Find the gap in your life and health cover before life finds it for you
Most households have some insurance and no idea whether it is enough. This site shows what each coverage actually does, how much is typically reasonable, and where US households most often go without. We are not a broker and we do not sell insurance.
Where should you start?
Six routes through the same subject
Pick the one that matches what you are actually trying to decide.
What each coverage does
Life, health, disability — in ordinary language, with what each one does not cover spelled out too.
Read the coverage guide →Spot your own coverage gap
The life events and household types that most often leave a real gap unnoticed.
Find your gap →Term vs whole life
What separates them, what each actually costs over time, and who each one suits.
Compare the two →How much life insurance is enough
The income-replacement method, explained as a starting figure, not a guarantee.
Work out a number →Deductible, copay, coinsurance
The four numbers on a health plan that decide what you actually pay, and how they interact.
Read the breakdown →Coverage after a job loss
COBRA, the marketplace, and how to decide between them without a gap in cover.
See your options →Work out the two numbers that decide your coverage
A rough life insurance figure and the true annual cost of a health plan. Both take under a minute, and both run entirely in your browser.
Life insurance coverage scenario
Compare a smaller, cheaper policy against a larger one across a realistic number of years, to see what the premium difference is actually buying.
Assumptions this uses
- Both options are assumed to be the same type of policy — term length and structure held constant.
- Premiums are treated as fixed for the period shown; actual premiums can change at renewal or re-underwriting.
- This does not account for underwriting outcomes, health rating classes or insurer-specific pricing.
- No fees or riders are included in either figure.
Limitations: this does not account for how your health, age or underwriting class changes actual pricing, or for any rider or add-on cost.
Runs entirely in your browser.
Write your coverage gap down before you talk to anyone
List what you currently hold — life, health, disability — and next to each one write who it protects and for how much. A gap is usually obvious once it is on paper: no life insurance with a mortgage and one income, no disability cover despite the income being the household's main asset, or a health plan nobody has checked since a new baby arrived. This costs nothing and takes fifteen minutes.
Ask a life and health insurance question
Explains terms, walks through general scenarios, and helps you prepare questions before a quote. Five free replies a day. It cannot quote you or tell you what you qualify for.
Would you rather talk it through?
Tell us what you are trying to sort out and a relevant partner may get in touch.
We are not an insurer, a broker or an agent. Sending this is not an application, it does not check your eligibility and it does not touch your credit file.
Partner link — we may be paid a fee at no cost to you. How we make money.
Compare life insurance quotes on one specification
Decide term length and coverage amount first, then quote that identical spec everywhere — it is the only way a cheaper number means a cheaper policy rather than a smaller one.
See comparison options →Things worth having when a claim actually happens
Not insurance products — ordinary items that protect the paperwork a claim depends on. Amazon links, clearly marked.
How we make money: some links here are partner or affiliate links and we may be paid a fee at no cost to you. It never changes what we write or how options are ordered — see our disclosure and methodology.
Home inventory apps & books
A documented inventory is what turns a claim into a settlement.
Check price →Smart water leak detectors
Some insurers discount for them; all of them prevent claims.
Check price →The Household Coverage-Gap Checklist
A short, practical checklist that turns a vague sense of 'we should probably check our insurance' into an actual review. It downloads the moment you submit — no waiting for an email, no account, no payment.
If you are ready to get quotes
We do not sell insurance and no insurer pays for a position here. These are commercial routes, labelled as such. Read the comparison criteria first — they make the quotes far more useful.
How we make money: some links here are partner or affiliate links and we may be paid a fee at no cost to you. It never changes what we write or how options are ordered — see our disclosure and methodology.
Life insurance quote comparison
Compare term life quotes against a coverage amount and term length you have already decided, so a cheaper number means a smaller premium, not a smaller policy.
See comparison options →Health insurance plan comparison
Compare marketplace and private health plans against your deductible, copay and network needs, not just the headline premium.
Compare health plans →Life and health insurance questions people actually ask
No hedging, no upsell. Where the honest answer is 'it depends', we say what it depends on.
How do I know if I have a coverage gap?
List what you currently hold against what a life event has changed — a new baby, a mortgage, a change in income, or a spouse who no longer works. If the coverage amount or beneficiary was never updated after that change, that is a gap. The most common one is a household with a single income earner and no life insurance naming that earner at all.
What is the real difference between term and whole life insurance?
Term life covers you for a fixed period — commonly 10 to 30 years — and pays out only if you die within that term, which keeps the premium relatively low. Whole life covers you for your entire life and builds a cash value you can borrow against, at a substantially higher premium for the same death benefit. Most people who need life insurance primarily to replace an income are better served by term; whole life suits a narrower set of estate or lifelong-dependent situations.
How much life insurance do I actually need?
A common starting point is 10 to 12 times your annual income, adjusted for outstanding debts like a mortgage and the years until children are financially independent. That is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee of adequacy for your household — the honest answer depends on your debts, your dependents' ages and what you want covered, and working through the calculator on this site with your own numbers gets closer than any generic multiplier.
What is the difference between a deductible, a copay and coinsurance?
A deductible is what you pay out of pocket before your health plan starts paying. A copay is a fixed amount for a specific service, like $30 for a doctor visit, which may apply before or after the deductible depending on the plan. Coinsurance is a percentage of the cost you keep paying after the deductible is met, until you hit your out-of-pocket maximum, after which the plan covers 100% for the rest of the year.
What happens to my health insurance if I lose my job?
You generally have two main routes in the US: COBRA, which lets you keep your exact former employer plan but usually at a much higher cost since you now pay the full premium, or a marketplace plan bought through Healthcare.gov or your state exchange, which may qualify for subsidies depending on income. Losing job-based coverage triggers a special enrollment period, so you are not stuck waiting for open enrollment.
What is a special enrollment period and how is it different from open enrollment?
Open enrollment is the annual window when anyone can sign up for or change a marketplace health plan. A special enrollment period is a shorter window triggered by a specific life event — losing other coverage, having a baby, getting married, moving — and it lets you enroll or change plans outside the normal window, generally within 60 days of the event.