There are many ways of determining the amount of cover you need, but as a basic rule: Any insurance is better than none if you need it.
Method 1: The basic one
If you just want cover for peace of mind for your loved ones, in most cases 3x-5x your annual salary (before taxes) is enough money to cover all basic expenses for a couple of years and will allow them to recover from their loss and be able to move on in life.
Method 2: The detailed one
If you want to dive into more detail, then you can break up these typical components, and decide yourself how much cover you want per component. If you're not the sole earner in your family usually somewhere near the lower amount is fine, if you are the sole earner, or you want to be on the really safe side, you should orient yourself on the upper amount.
Component | Lower amount | Upper amount |
Mortgage | 75% of mortgage cost | 100% of mortgage cost |
Children | 10k per child per year until child is 18 | 20k per child per year until child is 25 |
Partner | 3x your yearly salary before taxes | 5x your yearly salary before taxes |
Any debt you might have | 100% | 100% |
From the sum here you can subtract any savings you have and any other life insurance sum you have.
Method 3: The custom one
If you're having trouble you can speak to one of our experts and see how other people in exactly your situation decide, as well as hear how an expert thinks about your situation.
Our goal is never to make the decision for you, but rather to give you the information so you can make a well informed decision yourself.