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Life Insurance Coverage
How much life insurance do you actually need? DIME (Debt + Income + Mortgage + Education) gives you a defensible peso figure in seconds — and we cross-check it against the 10× annual income rule of thumb.
Recommended life insurance coverage
₱8,900,000
Based on DIME, you need ₱8,900,000 more in life insurance coverage to protect your dependents from the four risks: debt, income loss, mortgage, and education.
| D — Debts | ₱300,000 |
| I — Income replacement | ₱6,000,000 |
| M — Mortgage | ₱2,000,000 |
| E — Education | ₱1,600,000 |
| Gross coverage need | ₱9,900,000 |
| Less: existing coverage | − ₱1,000,000 |
| Coverage gap (what you still need) | ₱8,900,000 |
Quick sanity check (10× annual income)₱6,000,000
A common rule of thumb. If your DIME number is dramatically below this, you're probably underestimating dependents' needs. If above, you may be over-insuring.
Tool reviewed 2026-06-14
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How it works
D — Debt. All outstanding consumer debt — credit cards, personal loans, car loans, anything that does not have its own redemption insurance. You want your payout to retire these obligations so the family is not chased.
I — Income. Monthly take-home × 12 × years. This is the bucket that replaces the wage you would have earned, giving your dependents time to adjust. 5–10 years is typical; longer if you have very young kids.
M — Mortgage. Outstanding home loan balance. Skip this if you already have mortgage-redemption insurance (MRI); otherwise the payout retires the housing loan so the family stays in the house.
E — Education. Future tuition for each child through college. Multiply by the number of children who still need to be funded. PH private-college tuition typically runs ₱400K–₱1.5M total over four years.
Gap = (D + I + M + E) − Existing Coverage. That is the additional sum-insured you should be shopping for. We also display a 10× annual income rule of thumb as a sanity check — large divergence means double-check your inputs.
Pure browser-side math. No tracking, no accounts. Use this to argue with your agent, not as a substitute for a licensed financial advisor.
§ 03
Frequently asked questions
What is the DIME method?
DIME stands for Debt, Income, Mortgage, and Education — four categories of financial obligations that a life insurance payout should cover. Add the four together, subtract any existing coverage, and you have a credible estimate of how much life insurance you actually need. It's used by US and PH financial planners because it's transparent, easy to defend, and avoids the temptation to over- or under-insure.
How does this compare to the '10× annual income' rule?
10× annual income is a fast sanity check — it usually lands in the same ballpark as DIME for middle-income earners with a mortgage and young kids. We show both so you can compare. If DIME is dramatically lower than 10×, you may be under-insuring against debt or education costs. If it's dramatically higher, recheck whether you really need to fund 15+ years of income replacement.
What income replacement period should I use?
Common ranges in PH financial-planning guides: 5 years if your dependents are nearly self-sufficient, 10 years if you have school-age kids, 15–20 years if your kids are very young or your spouse won't return to work. The longer the period, the higher your premium, so balance protection against affordability.
Should I include the mortgage if my insurance is mortgage-redemption insurance (MRI)?
If your housing loan is already covered by MRI from your lender, set Mortgage to 0 here — the lender's payout will retire the loan separately. If you have no MRI, or you want a single life policy to cover everything, include the outstanding balance.
What about funeral expenses and final medical bills?
DIME doesn't include a separate funeral line. PH financial planners typically add ₱150K–₱500K to the Debt component as 'final expenses' — burial, hospital bills not covered by HMO/PhilHealth, estate-settlement costs. You can do this yourself by inflating the Debt input.
Why does the result ignore inflation?
It uses today's prices for education and today's pesos for income. For a quick coverage estimate, this is fine — you'll review your policy every few years anyway. If you want a stricter projection, multiply Education by (1.04)^N where N is years until college, and multiply Income by (1.04)^years for inflation. We keep v1 simple on purpose.
Does this account for what my employer's group life policy provides?
Yes — put your employer-provided coverage (and any existing private policy) in the Existing Coverage field. The Coverage Gap is what you still need on top of that. Important: employer group life ends when you change jobs, so don't count on it for the long term.
How do I use this number to shop for a policy?
The Coverage Gap is your target sum-insured. Quote both term life (cheap, pure protection) and variable universal life (VUL, more expensive, has an investment component) at that face amount. Term is almost always the better value for pure DIME coverage; VUL only makes sense if you're using it as a forced-savings vehicle.
Does this save or transmit my data?
No. Everything runs in your browser. We don't collect, store, or transmit any of your inputs.
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Sources & references
From official issuer, regulator, and data-provider sites. Verify any figure against the primary source before acting on it.