The seven to ten: How big life insurance policies ought to be

28 Jan

Preparing life insurance should provide peace of mind for people by providing an alternate means to help their families and beneficiaries financially in the event that they die prematurely. Younger adults with young children are in most need of the bulwark that insurance provides. Usually, however, they are not quite aware as to how big their life insurance should be.

Image Source: Fastweb.com

Image Source: Fastweb.com

There’s no hard or fast rule in determining how big or small a person’s life insurance ought to be. While a rule of thumb dictates that the person’s insurance must be about 7 to 10 times the amount of a person’s average monthly income, this is by no means a universal rule.

Image Source: PastorDanielCox.com

Image Source: PastorDanielCox.com

Variations that influence how big an insurance policy should be include the income that people would want to provide their surviving family members. To make a rough estimate of the ideal size of an insurance policy, people should subtract the other available income sources they would be able to tap such as retirement accounts, pensions, and in the case of spouses, social security. The remainder should make up the minimum amount that the life insurance should cover.

This insurance calculator should help determine the shortfall that life insurance would need to cover.

Image Credit: Roberts.edu

Image Credit: Roberts.edu

The Freeway Insurance website features more information on many kinds of insurance, including life insurance.

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