re: Wife pregnant for first time...

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Do we need to up our coverage?

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Yes, if you were me, especially if it only has 7 years left.

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Should I assume that if I died my income would need to be replaced until our child is grown up?

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To each their own here. There are a lot of generic calculations that can get you in the ball park of what you need, most say 10x salary, but that is just an easy way to avoid actual work.

Here is simple calculation. The concept is if I passed away tomorrow, what do I want taken care of: I want $30k to pay for funeral expense, replenish emergency fund, and give wife some money for some immediate unforeseen expenses.

Then, I want all my debt wiped away (car, house, credit cards, student loans if any, etc...). I also want money earmarked for kids education (I want to have 2 kids, so I am earmarking $150K for college education).

The final step is income replacement. When I pass away, I want my wife to have income coming in (besides what she earns) for 20 years, so I get that number, factoring in inflation and whatnot.

That is a pretty basic calculation you would go through if you meet with a financial adviser.

With all that said, to each his own on death benefit number. If I went by the 10x salary number, I'd be under insured. However, I know plenty that just want debt wiped out, and have no desire to provide income. So the 10x number would be too much.