How much life insurance do I need?
Work out how much cover you might need for Family Protection, Mortgage Protection or critical illness cover. And learn more about Tesco Life Insurance.
Published: 20 August 2026
Key points
- Your circumstances decide your cover - how much life cover you need depends on your income, mortgage, partner and children. There's no one-size-fits-all number.Your circumstances decide your cover - how much life cover you need depends on your income, mortgage, partner and children. There's no one-size-fits-all number.
- Family Protection and Mortgage Protection work differently - Family Protection pays a lump sum that can help your family manage ongoing living costs like mortgage payments, rent, other debts or raising children. Mortgage Protection is designed to help your loved ones pay off a mortgage or other long-term loan.Family Protection and Mortgage Protection work differently - Family Protection pays a lump sum that can help your family manage ongoing living costs like mortgage payments, rent, other debts or raising children. Mortgage Protection is designed to help your loved ones pay off a mortgage or other long-term loan.
- Critical illness cover is optional - you can add it to either policy for a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a serious illness, with cover for your children included too.Critical illness cover is optional - you can add it to either policy for a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with a serious illness, with cover for your children included too.
Getting the right amount of cover for you
How much life cover you need depends on your own individual circumstances. For example, whether you've got a mortgage and if you've got a partner and children to provide for.
Here, we'll help you work out how much cover you might need. From leaving a lump sum to your loved ones, and paying off your mortgage, to adding protection if you're diagnosed with a serious illness.
If you haven't looked at life insurance before, take a look at our beginner's guide - What is life insurance?
You can also find out what some of the key terms mean in our life insurance glossary.
Calculate your life insurance cover
Tesco Life Insurance comes with 2 types of cover to choose: Family Protection and Mortgage Protection. You can also add critical illness cover to either policy.
Family Protection pays out a lump sum to your loved ones, which they could use to help cover living costs and other expenses if you die.
Mortgage Protection pays a lump sum which could be used to help pay off a mortgage, so your loved ones can stay in the family home after you're gone.
How much cover you might need is different for each one.
Choose the type of cover you’d like
You might also want to think about critical illness cover. This pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with one of 52 listed serious illnesses, giving you and your family extra financial support alongside your life cover.
Find out more, including how much cover you might need, in our guide - What is critical illness cover?
If you've got a child under 4, you could also get Free Parent Life Cover - free life insurance from Aviva that gives you £15,000 of cover for each child under 4, for 12 months.
How much Family Protection cover do I need?
Family Protection is also called Level Term life insurance. To work out how much cover you need, you should think about:
- how you want to help support your family financiallyhow you want to help support your family financially
- how long you want to support them forhow long you want to support them for
If you have a partner, how long may they have until they retire? Or what kind of financial support might they need after you've gone?
If you have children, when are they likely to start working? And do they plan to go to university?
You could also consider other costs you might want to cover, like paying for your funeral.
To calculate your cover, first answer the following questions:
- Do you have a partner you want to help support?Do you have a partner you want to help support?
- What's your monthly income after tax and deductions? This is known as your net monthly income, and it's used to work out how much cover you need to help support your partner. For the example below, we also assume your partner would keep working after you die.What's your monthly income after tax and deductions?
This is known as your net monthly income, and it's used to work out how much cover you need to help support your partner. For the example below, we also assume your partner would keep working after you die. - Do you have children to support? The average cost to raise your first 2 children is £10,000 per child, per year, until their 19th birthday.**Do you have children to support? The average cost to raise your first 2 children is £10,000 per child, per year, until their 19th birthday.**
- Do you want to help cover university costs?Do you want to help cover university costs?
- Do you want to help pay for your funeral?Do you want to help pay for your funeral?
- Help support a partner: YesHelp support a partner: Yes
- Net monthly income: £3,500Net monthly income: £3,500
- Children to support: Yes - 1 child, aged 12Children to support: Yes - 1 child, aged 12
- Pay for university: YesPay for university: Yes
- Pay for funeral: YesPay for funeral: Yes
This example assumes the following:
- You’ll help support a partner for 5 years after you die, allowing for the equivalent of your current annual salary after tax and deductions for each of the 5 years. So, a net monthly salary of £3,500 x 12 months x 5 years = £210,000You’ll help support a partner for 5 years after you die, allowing for the equivalent of your current annual salary after tax and deductions for each of the 5 years. So, a net monthly salary of £3,500 x 12 months x 5 years = £210,000
- You’ll help support 1 child aged 12, allowing £10,000 for each year until their 19th birthday. So, £10,000 x 6 years = £60,000You’ll help support 1 child aged 12, allowing £10,000 for each year until their 19th birthday. So, £10,000 x 6 years = £60,000
- You’ll help cover university costs (including fees and accommodation), allowing £20,000 a year for 4 years at university. So, £20,000 x 4 years = £80,000. Note: the actual cost of university will depend on several things, including: how long the course is, where your child goes to university, if they stay at home or live in term-time accommodation, whether they have to pay tuition fees or not and what grants and scholarships are available.You’ll help cover university costs (including fees and accommodation), allowing £20,000 a year for 4 years at university. So, £20,000 x 4 years = £80,000. Note: the actual cost of university will depend on several things, including: how long the course is, where your child goes to university, if they stay at home or live in term-time accommodation, whether they have to pay tuition fees or not and what grants and scholarships are available.
- You’ll help pay for funeral costs, estimated at £4,000. Note: the actual cost will depend on the type of funeral you have and where in the UK you live.You’ll help pay for funeral costs, estimated at £4,000. Note: the actual cost will depend on the type of funeral you have and where in the UK you live.
