Life Insurance Calculator UK
How much life cover do you actually need? Compare the three approaches UK households and advisers use, DIME, the income multiplier, and Capital Needs Analysis, side by side.
Your situation
Drives the education component.
≈£30k state university, £50k+ independent school, £150k Oxbridge + grad.
Debts & cover
Cards, loans, car finance.
Employer death-in-service + personal policies.
Method assumptions
Default 10. Often set to years until the youngest child is independent.
Default 10×. Suggested for you: 11×.
Annual income the family needs if you die.
Income assumed to rise with inflation.
Net-of-inflation return on the lump sum.
Recommended cover range
The three methods give a sensible band rather than one "right" number.
DIME breakdown
Which method should you use?
DIME (Debt + Income + Mortgage + Education) is the most popular consumer rule of thumb, it adds up concrete liabilities and a block of income. Good for a quick, defensible figure. Go deep on DIME →
Income multiplier (commonly 10×, ranging 7–15×) is the fastest sanity check. It ignores your specific debts but is a useful cross-reference. Go deep on the multiplier →
Capital Needs Analysis is what UK IFAs use: it works out the lump sum needed to fund a target family income for a set period (allowing for inflation and investment return), plus one-off costs. The most tailored, the most inputs. Go deep on CNA →
Related calculators
Other free UK tools that follow on from this calculation.
Inheritance Tax Calculator
IHT at 40% (or 36% with 10% to charity) using both nil-rate bands and spouse transfers.
Pension Calculator
Project workplace auto-enrolment and SIPP contributions to estimate retirement income.
Annuity Calculator
Convert a pension pot into a guaranteed retirement income, single or joint life.
Mortgage Calculator
Monthly repayments, total interest and LTV for any UK mortgage scenario.