How much term life insurance is realistic for a family?
Enough to replace the paycheck your family would lose until the kids are grown, plus the debts and costs that land all at once. Most families get there with a term policy that ends when the kids are independent, bought while you are young and healthy.
At a glance
- Cover the years of paycheck your family would lose, plus the debts that land at once.
- Subtract what already exists: employer coverage, savings, survivor benefits.
- Buy term you own, while you are young and healthy. Never insurance as an investment.
- Review after each child, home or promotion.
Who this is for: A Hanford PD officer or NAS Lemoore sailor with a spouse or kids who depend on the paycheck, who has employer coverage and is not sure it is enough.
Reviewed by Theron Morgan, CEO and founder, Avidity Capital Inc., a registered investment adviser, on 2026-10-07.
Start with what your family would need, not with a rule of thumb
Picture the month after. The mortgage or rent is still due, the kids still eat, and one income is gone. The number you are looking for is how many years of that income your family would need to replace, plus whatever lands at once: the mortgage balance, car loans, credit cards, and the cost of a funeral.
Then subtract what is already there: your employer's group life coverage, savings you would want them to keep, and what your pension system pays a survivor. What is left is the gap a term policy has to cover. The app's survivor scenario shows what your household keeps if you die first, so the gap comes from your own numbers.
Employer coverage is a floor, not a plan
Hanford PD officers have a group life and accidental death policy the City pays for, with the amount set in the HPOA memorandum of understanding. NAS Lemoore sailors have SGLI, and a spouse can be covered under FSGLI up to a capped amount. Both are real benefits, and both end when you leave the job, right when a new policy costs more because you are older.
Count the employer coverage toward the need. Do not count on it being there in ten years.
Why term, and why never insurance as an investment
Term insurance is pure protection for a set number of years. You pay a level premium, and if you die during the term your family receives the amount. It is the cheapest way to cover a large gap, and a healthy officer or sailor in their twenties or thirties can usually buy a lot of it for little.
Policies sold as investments bundle a small amount of coverage with a savings account that carries high costs. They cost far more for the same coverage, so families end up underinsured while paying more. If someone offers free financial advice and steers you toward a life insurance investment, walk away and ask your adviser first.
How long and how much, in plain steps
Pick the term from the date your youngest child would be independent, or the date the mortgage would be paid, whichever is later. Pick the amount from the gap you worked out above. Then do the same for your spouse, including a spouse who does not earn a paycheck, because replacing what they do for the household costs money too.
Review the amount after each child, each home, and each promotion. A policy that fit at the academy or at your first duty station is usually short by the time there are two kids and a mortgage.
When you need a licensed insurance agent
Buying a policy requires a licensed life insurance agent, and many term policies require a medical exam. Avidity Capital does not sell insurance and receives no commission or referral fee on any policy. An Avidity adviser can size the gap with you and read a quote before you sign.
Questions people ask
Does my employer coverage count?
Yes, count it toward the need. Then plan for it to disappear, because it ends when you leave the job and it is not yours to take with you.
Should my spouse have a policy if they do not earn a paycheck?
Usually yes. If they died, you would pay someone to do what they do for the household, from childcare to everything that lets you work a shift. A smaller term policy covers that.
Term or whole life?
Term, for almost every family with a protection gap. Whole life and similar policies cost far more for the same coverage, so families end up with less protection. Buy coverage as coverage and invest separately.
What happens to SGLI when I separate?
It ends shortly after you leave service. You can convert it to VGLI, which costs more as you get older, or replace it with a term policy you bought while you were still healthy and serving.
When is the right time to buy?
Before you need it: when a spouse or a child first depends on your income, and while you are young and healthy enough to qualify at a low premium.
Next step
See your own numbers first. The free reality-check needs no account and no card.
This page is education, not individualized investment, tax, legal or insurance advice. It names no products, funds or allocations and carries no client stories. Where a document or a policy is needed, an estate attorney or a licensed insurance agent is the person who prepares it. Avidity Capital Inc. drafts no legal documents and receives no commission or referral fee from insurance, estate attorneys, mortgage lenders or real estate agents. Its compensation is the member's subscription and, for members who choose it, an advisory fee for managing assets; see Form CRS and Form ADV Part 2A. Avidity Capital Inc. is a registered investment adviser.