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Human Life Value Calculator

Work out how much life cover your family would need to stay financially secure without your income. Enter your income, spending, loans and existing cover to see your human life value and the cover you still need.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Nothing you enter is stored
  • Updated 30 Sept 2026

Calculate your human life value

Results update as you change the numbers.

18 years70 years
40 years75 years
₹
₹1,00,000₹1,00,00,000

Your take-home income for the year, after tax

₹
₹0₹50,00,000

Your own travel, food, clothes and hobbies; your family would not need this

₹
₹0₹2,00,00,000

Home, car, personal and education loans

₹
₹0₹5,00,00,000

Sum assured of your term and other life insurance plans

₹
₹0₹2,00,00,000

Money your family could use, such as FDs, mutual funds and PF

Growth and return assumptionsIncome grows 5% a year, money earns 8% a year
0% p.a.15% p.a.

How fast you expect your income to rise

1% p.a.15% p.a.

What your family could earn by investing the cover safely

Life cover you need

₹1.85 Cr

Your human life value is ₹1.85 Cr, about 15.4 times your yearly income

How we worked it out

  • Income your family would lose, in today's money₹1,84,84,099
  • Cover you still need₹1,84,84,099

Based on ₹9,00,000 a year going to your family for the next 30 years.

A term insurance plan is usually the most affordable way to buy this much life cover.

Check your cover again when you get a raise, take a loan or have a child.

What is human life value?

Your human life value (HLV) is the money your family would lose if you were not there to earn. It is the value today of all the income you would bring home for them between now and retirement.

It is the most reliable way to decide how much life insurance to buy, because it is based on your own income, age and responsibilities rather than a rough rule.

How is human life value calculated?

  • Start with the part of your yearly income that goes to your family: your take-home pay minus what you spend on yourself.
  • Grow it each year by the rate you expect your income to rise, until you retire.
  • Convert each future year's amount into today's money, using the return your family could earn by investing the payout.
  • Add up these amounts. The total is your human life value.
Human life value

HLV = Σ family share of income × (1 + growth)ᵗ ÷ (1 + return)ᵗ, for each year until retirement

For example, a 30-year-old taking home ₹12 lakh a year and spending ₹3 lakh of it on themselves gives ₹9 lakh a year to their family. Over 30 working years, with income rising 5% a year and money earning 8%, that is worth about ₹1.85 Cr today. Add a ₹30 lakh home loan and the family would need ₹2.15 Cr. With ₹50 lakh of existing cover and ₹5 lakh of savings, they still need about ₹1.6 Cr more.

From human life value to the cover you need

Your family would also need to clear any loans, so these are added to your human life value. Life cover you already have and savings your family could use are then taken away. What is left is the extra cover to buy.

Cover you need

Cover = HLV + loans − existing life cover − savings and investments

Human life value vs thumb rules

A common shortcut is to buy cover worth 10 to 15 times your yearly income. It is a reasonable starting point, but it ignores your age, your loans and the savings you already have.

A younger person with many working years ahead usually needs more than the thumb rule suggests, while someone close to retirement with good savings may need less. Human life value takes all of this into account.

What changes your human life value?

If this goes upYour human life value
Your incomeGoes up
Years left until retirementGoes up
Expected income growthGoes up
What you spend on yourselfGoes down
Return your family could earnGoes down

Because these change over time, review your cover every few years and after big events such as marriage, a child, a new home loan or a large raise.

How to get the cover you need

A term insurance plan is usually the most affordable way to buy a large amount of life cover. It pays your family the sum assured if you die during the policy term. Choose a term that lasts at least until your planned retirement age, and a sum assured close to the cover this calculator suggests.

Frequently asked questions

1.What is a human life value calculator?

It works out the value today of the income you would earn for your family until retirement, adds your loans, and subtracts your existing cover and savings. The result is the life insurance cover you still need.

2.How much life insurance cover do I need?

Enough to replace the income your family depends on until your retirement, plus any loans, minus the cover and savings you already have. For many earners this comes to 10 to 20 times their yearly income, but it depends on your age and responsibilities.

3.Should I use my gross or take-home income?

Use your take-home income after tax. Your family would receive the insurance payout, not your salary, so what matters is the money that actually reaches the household.

4.Why do my own expenses reduce my human life value?

Money you spend only on yourself, such as your own travel and hobbies, would not be needed by your family if you were not there. Only the part of your income that supports them needs to be replaced.

5.Does human life value change over time?

Yes. It usually rises as your income grows and falls as you get closer to retirement. Check it every few years and after major life events.

6.Can I buy cover equal to my full human life value?

Insurers set a maximum cover based on your age and income, and it is often close to your human life value. You can also split the cover across more than one policy.

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Savings grow over years, but life can change overnight. Life cover and long-term plans make sure your family's goals stay on track even if you are not there.

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Guides to read next

Plain-English guides from the Policywings desk on the same topic as this calculator.

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