How Much Life Insurance Is Considered Enough? 
If you were to cover every contingency of life with life insurance , you probably could not afford that much . Life insurance is a wonderful resource for the `` what if 's '' of life , but the `` what if 's '' can be endless . What if you died leaving your family without your income . What if before you died , you used up all your savings on doctor bills . Then , what if your spouse died shortly after you . What if the person you designated to care for your children , had just lost their job . What if ... . No one can have enough life insurance to cover every possible tragedy . But you can have enough life insurance to give your loved ones a chance . Providing them with enough income to give them time to adjust to life without you , without having to worry about getting a new job -LRB- or adding a second job to the one they already have -RRB- , is a good place to start . Giving them enough to live on until your children are grown , or for 10 years , is also a reasonable amount . 