As parents, we always want the best for our children. We strive to provide them with a secure and promising future. While we may have considered savings accounts and college funds, have you ever thought about the importance of life insurance for your child?
Life insurance for children is often overlooked, but it can play a crucial role in safeguarding their financial well-being. It offers peace of mind by providing financial protection in the event of an unforeseen tragedy. From covering funeral expenses to building cash value over time, life insurance for children offers a range of benefits.
In this article, we will delve into the top life insurance options for children. We have scoured the web and consulted reputable sources to bring you a comprehensive list of the best companies offering children's life insurance. Whether you're looking for flexible payment structures, living benefits, or overall customer satisfaction, we've got you covered.
Join us as we navigate the world of children's life insurance and discover the options that can ensure your child's future remains secure. Let's explore the best life insurance for children and make an informed decision for your family's financial well-being.
Best Children’s Life Insurance Companies of 2024
- Best Overall: Protective – Renowned for its comprehensive coverage and affordability, Protective offers insurance plans that stand out in the market. They've garnered praise for their overall product offerings and ease of accessibility.
- Best for Customer Satisfaction: Nationwide – Recognized for their excellent customer service and claim processing, Nationwide has established a stellar reputation among its policyholders. Client testimonials often highlight the company's responsive support and efficient handling of inquiries.
- Best for Living Benefits: Mutual of Omaha – Mutual of Omaha stands out for its living benefits. This means that policyholders can access a portion of the death benefit if they suffer from chronic, critical, or terminal illnesses, making it a great choice for parents seeking added protection.
- Best for Most Policy Types: Penn Mutual – Offering a diverse range of policy types to cater to varying needs, Penn Mutual is a versatile choice for parents. They provide different insurance solutions, ensuring that every family can find a policy tailored to their requirements.
- Best for Financial Stability: State Farm Life Insurance – Financial stability is paramount in insurance, and State Farm excels in this area. Parents can rest assured that their policies with State Farm are backed by strong financial foundations, ensuring long-term reliability.
Best Overall: Protective
Protective is a standout option for the best overall life insurance for children due to its combination of comprehensive coverage and affordability. The company has established a strong reputation for offering insurance plans that cater to the needs of families while remaining accessible to a wide range of budgets. With a variety of policy options available, Protective ensures that parents can find coverage that suits their specific requirements.
Whether you're looking for term life insurance or permanent coverage, Protective provides reliable solutions that offer peace of mind. Their policies are designed to provide financial security for your child's future, including covering funeral expenses and ensuring their well-being in the event of an unfortunate loss.
Protective is a highly-rated insurance company. For rating agencies A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s, they’re rated A+, AA-, and A1, respectively. By utilizing the child’s term rider, you’re able to add term coverage for all children, 18 years of age or younger – adopted, stepchildren, or natural. The coverage amount is $25,000.
Best for Customer Satisfaction: Nationwide
When it comes to customer satisfaction, Nationwide is a top contender in the realm of children's life insurance. The company has earned a stellar reputation for its excellent customer service and efficient claim processing. Parents who have chosen Nationwide as their insurance provider often speak highly of the responsive support they receive and the company's dedication to resolving inquiries promptly.
With Nationwide, policyholders can trust that their concerns will be addressed with care, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free experience. The company's commitment to customer satisfaction makes it an ideal choice for parents seeking reliable and supportive insurance coverage.
Nationwide’s life insurance for children offers coverage amounts between $5,000 and $25,000 in the form of the “children’s term insurance rider.” With the various rating agencies, A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s, Nationwide is rated A+, A+, and A1, respectively. The children’s term rider is available from 15 days old until they turn 22 or get married, whichever happens first.
Best for Living Benefits: Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha stands out as the best option for living benefits in children's life insurance. Living benefits refer to the ability of policyholders to access a portion of the death benefit if they face chronic, critical, or terminal illnesses. This feature adds an extra layer of protection, ensuring that parents can provide financial support when their child needs it most.
By choosing Mutual of Omaha, parents can have peace of mind knowing that their child's insurance policy offers not just financial security in the event of a loss but also additional benefits to aid in times of illness or medical hardships. This added flexibility sets Mutual of Omaha apart as a top choice for parents seeking comprehensive coverage.
