Thinking about death and what happens to the family we will leave behind is not really an experience we want to go through. However, practicality encourages us to do so, specifically if we’re talking about the financial aspect of it.

Most of us are not prepared for death. Besides not having our will ready, we also don‘t have enough insurance coverage to take care of our loved ones in case of our untimely death.

Some of us think that life insurance is enough to take care of the expenses that our family may incur after our death. But is that really enough?

Life insurance is important, but it will never be enough to fully cover the financial needs of our family. There are a lot of factors that come into play when we die. And this includes:

– the funeral and burial expenses
– debts and other financial responsibilities
– and even the lifestyle that our loved ones will have to adjust to

Funeral and burial expenses are one of the major expenses that a family will have to shoulder after the death of a family member. In Europe, the average funeral cost is around €5,000. So, how much life insurance is enough?

Here are ways to calculate it:

METHOD 1: 6x to 10x annual earnings

A suitable sum for life insurance, according to the majority of insurance firms, is six to 10 times the yearly earnings. If you multiply your annual earnings by ten, you would choose coverage of $500,000 if it were $50,000. Some suggest increasing the coverage over the 10x threshold by an additional $100,000 per child.

METHOD 2: Years before retirement

Multiplying your yearly income by the number of years until retirement is another method for determining the required amount of life insurance. For instance, a 40-year-old would require $500,000 in life insurance (25 years x $20,000) if their current annual income is $20,000.

METHOD 3: Standard of living

The standard-of-living approach is based on how much money surviving family members would require to maintain their quality of living in the event that the insured party passed away. That sum should be multiplied by 20. The idea is that survivors can invest the death benefit capital and earn 5% or more while taking a 5% annual withdrawal from the death benefit, which is equal to the standard-of-living amount. The term “human life value (HLV) approach” is occasionally used to describe this kind of calculation.

METHOD 4: DIME

The DIME method is an additional approach (debt, income, mortgage, education). This is designed to provide just enough insurance to pay for the family’s costs in the case of an untimely death. Using the DIME method, you should have enough coverage to pay off all of your debts, including your mortgage, cover the cost of your children’s schooling, and replace your income for however many years it takes for your children to reach the age of 18.

It is crucial to understand how much and what kind of life insurance you require if you do. For the majority of people, renewable term insurance is enough, but you must consider your unique circumstances. To prevent being stuck with insufficient coverage or paying for pricey coverage that you don’t need, decide on what you’ll need in advance if you decide to purchase insurance from an agent.

Do your study to make sure you buy the greatest life insurance you can since knowledge is key to making the right decision in both investing and life insurance. Find and contrast life insurance quotes to see which one would best meet your specific requirements.