Child and Juvenile Life Insurance: Three Reasons to Buy
Parents often question the wisdom of purchasing life insurance
for children. As children are generally not contributors to a
family's financial well-being, many wonder if life insurance is
really necessary. Financial experts will often argue that money
spent on life insurance for children could be better spent by
investing in college plans or other accounts. These perspectives
paint purchasing life insurance for a child as a foolhardy
financial investment.
These viewpoints, at first glance, make a great deal of sense.
There is generally no compelling reason to obtain insurance
policies with large payouts for youngsters. However, there are
at least three reasons why life insurance for children can make
sound financial sense.
Final Expenses
In the event of child's early death, a pre-existing life
insurance policy can provide sufficient proceeds to cover
funeral and burial expenses. For many families, the prospect of
paying these expenses out-of-pocket in the event of catastrophe
would be quite problematic. The relatively low cost of life
insurance for children can be a sensible way of providing peace
of mind regarding these expenses.
Medical Debts
The proceeds of a child's life insurance policy can be used to
cover medical debts that may exist subsequent to a youngster's
death. Considering the high costs of medical care and likely
expenses in excess of what may be covered by health insurance
plans in the case of serious illness, a juvenile life insurance
policy's proceeds could provide a family with significant
financial relief in the case of fatal illness.
Insuring Coverage
Purchasing life insurance for a healthy child is relatively
inexpensive. Should the child develop a serious medical
condition while uninsured, however, parents may suddenly find
premium costs to be very expensive. As such, many companies
offering juvenile insurance policies argue that getting coverage
early may result in significant cost-savings down the road in
the even that a medical condition or illness should develop
later.
Often, the idea of a life insurance policy for a younger child
is quickly dismissed as a poor investment. Many look at the
issue of life insurance for children through the same lens they
use to approach life insurance in adults. They argue that life
insurance's primary purpose is to protect loved ones and family
members financially in the event of the policyholder's death.
They see life insurance simply as a means of income replacement.
Since children do not significantly contribute to family income,
they maintain that the purchase of a life insurance makes little
or no sense in the case of children.
However, a more comprehensive look at the nature of life
insurance and its benefits reveals that purchasing some life
insurance for a child can make good financial sense under
certain circumstances. It can provide for final expenses, serve
as a means to pay for medical debts, and can allow some life
insurance coverage to begin at a relatively low cost in cases
where a later-developing illness or medical condition may make
obtaining life insurance for the child too expensive.