there.
For example assume your monthly debt, savings, and expenses are $4,000.
Multiply this by 12 to get the annual amount.
Your total family expenses would therefore be $48,000 annually.
Assume your partner makes $25,000 annually.
Subtracting $25,000 from $48,000 gives total remaining expenses of $23,000.
You would therefore need enough money to provide $23,000 annually. , The goal is to determine the lump sum payment you need to generate $23,000 of annual income.
When you receive a lump sum, you can invest that money to generate interest.
Interest rates vary depending on how you choose to invest your money (dividend paying stocks can pay up to 6%, whereas money market funds may only pay 1%).
Assume you can get 4% on your money.
To determine how much money you would need to generate $23,000 annually (assuming a 4% interest rate), divide $23,000 by
0.04. $23,000/0.04 equals $575,000.
Therefore, you will need $575,000 of total coverage.
If you were to invest this money at a rate of 4%, it would provide your family with $23,000 of income per year. (Note that figures do not consider the use of any principal.) , Of course, that $23,000 would be taxed (reducing the amount), and inflation would drive up the cost of living.
Inflation is an issue, but fortunately your overall family expenses would likely fall over time, offsetting its effects.
For example, goods may get more costly, but once your child goes to post-secondary school you will also be able to reduce your savings that you applied towards their education.
The same applies for mortgage payments.
As for taxes, the $23,000 per year you would get from interest would be gross, that is to say, before taxes.
You will want to make sure you have $23,000 after taxes.
To determine this, you can use Bankrate's Net-to-gross paycheck calculator.Once you determine the gross income you would need to give you $23,000 annually, simply divide that gross income by
0.04 to give you the total coverage you need. , The above should give you a solid ballpark figure as to what your coverage needs are.
You should always confirm your results though.
You can do this by contacting an insurance broker/agent, or a financial planner/adviser.
They can help you to confirm your needs are accurate and take into account any unforeseen circumstances.
In addition, there are plenty of life insurance coverage calculators online.
Try them to out to see how the results compare to your own.
About the Author
James Clark
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow organization tutorials.
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