Size cover against obligations that continue without your income: mortgage, childcare, and years until dependents stand on their own.
A simple income-replacement frame
Estimate annual spending that would continue, subtract the surviving partner’s income and benefits, then multiply by the years of shortfall. Add debts you want cleared immediately. The result is a planning number — not a quote.
Mortgage vs living costs
Clearing the mortgage removes a large bill but does not feed anyone. Many families pair decreasing cover on the loan with level cover or family income benefit for day-to-day costs.
| Building block | Example question |
|---|---|
| Debts | What must be cleared on death? |
| Years of dependency | Until youngest is 18 or 21? |
| Surviving income | What still arrives monthly? |
| Care costs | What unpaid work must be replaced? |
Round numbers from adverts are marketing. Your spreadsheet is the brief.
Inflation and future fees
School fees and childcare rise. Indexation options increase cover (and premiums) over time. Decide consciously rather than discovering drift on a statement years later.
Practical next steps
Treat this topic as a decision with paperwork attached. Write down the household facts that matter — who depends on income, which debts must clear, and which workplace benefits already exist — before you compare products. A clear brief stops glossy quotes from steering the plan.
When you speak to an insurer or adviser, ask for definitions and exclusions in writing, and keep PDFs of every illustration you rely on. Markets and underwriting change; your notes are the audit trail.
- Confirm what cover you already hold (personal and workplace).
- Size need against obligations, not round marketing numbers.
- Align wills, trusts, and nominations with the policy.
- Never cancel old cover until replacement is on risk.
Mistakes families make here
The common failure mode is optimising for the cheapest monthly figure while ignoring structure: joint versus single policies, accelerated versus additional benefits, and whether a trust exists at all. Another is letting group benefits create false confidence until a resignation removes them overnight.
Build a short annual review habit. An hour with schedules and nomination forms prevents most emergency weekends after a diagnosis or redundancy.
Re-run the numbers after every major life event.
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