So, in this example:
To help support your partner = £210,000
To help support your child = £60,000
University costs = £80,000
Funeral costs = £4,000
Cover amount = £354,000
Policy term = 6 years, in line with your financial commitments
Please note: this is only an example and doesn’t take your individual circumstances of specific needs into account. You can choose the right amount of cover to meet your needs when you apply for Tesco Life Insurance.
How much Mortgage Protection cover do I need?
Mortgage Protection, also known as Decreasing Term life insurance, is designed with mortgages in mind. And working out how much cover you need is really straightforward.
First, you need to answer the following questions:
- What type of mortgage have you got?What type of mortgage have you got?
- How much do you owe on your mortgage?How much do you owe on your mortgage?
- How many years do you have left to pay off your mortgage?How many years do you have left to pay off your mortgage?
Note: Mortgage Protection will only help you pay off a repayment mortgage. If you've got an interest-only mortgage, it might not be the right life cover for you.
- Mortgage type: repayment mortgageMortgage type: repayment mortgage
- Amount owed on mortgage: £300,000Amount owed on mortgage: £300,000
- Years left to pay off mortgage: 25Years left to pay off mortgage: 25
If you choose Mortgage Protection, your cover amount and policy term should match the amount you own on your mortgage and how long you’ve got left to pay it off. That way, you’ll get enough cover to pay off your mortgage if you die during the term of the policy.
So, in this example:
- Cover amount = £300,000Cover amount = £300,000
- Policy term = 25 yearsPolicy term = 25 years
Do I need cover for critical illness?
Critical illness cover can be added to your Tesco Life Insurance policy. It pays a tax-free lump sum if you're diagnosed with one of 52 listed serious illnesses and survive more than 10 days. It also includes cover for your children, at no extra cost.
To work out how much critical illness cover you might need, think about:
- how much of your income you'd need to replace if you couldn't workhow much of your income you'd need to replace if you couldn't work
- your savings, and how long they'd cover your outgoingsyour savings, and how long they'd cover your outgoings
- any mortgage or debt repayments you'd still need to makeany mortgage or debt repayments you'd still need to make
- extra costs, like travel to hospital appointments or help around the homeextra costs, like travel to hospital appointments or help around the home
A good starting point is to work out how many months or years of expenses you'd want to cover, then multiply this by your monthly outgoings.
Find out more about how it works, and how much cover you might need, in our guide - What is critical illness cover?
Why get Tesco Life Insurance?
Everyone has different financial needs, so Tesco Life Insurance comes with 2 types of cover to choose: Family Protection and Mortgage Protection.
At Tesco Insurance, we want to help you with the things that matter most. That’s why Tesco Life Insurance comes with a Big Win and lots of Little Helps.
- Clubcard Prices - Get an exclusive discount on Tesco Life Insurance with your Clubcard.Clubcard Prices - Get an exclusive discount on Tesco Life Insurance with your Clubcard.
- Your Big Win - Get a welcome gift after you've paid 6 months' premiums. Available on policies with a 3‑year minimum term. T&Cs apply.Your Big Win - Get a welcome gift after you've paid 6 months' premiums. Available on policies with a 3‑year minimum term. T&Cs apply.
- Your Little Helps - Get a full year of coupons in your Tesco grocery app to help you shop at Tesco. Available on policies with a 3‑year minimum term, Clubcard app required and must be opted in to Tesco marketing. T&Cs apply.Your Little Helps - Get a full year of coupons in your Tesco grocery app to help you shop at Tesco. Available on policies with a 3‑year minimum term, Clubcard app required and must be opted in to Tesco marketing. T&Cs apply.
As well as your Tesco benefits, you’ll also get Aviva DigiCare+ - a health and wellbeing service from Aviva that includes unlimited Digital GP consultations and the Bupa Anytime HealthLine.
Tesco Life Insurance is provided and administered by Aviva, who have a 5-star rating for life insurance and pay out on 98.7% of claims*.
Help for Life Insurance customers
Get help and support online. Or find out how to contact Aviva, our life insurance provider.
Important information
About Tesco Life Insurance
Tesco Life Insurance is arranged, administered and underwritten by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited.
Tesco Personal Finance Ltd acts as an introducer to Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited which is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority. Member of the Association of British Insurers. Firm Reference Number 185896.
Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. Registered in England & Wales No. 3253947. Registered Office: Aviva, Wellington Row, York, YO90 1WR. Tesco Personal Finance Ltd and Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited. are not part of the same corporate group.
About Tesco Insurance
Tesco Insurance is a trading name of Tesco Personal Finance Ltd, Registered Office: 2 South Gyle Crescent, Edinburgh, EH12 9FQ (registered in Scotland, no SC173199) which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (register no. 186022).
Aviva DigiCare+ app
With the Aviva DigiCare+ app, you can start using a range of health and wellbeing services when you take out your policy.
Members of your family can use it too, as long as they're eligible.
The Aviva DigiCare+ app is provided by Square Health. The services are provided by Square Health and other selected partners.
You'll find full details about the services in the app, along with the terms and conditions, residency restrictions and privacy policy.
Aviva DigiCare+ is a non-contractual benefit that could be changed or withdrawn by Aviva at any time. So, it won't appear in any contract you've signed, or in any terms and conditions.
Life Insurance policy booklets
Please check the policy documents to make sure the cover you’ve chosen meets your needs.
The policy booklet and product information documents tell you about the benefits, limitations and exclusions that’ll apply to your cover.
Tesco Life Insurance is provided, administered and underwritten by Aviva Life & Pensions UK Limited.
Aviva have a 5-star rating for life insurance from Defaqto. And they pay out on 98.7% of life insurance claims*.
*Aviva UK individual claims report 2026, based on claims paid in 2025.
Learn more about Life Insurance
Find the right cover to give financial support to your family after you’ve gone. Tesco Life Insurance comes with Clubcard Prices, some great Tesco shopping benefits and Aviva DigiCare+.