Mutual of Omaha offers a children’s whole life policy for kids aged 14 days to 17 years of age. The coverage amount for the children’s whole life policy ranges from $5,000 to $50,000. In terms of ratings, Mutual of Omaha is rated A+, A+, and A1 for A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s, respectively.
Best for Most Policy Types: Penn Mutual
Penn Mutual is an excellent choice for parents who value a wide range of policy types to cater to their specific needs. The company offers a diverse selection of insurance solutions, allowing families to customize their coverage based on their unique circumstances and priorities.
Whether you're looking for term life insurance, whole life insurance, or other specialized policies, Penn Mutual has options to suit your requirements. This versatility ensures that every family can find a policy that aligns with their financial goals and provides the necessary protection for their child's future.
Penn Mutual, like many of the insurance companies on this list, offers a children’s term insurance rider. With this rider, kids aged 0 to 23 years of age. The coverage amount available with this rider is $5,000 up to $25,000. Penn Mutual is highly rated, coming in at A+, A+, and Aa3 for A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s, respectively.
Best for Financial Stability: State Farm Life Insurance
When it comes to financial stability, State Farm Life Insurance stands out as a reliable and trustworthy option. With a long-standing presence in the insurance industry, State Farm has demonstrated its commitment to maintaining strong financial foundations. This stability ensures that parents can rely on the company to fulfill their obligations and provide long-term coverage for their children.
By choosing State Farm, parents can have confidence in the financial strength of their child's insurance policy. This stability ensures that the coverage will remain intact and continue to provide the intended benefits as the child grows older.
There’s a reason State Farm made the list as our “best for financial stability.” They’re rated A++, AA, and Aa1 at A.M. Best, Standard and Poor’s, and Moody’s, respectively. The coverage they offer for children is a term rider with coverage up to $20,000 for kids aged 15 days old to 25 years of age.
Why Consider Getting Life Insurance For Your Kids?
Many financially savvy parents think that life insurance for children is not a good idea. In many cases, parents ignore the idea.
Emotionally as well as financially, they believe that it is not a wise decision. There are however a few arguments in favor of buying life insurance for kids.
It is not entirely a vague idea. The best life insurance can provide financial protection when an insured child dies, allowing families to cover funeral costs and maximum coverage for financial priorities.
In many cases, parents are not able to cope with the loss of their child. Life insurance for children can certainly help in that situation.
We will today go into the reasons why you should consider getting life insurance for your kids. Buying children's life insurance may seem depressing, but it can be smart until your child reaches a certain age.
1. Financial Relief During Bereavement
Most of the parents are inconsolable after the loss of their child kid. They are not able to get on with their life.
Parents often suffer from depression as well as anxiety about the loss of their kids. In such a case, looking after their livelihood can be a pretty tricky task.
At the same point in time, you cannot ignore your job or your business for a longer time. It will make your finances dwindle.
Life insurance can come to your rescue during that time. It can make sense to have your own life insurance policy, but buying life insurance for children can protect your child for their entire life.
The sum of money that you get through life insurance can help you pull through that difficult time. It can help you recover financially as well as emotionally, even if you are paying premiums.
When a child dies and you are already suffering from the loss of a loved one, financial pressures can push you faster toward depression. When you get the life insurance compensation, it can help you reduce the financial stress in that difficult time.
2. Value of the policy
Most of the parents think that the whole life insurance policy will be unused during the tenure. As a result, they believe that it's unnecessary to buy life insurance.
The truth is that, even if your children's life insurance policies go unused during the period, you can easily borrow against it. The cash value of the probe policy will keep on increasing gradually from the date you buy life insurance.
You can borrow against the policy at a lower interest rate. There are many purposes for which you can borrow against the child life insurance policies, like:
- Automobile financing
- Wedding planning
- Collateral for loans
- Loans for college and tuition expenses
The best thing is that since you are using the life policy as collateral for your loan, the interest rate will be on the lower side. As a result, the monthly payments will be on the affordable side for this whole life policy, even at the maximum coverage amount.
3. Ageless diseases
Many children start to suffer from obesity and diabetes. These diseases have become ageless.
