The question every agent answers with "more." Here's the actual math — DIME: Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education — minus what you already have.
Rule of thumb for education: ~$100k per child for in-state public, more for private. Count work coverage in "existing" — but remember it disappears if you change jobs.
Term life is pure coverage: you pay a small premium for 20–30 years of protection, and a healthy 35-year-old can often get $1M for the price of a streaming bundle. Whole life bundles insurance with a savings account and costs 5–15× more for the same death benefit — which is why it's pushed so hard. For most families whose need is temporary (kids grow up, mortgages get paid), term covers the actual risk.
The 10× rule ignores your actual life. A renter with no kids and a paid-off car needs far less; a single earner with three kids and a fresh 30-year mortgage needs more. DIME adds up the real obligations, then subtracts what you've already built. That's the number that lets your family grieve without a spreadsheet.
No dependents, no cosigned debt, enough savings to bury you? You may not need life insurance at all — and anyone selling it to you anyway is answering a different question than the one you asked.
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This tool uses the well-known DIME method — a straightforward way to size coverage around what your family would truly need if your income disappeared. DIME adds up four things: Debt (cards, car, other loans), Income (your salary times the number of years your family should be supported), Mortgage (the balance to pay off the home), and Education (future costs for your kids). The total is a coverage target that keeps your family in place rather than a number an agent picks to hit a commission.
Say you have $20,000 in debt, earn $70,000 and want 10 years of income replaced ($700,000), owe $250,000 on the mortgage, and expect $100,000 in education costs. DIME suggests roughly $1,070,000 in coverage. That sounds large until you see it's simply the sum of the real obligations your income currently carries. Term life insurance covers needs like these cheaply, because it's pure protection for a set number of years.
Term or whole life?
Term is far cheaper and covers exactly the years your family is most vulnerable (raising kids, paying a mortgage). Whole life mixes insurance with a savings component and costs much more. This is educational, not advice — but most families' needs are temporary, which is what term is built for.
Does my work policy count?
It helps, but employer coverage is often just one or two times salary and disappears if you change jobs. Factor it in, then size your own policy to fill the gap.
Should coverage change over time?
Yes — as debts shrink and kids grow up, your needed coverage usually falls, which is another reason level-term is a common fit.