Life Insurance-How Much is Enough

     I've learned through three different friends, virtual and in real life, that a friend or family member of theirs lost their significant other, unexpectedly, and younger than age 60, and none through accidental death. Heath issues can creep up on anyone, and the worst outcome does happen. when we were young we thought about the future and took out life insurance on both of us, much more on DH as he was earning twice my salary at the time In hindsight, that was not smart because while the loss of his income would have hurt more, had I decided first, there were a lot of costs he would need to pick up such as more child care, and help around the house. Yes, I know thousands upon thousands of single parents do all the home work themselves, but DH's schedule always has been long days and including Saturdays.  We solved the issue somewhat when I went back to work full time and between life insurance automatically received through my employer and the optional buy in, we had the minimum amount  suggested, of five times your salary.

     Here we are though years later, and I didn't take into account that there are so many other things dependent upon my ability to be working that should I pass before DH, and specifically before he reaches 67, would put a strain on his finances. One, I hadn't considered that my last job had an automatic life insurance of 2X my salary. My current automatic life is capped at an amount that is  $15,000 less than my salary. Even though I have increased the amount I can buy in, and that old policy has increased in value, my total combined coverage was only slightly more than 3X my salary. Take into account that  I hold the health insurance and we still have one more child to get through college, that insurance could be eaten up fairly quickly. I opted to find another policy that should the worst happen, would cover the balance of her undergrad tuition and  nine years of  decent private health insurance. The policies already in place would help ensure he could still retire as planned, cover life events such as weddings, and give a breathable cushion to hold off accessing retirement accounts until much later. 

     To make this additional policy somewhat affordable, I opted for just 15 years of coverage, enough to get me past my own retirement age. At that point, I'll probably buy one of those guaranteed life insurance policies that are available to cover final  expenses, but we no longer will need to ensure the full private insurance. 

     If the situation was reversed, things are a bit tighter. DH will lose roughly 2X his salary in life insurance once he retires. This is the main reason why he will not retire before DD2 is done with college. To get the same policy I got, the monthly cost would have been astronomical as he is five years older than me, had a TIA at age 50, and a family history of heart disease under the age of 60. Still, because he doesn't carry the health insurance, that alone off sets nearly $100,000 for every five years of need. It also would be easier for me to just keep working a few years longer should he pass before me. I have oodles of vacation so could still travel, and retiring alone is less appealing anyway, and I like my job. Not to say DH would be keen on retiring alone either, but his current job is too many hours, and he could choose to find something to keep him busy that the enjoys, without the need of making a certain income standard. 

     I don't know if this is the soundest plan, and I sure am regretting not buying more when we were young. However, I have had more pace of mind in the last two weeks, knowing DH will be able to at least financially move on without having a financial burden. I think the experts now say seven times your salary is what is needed. I think that takes into account that a family still has young kids at home and a mortgage. Our house is paid for and we just want to make sure we are bridging to a sound retirement and not creating any burden for our children. I think we have done that. Your thoughts?