We estimate life insurance needs with the widely used DIME method: Debt + Income + Mortgage + Education, minus any coverage you already have.

Step by step

1. Income: your annual income times the number of years you want to replace it.
2. Debt & Mortgage: outstanding mortgage plus other debts.
3. Education: estimated future education costs you want covered.
4. We add those, then subtract your existing coverage; a positive result is your coverage gap.

The math

need = (annualIncome × years) + mortgage + otherDebts + education − existingCoverage (floored at 0).

Sources & assumptions

• The DIME framework is a commonly published life-insurance needs method (public domain).

Note: Nothing proprietary — the full calculation is described here.

1. This DIME estimate is educational only and is not an insurance recommendation or quote.
2. Your actual needs depend on your full financial picture. Speak with your advisor.