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Life insurance calculator

Work out how much life cover you need

It’s not easy to calculate how much life insurance cover you need. Finding a balance between making sure you leave enough for your loved ones and affordability can be a fine line.

When you compare life insurance quotes, we’ll ask you how much cover you need. So, whether you’re looking for single person life insurance, life insurance for families, or cover if you’re over 50, our life insurance calculator can help you work out how much cover you might need.

Life insurance calculator

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Tell us what you want your life insurance to cover Select as many as you like
Tell us about your circumstances

Results

We estimate the cover you might need is:

£64,000

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How did we calculate your result?

Children are estimated to cost £6000 per year until the age of 18.

University costs are based on a 3 year course. They include both tuition fees, £9000 per year in England and living costs, estimated to be £8000 per year.

Supporting your partner / spouse is calculated using your salary. People usually choose cover that is 4 times their salary.

Debts are included up to the amount you need.

Mortgage costs are included up to the amount you need.

Funeral costs are included up to the amount you need.

This is an illustration of the amount of life insurance you may need based on the information you've provided. It should not be taken as a recommendation or advice.

How does the life insurance calculator work?

To get started, select what you'd like a life insurance policy to cover. This can include:

Then, let us know of any key financial commitments and responsibilities you have. The calculator totals these costs to estimate how much cover you may need. It factors in anything such as living expenses, dependants, and future costs.

Once you've told us about the cover you may need, you’ll get an instant estimate of recommended cover amounts. You can then use this estimate as a guide when comparing life insurance quotes!

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What are the different types of life insurance?

Other than whole of life insurance, which is effectively life assurance, there are other types of life insurance, such as:

Decreasing term insurance: A policy whereby cover amounts reduce over time. It'll last for a set term and is often used to match a lengthy repayment, such as a mortgage, for example. This type of policy is usually the cheapest option available.

Level term insurance: The cover amount will stay the same throughout the policy term and can help to cover large costs such as an interest-only mortgage, for example. It's worth considering if you're looking for a guaranteed payout amount for a set term.

In addition, there are other policies that offer cover for more specific requirements, including:

Critical illness cover

Income protection

Joint life insurance

Over 50s life insurance

Mortgage life insurance

That's why it's worth assessing if you need a life insurance policy and what you need it for.

How much life insurance do I need?

When you're working out how much life insurance you need, always consider your financial commitments and how a payout can help your beneficiaries. It's worth considering:

  • Your family’s future: Whether you have a partner, children, or both, think about how much would be needed to help your loved ones financially. It's also worth asking yourself how long they'll need support. Do you have joint financial responsibilities? Would you like to leave behind money for your children's university fees? You should also consider other amounts for holidays and general expenses.
  • Debts and credit cards: If you have a credit card or finance on cars or household items, you’ll want enough cover on your policy to pay any outstanding balances off. This can offer you the peace of mind that you'll leave no debts behind for your family to settle.
  • Any mortgage balances: Large financial commitments, such as paying off your mortgage balance, might help guide you in judging how much cover you need. You should be able to get your outstanding balance from your lender or find it on your most recent mortgage statement.
  • Your rental contract: Renting a property? Consider your rental contract and how much money you need to honour it. This will also depend on how long your family plans to stay at the address. You should also budget for annual rental increases as well as any other monthly bills and fees you currently pay. This could be things like council tax, gas and electricity and water bills.
  • Whether you’d like to leave a lump sum: This could be unseen expenses, leaving a nest egg for family, other financial commitments or daily living costs. This figure might also include funeral expenses, so for reference, according to Sunlife’s Cost of Dying report, the average cost of a basic funeral is £4,285*. Could your family afford to cover those costs without there being cover in place?
  • If you have any other life insurance policies: It might be worth adjusting your amount of cover if you have other policies, such as ‘death in service’ from your employer. Or you could use this in addition to your new life insurance policy, acting as a lump sum or an extra amount.

*Sunlife Cost of Dying Report 2025

How can I lower the cost of life insurance?

