Professional services
Life Insurance Calculator
Estimates how much life cover a household would need, using a method rather than a recommendation.
Result
An estimating tool, not insurance advice and not a quote. Actual premiums are set by underwriting on factors no calculator sees: claims history, credit and loss data, exact location, construction, contract requirements and the insurer's own appetite. What cover you need is a question for a licensed broker who has looked at your situation. Rates here follow the general shape of mortality pricing and are not any insurer's table. Medical underwriting decides the health class and can move the premium by a factor of three. Tobacco use is the single largest rating factor most people control.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
A needs estimate built from the obligations cover would have to meet: income to replace for a chosen number of years, debts including a mortgage, future costs such as education, and final expenses, less existing assets and any cover already in force. The result is an estimate of need, not a recommendation about what to buy.
What moves the number
- Income to replace and for how many years.
- Debts, particularly a mortgage.
- Future obligations such as education.
- Existing assets and cover already in place.
Where this one goes wrong
Any needs estimate depends entirely on assumptions, and the number of years of income replacement is the one that moves it most: changing it from ten years to twenty roughly doubles the result. Choose it deliberately and see the effect of alternatives rather than accepting a default. A non-earning partner's contribution also has real replacement cost in childcare and household work that an income-based method misses entirely. This is arithmetic, not financial advice, and product choices belong with a licensed professional.
Before you quote
- Choose the replacement period deliberately and test alternatives.
- Include the replacement cost of non-earning household work.
- Subtract existing cover and assets before concluding anything.
Where the rules come from
Questions
About this calculator
How many years of income should be replaced?
It is the assumption that moves the answer most, since doubling the period roughly doubles the result. Rather than accepting a default, it is worth choosing deliberately against what the household would actually need and seeing what alternatives produce.
Does a non-earning partner need cover?
Their contribution has real replacement cost in childcare and household work, which an income-based calculation misses entirely. Whether to insure it is a household decision, and pricing the replacement cost at least makes it a considered one.
Is this a recommendation about what to buy?
No. It estimates a need from stated assumptions and says nothing about products, structures or suitability. Those are questions for a licensed professional who can consider the whole picture, and the estimate is a starting point for that conversation.
The formula
premium = cover / 1000 x a rate that rises with age, adjusted for term, health class, tobacco and gender
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How to use this calculator
- Cover amount ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $500,000.
- Age. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 38.
- Term (years). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 20.
- Health class. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Standard (1.0x).
- Tobacco use. Enter your own figure; the page starts at No.
- Gender. Enter your own figure; the page starts at Female.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to estimated annual premium, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Cover amount | $500,000 |
| Age | 38 |
| Term (years) | 20 |
| Health class | Standard (1.0x) |
| Tobacco use | No |
| Gender | Female |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Estimated annual premium main result | $509.01 |
| Per month | $42.42 |
| Total over the term | $10,180 |
| Cost per $1,000 of cover | $1.02 |
| Age when the term ends | 58 |
Roughly $42.42 a month for $500,000 of cover, which is $1.02 per thousand. Over the 20 year term that totals $10,180, and the policy ends at age 58.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only cover amount, this is what happens to estimated annual premium. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Cover amount ($) | Estimated annual premium |
|---|---|
| $250,000 | $254.50 |
| $375,000 | $381.75 |
| $500,000 example above | $509.01 |
| $750,000 | $763.51 |
| $1,000,000 | $1,018 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Cover amount ($)
- A money amount, starting at $500,000.
- Age
- A number, between 18 and 85, starting at 38.
- Term (years)
- A number, between 0 and 40, starting at 20.
- Health class
- Choose from Preferred plus (0.65x), Preferred (0.8x), Standard (1.0x), Substandard (1.8x).
- Tobacco use
- Choose from No, Yes (about 2.5x).
- Gender
- Choose from Female, Male (about 1.2x).
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Estimated annual premium | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Per month | A money figure. |
| Total over the term | A money figure. |
| Cost per $1,000 of cover | A money figure. |
| Age when the term ends | A number. |
Keep going
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