The basic premise of life cover is that its supposed to act as protection in case of untimely death and there are numerous aspects to keep in mind when you decide on the amount and duration of your life cover.The number dependents includes your family members like spouse and children is an important consideration.
You should also take into account the total outstanding loans amount which could include all home, car and personal loans that you and your family have and keep this figure in mind when working out your total life insurance amount.
One of the biggest expenses that your family could encounter if you are not around is your kids education and even though this might not be easy to work out you can take a general figure for every year of their school life.Since the concept of life insurance is that your family should be able to continue their lifestyle as it was before you must ensure your life cover amount is sufficient to maintain their planned future life without your income and you.