Children’s Whole Life Insurance

Life insurance isn’t just for adults to protect their loved ones. Getting a life insurance policy for your child can help support you and your loved ones while you grieve a loss. Plus, it can help your child start adult life with a substantial life insurance policy to help them later. However, whole life insurance for children can be a bit more complex than individual policies for adults. This article will explain how children’s whole life insurance works and some pros and cons of getting one of these policies.

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How whole life insurance for children works

Children’s whole life insurance is a permanent life insurance policy designed to treat the child as the insured, although they technically don’t own the policy. This policy lasts for the child’s life, covering their beneficiaries as long as premium payments are made. It also offers cash value that grows tax-deferred with fixed interest, which may eventually allow the child to tap into it as an adult via borrowing, withdrawals, or cashing out the policy.¹

Once your child becomes an adult, you can transfer the policy to them. Adult children may be able to maintain these policies until the child is between the ages of 18-25.¹ After that, they can turn their policy into an individual whole life insurance policy.

Benefits of getting children’s whole life insurance

Whole life insurance for children can offer several benefits to you and your child:

Lock in cost-effective rates

Whole life insurance can be one of the most expensive forms of life insurance. However, younger policyholders tend to pay more cost-effective premiums. Therefore, getting a whole life insurance policy for your child can help you lock in cost-effective premiums for your child.¹ This can help you save on premiums while your child is still a minor. Once they take possession of the policy, they may be able to more easily fit it into their budget.

Lifelong coverage

Once you purchase a whole life insurance policy for your child, they can maintain that coverage for the rest of their life if premium payments stay up to date. That way, your child won't have to worry about purchasing or renewing coverage in the future. You can help cover them from childhood through the rest of their life.

Grow cash value

Getting children’s whole life insurance gives your child’s cash value more time to grow through premium payments and compound their tax-deferred interest. As a result, they may have a large cash value balance by the time you transfer the policy to them in adulthood. This can help them start their adult life with a significant financial cushion.

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How to get children’s whole life insurance

Here’s how to get whole life insurance for your child:

Evaluate their coverage needs: Determine why you’re getting your child whole life insurance to estimate how much coverage you need. This may help you purchase enough coverage without overpaying.

Consider their future financial situation: Larger death benefits require larger payments, which also grows cash value faster. Consider a larger policy if you want your child's policy to have an increased cash value.

Shop for multiple quotes: Gather quotes from different insurers on the coverage you need. This lets you compare policies, and terms.

Apply for a policy: Apply for the best policy you found while shopping for quotes. Provide your child’s full name, date of birth, and Social Security number, along with your personal information. Children generally don’t have to take a medical exam to get life insurance, although some insurers may ask a few health questions. You’ll need to disclose any health conditions your child has.

Await approval: Insurers can process and underwrite policies with no medical exam, such as children’s whole life insurance, much more quickly.²

Review terms: After approval, the insurer will present you with policy documents outlining your child’s policy terms. Review the documents to ensure you understand the details. Ask for clarification wherever you need to.

Sign the documents and pay premiums: Once you’ve reviewed the documents and determined everything looks good, sign them and pay the first premium to activate your child’s coverage.

Is children’s whole life insurance right for you?

Children’s life insurance can be valuable in various situations:

You have a family history of medical conditions: Getting your child life insurance early on can help ensure they have coverage before potential pre-existing conditions develop. It can also help protect you in case they pass away early.

You want to give your child a financial head start: The cash value growth component can give your child a financial cushion as an adult. If you get the policy right when they’re born, you’ll have 18-25 years to build the cash value before transferring the policy to the child. They can use this cash value for college costs, as an emergency fund, or draw on the cash value to help with premiums.

You want to give your child affordable coverage: The earlier one gets coverage, the more cost-effective the rates they can lock in. Therefore, a children’s whole life insurance policy can help your child keep lifelong coverage. Once they take possession of the policy, they may more easily fit premiums into their budget.

Get a quote for whole life insurance

Whole life insurance can cover your child as they grow up and give them a financial head start once they reach adulthood. This may be a more budget friendly way to provide you added peace of mind and help your child start life on the right foot.

Aflac offers juvenile term and whole life insurance policies with customizable coverage to give you more choices to apply for when insuring your child. Speak with an agent today to learn more about juvenile life insurance and get a quote.

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