How Much Life Insurance Does Your Family Need?

The Warner Agency · October 1, 2026 · Cos Cob, Connecticut

At a glance

Start with the obligations you want to address, then subtract resources you can reasonably use. This worksheet organizes a conversation. It does not determine the right policy or provide a quote.

Choose a planning period for household support

Enter the monthly amount the household would need help covering and the number of years you want to consider. Use a budget, not automatically your gross salary. Think about dependents, the surviving adult’s income and the expenses that would change. This worksheet uses simple multiplication and does not model investment returns or inflation.

Keep debts and ongoing spending separate

If you include paying off the mortgage in the debt field, exclude the mortgage payment from monthly household support. Apply the same approach to other debts. Otherwise the worksheet would count both the payoff and continuing payments. Include childcare either in monthly support or in additional future costs, not in both.

Decide which resources are genuinely available

Enter savings earmarked for these needs. Do not assume every retirement account, education fund or asset can be used immediately. List each person’s individual life insurance separately from workplace benefits and check how long each policy will remain in force. The worksheet shows workplace benefits as a separate comparison.

Review the amount alongside duration and budget

A planning gap is only one part of choosing coverage. A household might have a mortgage lasting many years and childcare needs that change sooner. Bring those different time periods and your premium budget to the conversation. Availability and underwriting are separate from this arithmetic.

Revisit the plan as your family changes

A birth, home purchase, job change or policy nearing the end of its term is a reason to review the inputs again. A fixed benefit has changing purchasing power as prices change. For illustration only, at an assumed 3% annual inflation rate, $500,000 received 20 years from now would have about $277,000 of today’s purchasing power. That is an assumption, not a forecast.

Your planning worksheet

Put your household needs in one place.

Complete this for one adult at a time. All fields are required; enter 0 when a category does not apply. Numbers stay in this page and are not saved or sent.

Monthly household support needed ($)

Exclude payments for debts you plan to pay off below.

Years of support to consider

Choose your planning period.

Debts to pay off, including mortgage ($)

Enter outstanding balances rather than monthly payments.

Additional future costs ($)

Education or other costs not included in monthly support.

Savings available for these needs ($)

Include only resources you plan to use for this purpose.

Existing individual life coverage ($)

Review the amount and remaining term for the person being considered.

Existing workplace life benefit ($)

Shown separately because continuation terms depend on the plan.

Questions people ask

Does the worksheet recommend a policy amount?

No. It shows a simple planning difference based on your inputs. It does not account for inflation, returns, taxes, benefit eligibility or changing expenses. Review the result with a licensed team member.

Are my worksheet numbers sent to the agency?

No. Calculations stay in this page and are not saved or sent. The quote request is a separate form. You can request a review without sharing the worksheet inputs.