Insurance agents are funny when you ask them about amounts for life insurance. The one that worked with us suggested we insure my husband at a level so that if my husband died so that I remain a stay at home mom. I thought that was crazy, as at that time I was pregnant (and had a 2 year old), and I was not going to add up 18 years of my husbands income to determine the amount on top of everything else we wanted to include (we put two years of current income just to give me time to adjust and find work).