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Robert, The Insurance Beast mascot

Life Insurance Needs

Three methods side by side — DIME, income replacement (PV), and human capital. Size a gap, not a product.

Free · No signup · Verified July 2026

Robert, The Insurance Beast mascot

What “life insurance need” actually means

Life insurance “need” isn't a product — it's the gap between what your family would require if you died and what you've already got. This tool sizes that gap three ways: DIME (a simple sum of Debt, Income, Mortgage, and Education), income replacement (the present value of the income your household would lose), and human capital (the value of your remaining career earnings, an upper bound).

Enter your numbers and you'll see all three side by side. The spread between them is the point — there's no single “right” figure, but the range tells you roughly how much term coverage to price, and whether your existing group and personal coverage already fills it. A death benefit paid to a named beneficiary is tax-free, so the number you see is what your family actually keeps.

Robert — winking
Robert says: methods disagree by a lot — DIME gap $1.5M vs income-PV $777k. The spread is the lesson: pick a philosophy, don’t average product pitches.
Headline gap

$1,530,000

Largest gap method: DIME

Existing coverage

$440,000

Group + personal combined

DIME

$1,970,000

Need before gap

Gap $1,530,000

Debt + Income years + Mortgage + Education. Simple stock-taking, no discounting.

Income replacement (PV)

$1,217,261

Need before gap

Gap $777,261

Present value of net income needed, plus final expenses and debts, minus liquid assets.

Human capital

$1,753,287

Need before gap

Gap $1,313,287

Upper-bound: PV of remaining career earnings to retirement. Rarely a purchase target by itself.

DIME breakdown

Debt (non-mortgage)
$25,000
Income block
$1,425,000
Mortgage
$420,000
Education
$100,000
DIME total
$1,970,000

Educational estimates only — not insurance, tax, or legal advice. No products sold. Figures use verified government constants where cited and your inputs/assumptions elsewhere. Confirm against your policy wording and a licensed advisor or broker. Robert is a mascot, not a licensed insurance advisor.

Frequently asked questions

How much life insurance do I actually need?
There's no one-size rule like '10× salary.' A sound estimate adds your debts, the income your family needs replaced for a set number of years, your mortgage, and your children's future costs, then subtracts what you already have (savings and group coverage). Because a death benefit paid to a named beneficiary is tax-free, you don't gross it up. This tool runs three methods so you can see the range — the spread between them is the insight, not a bug.
Is this a product recommendation?
No. We size a coverage gap with three educational methods. We never recommend a carrier, product type to buy, or premium. Talk to a licensed advisor for personal recommendations.
Why do the three methods disagree?
DIME is a simple additive checklist. Income-replacement discounts future cash needs. Human capital values your remaining career earnings (an upper bound). The spread between methods is the lesson — not a bug.
What about group life at work?
Enter it, but treat it carefully: group life usually ends when the job ends. The tool warns when coverage is group-only so you can stress-test a layoff scenario.
Can the need legitimately be zero?
Yes. A single person with no dependents, no debts, and no mortgage may need little or no life insurance. Saying so plainly is more trustworthy than inventing a gap.
Where is my data stored?
Only in your browser — no account required.

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