Insurance & Protection Tools
Term Insurance Needs Planner
Estimate a protection range from the household needs that actually matter: income replacement, support years, liabilities, education and other goals, emergency reserves, existing life cover and assets you would realistically use.
Build the estimate from household needs
Start with the income your household depends on, then add liabilities, future goals and emergency needs. Existing cover and usable assets are deducted transparently.
1. Household income support
Estimate how much of today's household income would need to continue, and for how long.
Income support formula: annual income × household dependency × support period. When inflation is above 0%, each future year is increased by the entered inflation assumption. No investment-return assumption is used.
2. Liabilities and future goals
Add obligations that would still need funding if household income stopped.
3. Existing protection and usable assets
Only include assets you would realistically use to fund the household protection plan.
Avoid automatically counting a home, retirement account or other asset that the family may not be willing or able to use for protection needs.
Scenario range
One calculation, three planning views
The scenarios deliberately show different levels of protection instead of presenting one number as universally correct.
Transparent calculation breakdown
Every major contribution to the balanced scenario is visible below.
| Component | Amount | How it is treated |
|---|---|---|
| Income support | $840,000 | 70% of annual income for 15 years. |
| Liabilities | $180,000 | Added to household protection needs. |
| Emergency reserve | $25,000 | Added to core needs. |
| Education goals | $80,000 | Included in the balanced and higher scenarios. |
| Other future goals | $30,000 | Included in the balanced and higher scenarios. |
| Existing personal cover | −$100,000 | Deducted from needs. |
| Employer cover | −$50,000 | Deducted from needs; confirm whether this cover would remain available. |
| Usable liquid assets | −$40,000 | Deducted only because you marked these assets as usable for protection. |
What-if stress test
See how two common changes affect the balanced coverage gap without changing your saved inputs.
+5 years of income support
Support horizon becomes 20 years.
Scenario gap
$1,245,000
Liabilities fully repaid
Models the coverage gap if current loans/mortgage no longer need protection.
Scenario gap
$785,000
Planning estimate — not a policy recommendation
This tool does not tell you which insurer to choose, whether you are eligible for cover, what premium you will pay, or what policy terms are suitable. Insurance needs depend on household circumstances, policy definitions, tax treatment, employer benefits and local regulation. Review important decisions with an appropriately qualified professional where required.
Why this planner is different
Avoid the “income × 10” black box
Simple rules of thumb can be useful for a quick discussion, but they do not show whether the household has a large mortgage, several dependants, education goals, existing insurance or significant liquid assets. FormatForge exposes each part of the estimate so you can challenge the assumptions.
Income support
Choose the percentage of household income that dependants would still need and the number of support years.
Current obligations
Add loans, mortgage balances and an emergency/final-expense reserve.
Future goals
Model education and other major goals separately instead of hiding them inside one multiplier.
Existing protection
Deduct personal cover, employer cover and only the liquid assets you consider genuinely usable.
Recommended review process
Use the estimate as a planning conversation
- Start with current household income and the percentage that dependants actually rely on.
- Review the support horizon rather than accepting a default number of years.
- Separate debts, emergency needs and future goals so each assumption can be changed independently.
- Confirm the amount and portability of existing employer or group life insurance.
- Check whether the assets deducted from the estimate are genuinely available to the household.
- Save or print the report, then compare the assumptions with professional advice and actual policy terms where appropriate.
Frequently asked questions
How does the Term Insurance Needs Planner calculate coverage?
The planner estimates household income support over the chosen period, then adds liabilities, emergency reserves and future goals. Existing personal cover, employer cover and assets you mark as usable are deducted. The complete calculation is shown on the page.
Why does FormatForge show three coverage scenarios?
Insurance needs are not one-size-fits-all. The Essential scenario focuses on income support, liabilities and emergency needs. Balanced also includes future goals. Higher Protection adds a 20% planning buffer to the Balanced result.
Does the result tell me how much insurance I should buy?
No. The result is an educational planning estimate based on the assumptions you enter. It does not recommend a particular policy, insurer, premium, policy term or final coverage amount.
Should I count all of my savings as available assets?
Only count assets you realistically expect the household to use for protection needs. A home, retirement account or long-term investment may not be appropriate to deduct automatically.
Does employer life insurance count?
The planner lets you include employer or group cover, but you should confirm its amount, eligibility rules and whether it remains available if employment changes.
Is my financial information uploaded?
The current Term Insurance Needs Planner performs its calculations in your browser. It also lets you save a local FormatForge plan file if you want to restore the assumptions later.
Insurance workflow
Continue with Insurance & Protection Tools
This planner is the first FormatForge insurance workflow. The collection will grow around practical planning, policy comparison and document organisation rather than insurer rankings or product recommendations.
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