Guide
How much life insurance do you need?
A tool to work through the logic: years of income you want to cover, your debts, schooling costs, and what's already protecting you.
A straightforward approach: calculate what your earnings could have supported over the years you want to cover, then subtract any protection already in place. This isn't math class—term policies come in round figures, and the goal is a number that keeps your household on its feet during the years that count.
Coverage estimate
A rough formula: (annual income × years) + debts + education costs − existing coverage = your estimate, rounded to the nearest five thousand dollars. This is a place to start, not professional guidance.
Why those inputs
Income replacement span. Most advisors suggest covering ten to thirty years of earnings, depending on how long family members would rely on that income. In Rialto, families raising children typically aim for the longer range because expenses for housing, school, and childcare cluster in those peak years.
What you owe. For most households, a mortgage is the biggest obligation. If your coverage was enough to pay it off, your family could choose to stay in your home without being pushed out by money pressure.
College and training. Set aside something per child in current dollars. Building it in now is simpler than stacking on another policy down the line.
What's already there. Bank accounts you could tap and insurance through your job. Keep in mind that job-based coverage typically walks out the door when you do, so people often count just a portion of it.
Once you've got a target number, the quote tool will show you the price for that amount across 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30-year terms from every carrier. Many people buy slightly more than their estimate because the monthly increase is modest when you're younger.