Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
Several reasons, some pretty straight forward and some you may not have given thought to. First is the misfortune of losing a child. What will you do? Will you need time? Will you need money to purchase the things you and your spouse want to for the child? Can you turn to your spouse and say "No, we can't aford that headstone, let's get something cheaper."? While it is easy to have an answer when not faced with the situation. It's another thing to live through losing a child. Now for the positive. Locking permanent life insurance in for a child gives them the best price at the lowest cost when they are in the best health. The opportunity to build cash values over a long period of time is pretty good. The other thing you can do with a child's policy is buy future insurability options where your child can increase their insurance later in life without medical underwriting at the same class. What these future options do is "take away" an insurance company's ability to say "no" to your child later in life when maybe their health is not so good. This feature alone is more valuable than most imagine. I have insurance on my kids, never thought of a good honest reason not to provide it for them. It covered them while they grew and gives them a headstart as adults. It's a positive thing to do.
I am a licensed funeral director as well as a life insurance agent. I've seen several families go through this. Most families only think of funeral and cemetery expenses.
But the bigger expense for you is the time you need away from work to recover from the loss of your child. Everyone handles grief differently. But you don't want to go broke right when you are grieving the loss of a child just because you can not work to your full capacity for a while.
Also keep in mind that even if you plan to just use direct cremation with no funeral or cemetery expense, people rarely follow through with that when they lose a child. Leave yourself options in case you want something more. Cremation is a great option when it's what you choose. It's not as good if it's forced on you due to finances.
And if for no other reason, it only costs pennies to insure healthy children.
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
A child is not an economic unit. Quite the opposite, however, the loss of a child can have a financial impact on the family. This is rarely the motivation for the purchase of life insurance on a child but if you drive the city streets often you will see people asking for donations to help bury a child. It is sad but it does happen.
Most people who purchase life insurance on a child are trying to secure coverage for a lifetime at an early age in order to set a very low premium for the coverage and to avoid the possibility that the child might become uninsurable in the future. My brother became uninsurable at about age 22. This is an issue that concerns many.
Life insurance plans are often seen as savings vehicles to accumulate money for future requirements. It is probably not the best way to save money for a college education but it does provide a systematic way to set aside money and for that money to grow free of current taxation.
The life insurance policies available to children often have a rider that allows the child to purchase additional life insurance at specific times in the future without proving evidence of insurability. This can be extremely important.
President, Lane Independent Agency, Southern California
Life insurance is never cheaper than when you are young. And you can lock the rate in for the rest of their life. That is a great reason to start coverage when you children are young. It also gets a great head start on accumulating cash value, as their wealth starts accumulating over that many more years. GARY LANE, garylane@cox.net, 714 422 9616. Thanks.
.JPG){kind=avatar}
But the bigger expense for you is the time you need away from work to recover from the loss of your child. Everyone handles grief differently. But you don't want to go broke right when you are grieving the loss of a child just because you can not work to your full capacity for a while.
Also keep in mind that even if you plan to just use direct cremation with no funeral or cemetery expense, people rarely follow through with that when they lose a child. Leave yourself options in case you want something more. Cremation is a great option when it's what you choose. It's not as good if it's forced on you due to finances.
And if for no other reason, it only costs pennies to insure healthy children.
Most people who purchase life insurance on a child are trying to secure coverage for a lifetime at an early age in order to set a very low premium for the coverage and to avoid the possibility that the child might become uninsurable in the future. My brother became uninsurable at about age 22. This is an issue that concerns many.
Life insurance plans are often seen as savings vehicles to accumulate money for future requirements. It is probably not the best way to save money for a college education but it does provide a systematic way to set aside money and for that money to grow free of current taxation.
The life insurance policies available to children often have a rider that allows the child to purchase additional life insurance at specific times in the future without proving evidence of insurability. This can be extremely important.