Child Life Insurance

One of your major objectives in obtaining a life insurance plan for yourself is to provide for your family financially in the event of your death. You may have also considered purchasing a policy for your child(ren). While you want to protect your child in every way possible, research your options and the necessity of a child life insurance policy before making a decision.

Since the main goal of life insurance is to provide for the insured’s lost income when he or she dies, the need for child life insurance is largely disputed. After all, most children do not earn income to provide for their dependents. Conversely, many argue that for some families, there is the need to have coverage in the event of a child’s death for funeral, burial and medical costs.

Available Child Life Insurance Plans

There are a number of life insurance plans available for children, including Gerber’s Grow-Up Plan and Globe Young American Plan. Both are designed for young children, providing:

Grow-Up Plan

• full coverage (available as $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000, $25,000, or $30,000)
• low premiums that are fixed for the life of the policy
• coverage amount doubles at age 21, at the same low rate
• builds cash value provided premiums are paid
• additional coverage can be purchased at age 21

Young American Plan:

• $1 pays first 3 months of premium for $5,000, $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 or $25,000 coverage
• whole life insurance policy for your child’s entire lifetime
• rates based on child’s age; premium is fixed for life
• short online application to obtain policy, with no physical exam requirement
• no waiting period for coverage to begin

Child Life Insurance Policy Alternatives

Rather than purchasing a policy specifically for your child, you could choose to add a “child death benefit” rider to your own life insurance policy. This is attractive because it typically costs only $5 more per month and provides coverage of $10,000 for each child.

This type of rider also dictates that once the child (or children) is an adult, the $10,000 coverage can be converted to their own policy.

Your best protection for your child is to make sure that you have adequate life insurance protection – review the types of life insurance for more details. If you are looking for a policy with low rates, consider the protection from a term life insurance policy.