How to Find the Right Life Insurance Plan for Your Children

Understanding the Importance of Life Insurance for Children

Life insurance can be a helpful resource during trying times. While it isn’t a pleasant topic that any of us want to think about, life insurance for children is an important thing to have.

Life insurance is a system in which you pay for coverage for death. Death is stressful, and the financial burden of someone’s passing adds to it. Hospital and funeral costs (along with additional money to make sure loved ones are “taken care of" or can pay off your debts) are all covered with life insurance policies.

But what is life insurance for children? Life insurance for children is essentially the same. Some programs, such as the Gerber Life Grow-up Plan, allow you to pay a certain premium which can be “cashed out" when the child turns 21 if they need the money.

These extra features will heavily depend on your provider. What you can count on is financial coverage in the event that the unthinkable happens.

Do I Really Need It?

Death evades no one and accidents happen. Although it is an unbelievable thing to think about, this is one of those situations where you should “prepare for the worst and expect the best."

If something horrible were to happen, it is better to have this extra security in place so that you can strike “money" off of your list of worries.

This can be especially important in certain circumstances. Although it is a dark thing to think about, it's not uncommon for a child to pass away.

Certain medical conditions (or a history of) would be a great reason for one to get insured. As the coverage carries on into later age, it can help lift the burden off of them to find life insurance when they are older, especially if there is a high chance they may develop a mysterious condition or disease as they age.

These insurance policies are not just for sickly children. They are a precaution which can provide assistance when they need it most.

For those that have additional policies, there may be an extra incentive for the future. For the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan users, they have this financial security blanket should the need arise.

They also make it easier to have a consistent premium that can go on for life, guaranteeing lifelong, affordable coverage.

Pros and Cons of Life Insurance for Children

To help determine if purchasing life insurance for your child is a good option, consider the following:

Pros

• Receiving some coverage in case the worst outcome occurs
• Premiums for children tend to be lower (some policies let you permanently establish a low premium)
• In some cases, it will provide financial security for the child in the future

Cons

• It will be an extra monthly expense
• You must continuously pay in order to reach the “cash-out" point
• In most cases, you will not need it in the end

All-in-all, it is a responsible decision one can make if they have the money to spare or they need to seriously consider the possibility of premature death.

How Do I Get Life Insurance for Children?

Getting life insurance for your child involves contacting a potential provider and getting a quote from them.

Who you contact will depend on a number of factors:

• Does your child have a preexisting condition?
• Is there a family history of heritable conditions?
• What premium can you afford?
• How much coverage do I want?
• Are there additional features you would like?
• Can they “piggyback" on my existing life insurance policy?

Associated Costs

All of the above factors will influence the costs of participation in such a program.

Of course, the more complications and the higher a risk that one would need to use the insurance, the higher the premium generally is.

Piggy-backing (or add-on) policies may also be more cost-effective, being only a couple of dollars extra a month. These lower premiums do come at a cost, though. Higher premiums are an indication that more will be covered, so beware that lower ones may not provide enough to cover the total expenses that would incur.

You need to establish some sort of balance that works best for you. Every family and situation is different, and for that reason, many sites fail to openly share their rates without getting a little more personal information about somebody.

There is no real way to know the expected cost of life insurance before getting into contact with a program and receiving a quote or talking to an appropriate agency.