Who may need it?
People with children, a financially dependent partner, shared debt or final expenses that others could not meet may consider cover.
Life Insurance Calculator: Estimate Cover and Term Cost
Estimate how much level term life cover could help support your dependants, pay major obligations and fill a financial gap. Enter income, debts, family costs and available assets first; then add age, term, smoking and broad health details for a separate illustrative actuarial cost range.
Your details
Your estimate
Complete both steps and calculate to see a coverage breakdown, suggested term and three cost scenarios.
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Life insurance decisions that matter
Term or permanent?
Term cover protects for a fixed period. Whole life or permanent cover can continue for life if premiums are maintained and usually costs more.
How much cover?
Add realistic obligations and future support, then subtract assets and existing policies that would actually be available.
What affects cost?
Age, benefit, term, smoking, health, medical history, occupation, lifestyle and product features can affect real premiums.
What can underwriting change?
An insurer may request evidence, apply a different price, add exclusions, postpone or decline cover. This calculator cannot predict it.
When to recalculate?
Review after births, relationship changes, a home move, major debt or income changes, a new job and retirement-plan changes.
Worked examples
Rounded examples use default assumptions; costs are educational model ranges, not market prices.
Parent replacing income
Inputs: age 35, non-smoker, typical health, £40,000 income for 20 years, £180,000 mortgage, £10,000 debts, £50,000 education, £10,000 final costs, £50,000 existing cover and £20,000 savings.
Arithmetic: £800,000 + £180,000 + £10,000 + £50,000 + £10,000 − £50,000 − £20,000 = £980,000. Retirement suggests 33 years. Default model cost: £253–£368 monthly.
Change: 15 income-support years lowers need by £200,000 to £780,000.
Couple with savings and cover
Inputs: age 42, non-smoker, £30,000 income for 15 years, £120,000 mortgage, £15,000 debts, £30,000 education, £8,000 final costs, £150,000 cover, £100,000 savings and £25,000 assets.
Arithmetic: £450,000 + £120,000 + £15,000 + £30,000 + £8,000 − £150,000 − £100,000 − £25,000 = £348,000. Default 25-year model cost: £109–£159 monthly.
Change: If only £50,000 savings is available, the gap becomes £398,000.
Known benefit, cost only
Inputs: desired £500,000 benefit, age 50, smoker, typical health, 20 years.
Arithmetic: coverage is entered directly. Default model cost: £354–£514 monthly.
Change: Switching only to non-smoker reduces the model range to £224–£326 monthly; this is sensitivity, not underwriting.
Methodology, sources and limitations
Author: Starlight Tools editorial teamIndependent actuarial review: Not yet completedLast reviewed: 18 July 2026Report a correction or send feedback
Coverage and term
The needs result is annual income × support years + mortgage + debts + childcare or education + funeral costs − existing cover − savings − other available assets. Negative results become zero. The suggested term is the longest of dependant support, mortgage and retirement horizons, subject to the model’s 40-year and age-90 limits.
Illustrative actuarial cost
The Gompertz–Makeham teaching model estimates yearly survival and death probability, discounts an end-of-year death benefit and compares it with annual premiums paid in advance. Central annual cost is P = (benefit × A + claim expense × A) ÷ ä. The visible range tests mortality intensity at 85% and 125% of the broad-risk assumption, then adds the entered expense and loading. It is a sensitivity range—not a confidence interval, market premium or quote.
Real premiums include medical and lifestyle underwriting, expenses, commission, reinsurance, product features, tax and profit. This model omits live rate cards, inflation, lapses, tax, decreasing benefits, joint-life claims and eligibility. Currency changes labels only. It uses unisex assumptions: UK and EU retail pricing has used unisex premiums for new contracts since 21 December 2012; rules elsewhere differ.
Named sources and update policy
- MoneyHelper, “What is life insurance?” (accessed 18 July 2026): consumer guidance on dependants, debts, mortgage, income, employer cover, term types and cost factors.
- Continuous Mortality Investigation mortality and morbidity tables (accessed 18 July 2026): UK context; the “16” Series term tables were published in 2021 using 2015–2018 insured experience. This calculator does not reproduce or calibrate to those tables.
- Court of Justice of the European Union, Test-Achats press release (1 March 2011): unisex premium rule effective 21 December 2012.
Update cadence: at least annually and after material UK guidance or rule changes. Advanced defaults are transparent educational assumptions, not empirical retail-rate data.
Frequently asked questions
Is this result a life insurance quote?
No. It is an educational estimate of cover needs and actuarial cost, not a retail premium, recommendation or offer of insurance. Get personalised quotes from authorised providers.
How much life insurance coverage might I need?
A useful starting point is future income support plus mortgage, debts, education, childcare and final expenses, minus savings, other available assets and existing life cover. Adjust every item to reflect what your dependants would actually need.
How should I choose a life insurance term?
Consider how long dependants need support, the years left on a mortgage and the time until retirement. This calculator uses the longest relevant horizon as a starting point, subject to its 40-year and age-90 model limits.
Why will a real life insurance quote differ?
Insurers use current underwriting, medical and family history, occupation, lifestyle, product features, expenses, commission, reinsurance, tax and profit assumptions. This tool does not use insurer rate cards or live market data.
How do smoking and health affect cost?
Smoking and health can materially affect underwriting because they change expected claim risk. The broad choices here are educational sensitivity factors only; an insurer may assess risk differently or request medical evidence.
Should employer-provided life cover count?
You can include dependable employer death-in-service cover under existing cover, but remember that it will usually end when you leave that employer. You may prefer to count only the amount you expect to remain available.
Do I need life insurance if nobody depends on me?
You may need little or no income-replacement cover if nobody relies on you financially. You might still consider debts, funeral costs, a mortgage shared with someone else or future dependants.
What is the difference between term and whole life insurance?
Term insurance covers a fixed period and normally pays only if death occurs during that term. Whole life or permanent cover can continue for life if required premiums are paid, and is usually more expensive. This calculator models level term cover only.
Are my calculator inputs private?
Yes. The calculations run in your browser and this page does not send or store the values you enter. Avoid entering names, policy numbers or other identifying information.
How often should I recalculate my life insurance needs?
Review cover after major changes such as a birth, marriage, separation, home purchase, large debt change, job move or retirement planning update, and periodically even when circumstances appear stable.