What Is the PWG Protection Score?
The Protection Score is a plain-English number, built on the DIME method (Debt, Income, Mortgage, Education), that shows whether your current coverage actually matches what your family would need, not a guess. It's presented as a score out of 100 alongside the real dollar gap, and it's always an educational estimate and a starting point for conversation, not a guarantee or underwriting decision.
The Protection Score is a plain-English way to see whether your current life insurance coverage actually matches what your family would need — not a guess, a real number you can hold up against what you have in force today.
The DIME method
Rather than inventing a formula, the Protection Score is built on DIME — a widely used, industry-standard needs-analysis method: Debt (what you currently owe beyond the mortgage — credit cards, loans), Income (how many years of income you'd want replaced for the people who depend on it), Mortgage (your remaining mortgage balance), and Education (what you'd want set aside for dependents' education). Adding those four together, plus a baseline for final expenses, gives your total Protection Need.
How the score is calculated
Your Protection Need is compared against your current coverage in force to produce two numbers: your Protection Gap (the dollar difference) and your overall Protection Score, expressed 0–100 as the share of your need that's currently covered. A score of 100 means your current coverage already meets your calculated need; anything below that shows exactly how much of a gap exists, and where.
Important: The Protection Score is an educational estimate based on commonly used life insurance planning guidelines. It is not a guarantee, not a substitute for a full needs analysis, and actual coverage recommendations may differ based on underwriting and a complete review of your specific situation.
Getting your own Protection Score
Because an accurate score depends on real numbers — your actual income, mortgage balance, debts, and existing coverage — it's calculated during a real conversation rather than guessed from a form. A quick estimate is available through the site's coverage tools; your full, personalized Protection Score comes out of a real discovery call.
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