Insurance Needs Calculator
Work out illustrative cover figures based on information you provide
How much life cover, TPD, trauma, or income protection should an Australian household actually hold? There is no single right answer, but there are common frameworks that produce a defensible starting figure. This calculator walks through the inputs that matter: outstanding mortgage and other debts, dependants and the cost of raising them through to financial independence, expected funeral and final expenses, current liquid assets, and existing cover already held inside super or retail policies. The output is an illustrative figure, not a recommendation.
Each cover type uses a slightly different calculation. Life cover is typically sized to clear debts plus replace lost income for dependants until they are self-sufficient. TPD adds long-term care, home modifications, and a buffer for ongoing medical costs that life cover does not need to fund. Trauma is more often sized as a fixed buffer rather than a needs-based calculation, designed to cover time off work and treatment costs without depleting savings. Income protection is structured around a percentage of current income (capped at around 70%) and chosen waiting and benefit periods rather than a one-off lump sum. Across the nine insurers on the IMFL panel (AIA, Zurich, TAL, OnePath, ClearView, NEOS, Encompass, Acenda, and Futura), premium for the same illustrative figure can vary widely depending on age, occupation, smoking status, and health.
The figures produced here are general in nature and do not consider your full personal financial situation, objectives, or needs. They are a starting point for a conversation, not the final answer. To pressure-test the figure against indicative pricing across the panel, generate a quote in about three minutes, or book a call to walk through the inputs together.
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Common questions
Can I model different cover amounts and see how they affect the cost?
The calculator handles the first half: change the inputs (debts, dependants, income, existing assets) and the illustrative cover figure updates with them, so you can see how each assumption moves the number. Premiums are the second half, and they come from insurer rate tables rather than this tool: once you have a figure you want to test, generating quotes shows what that amount costs across the panel, and quoting two different amounts shows the price gap between them. Both steps are free and produce illustrative figures only.
Does the calculation account for my super balance and other assets?
Yes. Existing liquid assets and cover you already hold are subtracted from the gross need, which is exactly why the output falls as retirement approaches: a larger super balance and a smaller mortgage both shrink the gap the insurance would need to fill. For people closer to retirement, this subtraction is often the biggest driver of the result, and it is worth checking the default cover already inside your super before treating the output as a target.
Can this help me find gaps or overlaps in my existing cover?
That is the most useful way to use it. Run the calculation, then compare the illustrative figure against the total cover you actually hold, including default cover inside super. A total well below the figure is a gap you can point to; a total well above it, for obligations you no longer have, may be an overlap you are paying for. The comparison is illustrative rather than an audit, but it turns "do I have enough?" into a number.
Common ways Australians combine life, TPD and income protection (illustrative)
The three cover types answer different events, so they are commonly held together rather than chosen between: life cover sized to clear debts and support dependants, TPD adding a lump sum for care costs and home modifications if you can never work again, and income protection replacing part of monthly income through shorter interruptions. A frequent illustrative structure is life and TPD held for similar sums (often with TPD linked to the life policy) plus income protection at up to 70% of income with a waiting period matched to savings. These are common structures, not a recommendation; the mix that suits any person depends on circumstances this tool does not assess.