Do dual-income couples need life insurance on both spouses?
Answered by Cheryl Heikka
Financial Strategist · Your One Agency
Yes - if the household needs both incomes, then losing either one breaks the plan, and each income needs its own coverage sized to what it carries (its share of the mortgage, childcare, lifestyle, and future goals). Couples routinely insure only the higher earner, but the household math rarely works on one income alone, especially with kids - childcare costs alone can consume much of the surviving income. Each spouse should own an individual policy (portable, not tied to either job) sized with the same DIME logic used for any coverage: debts, income replacement, mortgage, education. Employer coverage on top is a bonus, not the plan.
The gap most people miss
Couples insure the bigger paycheck and assume the other income is "backup" - but the household budget was built on both, and either loss leaves the same bills with less money.
A coverage gap check run for each income shows what each policy actually needs to carry.