Use this calculator to get an idea of how much life and disability cover you need. The calculator can give you an idea of whether you are under- or over-insured. However for an accurate answer to how much you need, a qualified financial adviser is best placed to help you.
Also remember that this calculator works on the assumption that you are saving enough to provide for your retirement and that you won't need disability cover or to provide for a dependant, such as a spouse, after you retire as their needs will be covered by your or their retirement savings.
The amount of life and disability cover you need is affected by how many dependant children or adults (elderly parent, disabled child or sibling) for whom you are financially responsible. Add each dependant and fill in the relevant details below.
Dependant
Current age
Financially dependent until what age
Number of years tertiary studies planned/remaining
The amount of life cover you need is also affected by how much debt you have. Your debt may be covered by credit life insurance you were obliged to put in place when you took on debt. Check the terms of these policies to see if your debt is covered.
Your life cover is sufficient
Your life cover is insufficient.
You should increase your life cover by: R
Your life cover is more than sufficient
You could reduce your life cover by: R
OR
You should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND increase your lump sum cover by: R
You should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND reduce your lump sum cover by: R
Your spouses/partner's life cover is sufficient
Your spouse/partner's life cover is insufficient.
You should increase your spouse/partner's life cover by : R
Your spouse's life cover is more than sufficient
Your spouse could reduce their life cover by: R
OR
Your spouse should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND increase lump sum disability cover by: R
Your spouse should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND reduce their lump sum cover by: R
Your disability cover is sufficient
Your disability cover is insufficient.
You should increase your disability cover by: R
Your disability cover is more than sufficient
You could reduce your disability cover by: R
OR
You should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND increase your lump sum cover by: R
You should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND reduce your lump sum cover by: R
Your spouse/partner's disability cover is sufficient
Your spouse/partner's disability cover is insufficient.
You should increase your spouse/partner's disability cover by : R
Your spouse's disability cover is more than sufficient
Your spouse could reduce their disability cover by: R
OR
Your spouse should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND increase lump sum disability cover by: R
Your spouse should take out income protection cover to pay a monthly amount of: R
AND reduce their lump sum cover by: R
Take note
We have used the information you input to make some assumptions about your savings and household expenses. The aim is to help you calculate your life and disability needs quickly. However, you can override these inputs your circumstances differ to those assumed here.
We have assumed:
You save 15% of your after-tax income for retirement;
You spend 15% of your after-tax income on insurance (life, disability, health and short-term);
You spend the remainder on living expenses;
Your living expenses are divided among yourself, your spouse and your dependants, with you and your spouse each spending double what you spend on each dependant;
If you have a spouse or life partner, we have assumed that expenses are paid from each spouse/partner's income in proportion to their earnings. In other words, if one spouse earns two-thirds of the household income, he or she pays two-thirds of the expenses and the other spouse pays one third;
If you or your spouse/life partner die, your funeral expenses (beyond any provided for by a funeral insurance policy) will be R35 000 each;
If you are disabled, the lump sum amount you will require to adapt your home/vehicle is R200 000.
Your children's tertiary education will cost R125 000 a year.
If you would like to change any of these assumptions to suit your circumstances, click on Display additional information below. Amend the information, hit Recalculate and then Display Full Details to review the revised calculation.
We have used the information you input to make some assumptions to help you calculate your life and disability However, you can override the info if your circumstances differ to those assumed here.
We have assumed your fixed household expenses - such as rates or maintenance and your insurance premiums amount to 15% of your after-tax income. For a more accurate calculation suited to your personal circumstances, enter the actual amount you spend on these expenses.
Remaining income
This represents the income you have remaining after retirement savings, debt repayments, insurance and general household expenses. This is the income you have left to spend on living expenses.
We have assumed that the remainder of your income is spent on living expenses (food, clothing and entertainment). We have assumed that each adult in a couple spends two units of your remaining income on these expenses and each child/dependant one unit. You can override these assumed amounts with your actual costs if circumstances are different. The calculator assumes school fees are included in these expenses.
Dependent
From your salary
From your spouse/partner's salary
Total
We have assumed amounts here which you can override. You may have funeral cover and not need to provide for a funeral or you may wish to provide a higher amount. Once-off costs you may wish to provide for should you be disabled include the cost of adapting your car or home for special equipment you may need such as a wheelchair.
Lump sum need: This is how much lump sum life cover you will need if you died tomorrow. It is assumed that this cover remains level - that is it does not escalate with inflation annually. If you are paying down debt, cover for this need should be reducing annually and if you are saving for your children's education needs, this should also offset any increases in the costs of their studies. However, you should review your life cover needs annually. Income need: The income need is assumed to be after tax and escalating with inflation.
