Life Insurance Estimate Calculator ☆ Stoor

This is an estimate, not a quote

Life cover is individually underwritten, so the premium you are actually offered depends on factors no calculator can know: your age, health, smoker status, occupation, income, and the results of any medical underwriting.

Treat the figure above as a planning number — enough to budget with and to sanity-check a quote against — not as a price. Two people the same age can be quoted very differently.

How much cover do you actually need?

The useful question is not "how much can I afford?" but "what would my family need if my income stopped tomorrow?" Work it out rather than guessing:

1. Debts that would remain — the bond above all, plus vehicle finance and any credit. See the bond calculator for your outstanding balance;
2. Income replacement — how many years of your take-home pay would your dependants need, and for how long? Use the income tax calculator for the real net figure;
3. Education — school and university costs still to come;
4. Immediate costs — funeral expenses, and estate duty or executor's fees where relevant;
5. Less what already exists — employer group life cover, existing policies, and savings. Many people are better covered through work than they realise, and buying duplicate cover is a common waste.

The four covers people confuse

• Life cover — pays a lump sum on death. What this calculator estimates;
• Disability cover — pays if you cannot work again. Statistically more likely than death during working years, and frequently under-bought;
• Income protection — replaces a portion of income while you are unable to work, monthly rather than as a lump sum. Often the most valuable cover a salaried person can hold;
• Critical illness / dread disease — pays on diagnosis of specified conditions, to cover costs medical aid does not.

They solve different problems. A household with a bond and young children usually needs life and disability or income protection — not more of one.

What actually moves your premium

• Age — the single biggest factor, and it only moves one way. Cover bought younger is materially cheaper for the same benefit;
• Smoking — commonly the largest single loading. Non-smoker rates usually apply after a sustained period without nicotine, so it is worth re-testing if you have quit;
• Health and family history, assessed at underwriting;
• Occupation and hobbies — hazardous work or pursuits load the premium;
• Premium pattern — level premiums start higher and stay flatter; age-rated premiums start cheaper and rise every year, sometimes steeply in later years. Ask which you are being quoted, because a cheap early premium can become unaffordable exactly when you most need the cover.

Buying it without being sold to

1. Answer every health question fully and honestly. Non-disclosure is the most common reason a claim is rejected — and it is discovered at claim stage, when your family cannot fix it;
2. Check the adviser is FSCA-registered, and ask how they are remunerated;
3. Compare like for like — same cover amount, same term, same premium pattern, same exclusions;
4. Read the exclusions and waiting periods, particularly around suicide, pre-existing conditions and hazardous activities;
5. Review it when life changes — a bond, a child, a divorce, a new job. Cover set once and never revisited is usually wrong within a few years;
6. Check your beneficiary nomination. A policy pays whoever is named, regardless of what your will says — an out-of-date nomination can send money to a former partner.

Frequently asked questions

Is the estimate above what I will pay?

No — it is a planning figure. Actual premiums depend on underwriting. Use it to budget and to judge whether a quote is in a reasonable range.

Do I need life cover if I have no dependants?

Often less than you think — cover is for people who would suffer financially without your income. Disability or income protection may matter more, since those protect you.

Is my employer's group cover enough?

Frequently not, and it usually ends when the job does. Check the multiple of salary it provides and whether it is portable.

Is the payout taxed?

Life policy proceeds are generally not subject to income tax in the beneficiary's hands, though estate duty can apply depending on structure and nomination. Get advice for larger estates.

Should I take cover through my bond?

Bond-linked cover is convenient, but compare it against standalone cover on price and terms — convenience is frequently priced in.

Premiums are individually underwritten; figures here are indicative only. Tax and estate treatment depends on policy structure and nomination — take advice. General information, not financial or insurance advice.