Thus, there are health risks to children, which were not primarily present earlier. It is for this reason that you can get term life insurance for children.
The best child life insurance policies provide value because, irrespective of the diseases that children suffer from, you can renew the policy. Renewing the child’s life insurance policy for the lifetime is possible.
As a result, once you get whole life insurance coverage for your child, you can continue the policy. The best life insurance plan is one that you don't have to use.
In case, the policyholder suffers from any disease before taking the insurance policy, most of the companies will reject their application. The problem is that it is tough to gain a traditional life policy.
Ty Stewart, founder of simplelifeinsure.com, explains that for those with chronic health issues, there are many options for life insurance without requiring a medical exam for approval. On the other hand, once you get the policy for your child at a young age, it can be renewed irrespective of the health conditions.
Adequate life coverage can be provided to your child for their lifetime with proper renewal.
4. Guaranteed insurance
Many policies for children have coverage till a pretty old age like 60 or 70. As long as you can honor the premiums throughout the tenure of the insurance policy, it is easy to prolong the life insurance policy.
You can additionally buy a value-increasing life insurance policy buy a value increasing life insurance policy at a later stage. Several life insurance companies offer these whole life insurance policies.
The advantage is that since you already have a long-standing policy for your child, it is easy to get the extended policy. The scrutiny is on the lower side.
The chances of getting an extended life insurance policy are on the higher side. The facility to buy an extended life insurance policy, however, is up to a limited age.
You have to find out about this age limit in advance. Thus, guaranteed insurance and extended policies are some of the main advantages of whole-life insurance for kids.
5. Lock-in rates
Many life insurance policies for kids come with locking rates. You will review the policy at the same cash value.
Irrespective of the inflation or the duration of the policy, it will renew at the same rate. The locking rates will allow you to reduce the insurance premiums.
When you check the premium and the type of coverage provided after 5 to 10 years, you will find that you are getting a much better deal.
There are ways in which you can get the best lock-in rates. One of the best choices is to compare the insurance quotes before opting for the child life insurance policy.
You can easily compare these quotes online. You have to realize that instead of just comparing the premium that you will pay, it is essential to compare the type of guarantee coverage provided.
The quotes which you get will contain all of this information. Look into Aflac juvenile life insurance, Brightfuture children's whole life, and Gerber life insurance for children if you're looking for low monthly premiums, lifelong coverage, and potentially permanent coverage.
6. Handling bereavement expenses
While this is an emotional issue for many, it is a realistic one as well. The cost of funerals is going up significantly.
It has risen to such a value that without insurance, your finances can easily dwindle in the case of the sudden death of a loved one. There are chances that the child might require extended medical care.
When you look at all of these expenses, it can put you into debt quickly. The problem is that such expenses, at a time when you’re already emotionally stressed can wreak havoc on your finances.
In the case of the loss of a child, the life insurance policy compensation, specifically the fixed death benefit, can help you handle the funeral expenses and the pending medical bills. While nobody plans to opt for the policy keeping these in mind, they can help you get out of a sticky financial situation.
Thus, to keep you from getting into debt, a child life insurance policy for a kid is a practical idea.
7. Having a safety net
Many parents are immaculate planners. They plan to have a safety net in every tough situation.
If you’re one of them, buying life insurance for your kids makes perfect sense. Life insurance policies for kids can help you have a safety net to deal with certain expenses that you incur after the death of your child.
The safety net can help you move on in life at a faster pace.
Thus, ignoring life insurance policies for kids thinking it as something unnecessary is not a good idea. While emotionally, it can be a difficult thing to consider, practically you should analyze the situation before taking a call.
It can help you as well as your child throughout life. Instead of thinking emotionally, it is a good idea to think rationally before making a decision about life insurance for children.
Conclusion
In conclusion, when considering the best life insurance options for children, Protective excels in offering comprehensive coverage and affordability, Nationwide prioritizes customer satisfaction, Mutual of Omaha provides valuable living benefits, Penn Mutual offers a wide range of policy types, and State Farm Life Insurance ensures financial stability. By exploring these options, parents can make an informed decision about the life insurance that best protects their child's future.