Paying for life insurance can seem like an unnecessary expense, especially when you already have other insurance policies and everyday living costs to manage. However, there are several ways you may be able to reduce your life insurance premiums, including:

  • Choose a lower cover amount: It might seem like a good idea to cover all bases with a large cover amount, but would you actually need it? Lowering your cover amount to what you realistically need can help you save on premiums.
  • Reduce the policy term: Generally speaking, shorter policies are usually cheaper. So, if your ideal life insurance policy is to cover outstanding financial commitments, you might be able to find a policy term that fits what you need.
  • Consider decreasing cover: The cover amount of a decreasing term life insurance policy lowers over time. So, let's say you have a mortgage; by paying it off over time, you'll have less to pay. So, if the outstanding balance reduces over time, a decreasing term life insurance policy could mirror the balance. Premiums for this type of policy are also generally lower compared to others.
  • Improve your health: If you declare yourself as a smoker during your life insurance application, providers will take that risk into account – potentially raising your premiums. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help reduce premiums.
  • Maintain a healthy lifestyle: If you declare yourself as a smoker during your application, insurers may view you as a higher risk, which could increase your premiums. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle may help reduce the cost of cover.
  • Pay annually instead of monthly: Like most other insurance policies, paying for an insurance policy monthly tends to cost more, as an interest charge is included for doing so. Interest charges aren't applied when paying for your policy in one annual payment, so it's worth considering if you can afford to do so.
  • Only add essential extras: Life insurance providers may offer a range of features to include in your policy at an additional cost. These could be virtual GP consultations, mental health support or bereavement support, for example. Deciding against any unnecessary costly extras can help you save.
  • Apply sooner rather than later: As a general rule of thumb, life insurance premiums are typically cheaper when you’re younger. It's easy to overlook when to get life insurance when you're young, but planning ahead can make a big difference to what you pay for a policy.

How long should I get life insurance for?

It's all about matching up a life insurance policy to your financial commitments and considering your loved ones to what degree you'd like cover.

As a general rule of thumb, consider the following steps:

  • Choose a policy length that covers your major financial responsibilities
  • Match the term to a mortgage length or other large financial repayments
  • Roughly estimate how long any dependents rely on your income
  • Factor in any future costs you'd like to financially support

Many people choose terms between 10 and 40 years, depending on their needs. Otherwise, you might decide that lifelong cover is the right option for you, so it's worth looking into a whole of life policy instead.

Your circumstances can always change, so many insurers do offer the option of altering your policy. If you want to extend the policy term or convert a term life insurance policy to whole of life, speak to your insurer to find out your options.

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Need more help?

Is there an over-60 life insurance calculator?

The life insurance calculator is universal, regardless of age, but your date of birth is a key factor used to calculate life insurance premiums. As a general rule of thumb, the older you are, the greater insurance risk you pose, therefore your premiums are likely to be more expensive.

Can you have more than one life insurance policy?

Yes, you can. It'll definitely offer you more cover and enable you to tailor different policies to multiple aspects of your life. However, it'll more than likely increase the amount you pay for life insurance and make organising your policies a little more complicated.

What is whole of life insurance?

Also known as 'life assurance', it's a type of life insurance policy that's guaranteed to pay out when you die, so long as you keep paying premiums. In addition, the cover amount will generally stay the same as you designated it when you buy a policy.

Is joint life insurance cheaper than 2 single policies?

Generally, yes. A single joint life insurance policy typically has a lower monthly premium than the combined cost of two individual policies. This is because the policy covers two people but only provides a single payout.

Confused.com, 2nd Floor, Greyfriars House, Greyfriars Road, Cardiff, CF10 3AL, United Kingdom. Confused.com is a trading name of Inspop.com Limited and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm reference no. 310635).

The Confused.com Life Insurance service is arranged by Reassured Ltd, who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and entered on the Financial Services Register under reference 616144. Registered Office: 1st Floor, Belvedere House, Bading View, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG21 4HG. 06838409 registered in England and Wales.

Our service is free and compares a wide range of trusted household names. Confused.com is an intermediary and receives commission from Reassured Ltd which is based on a percentage of the total annual premium if you decide to buy through our website. We pride ourselves on impartiality on independence - therefore we don't promote any one insurance provider over another.