Can I Get A Life Insurance Rider for a Child?

If you’re looking to get life insurance for your child, you’re going to come across a fork in the road. You could take one path and add what’s called a “rider” to your own life insurance policy. Or, you could take the other path and buy your child a policy of his or her own.

Although the first option may seem like the path of least resistance, here are a few things to consider before you make the big decision:

Length of the Policy

A child life insurance rider can be added to your existing term life insurance policy. Seems simple, but here’s the catch: When your policy’s term ends, so does your child’s coverage.

Affordability

A child life insurance rider may have an attractive price point, but so does a children’s whole life insurance policy. You can lock in child-sized premiums for children’s whole life insurance while your child is young, and the monthly payment will stay the same for as long as your child has the policy. Even if that’s 50 or more years from now!

Coverage Amount

Here’s another game changer: A life insurance rider for a child keeps the same coverage amount throughout the policy’s term. However, a children’s life insurance policy may have coverage that increases in the future. For example, the coverage amount of the Gerber Life Grow-Up^® Plan automatically doubles during age 18 at no extra cost. A $15,000 policy becomes a $30,000 policy, a $20,000 policy becomes a $40,000 policy, and so forth. That’s value you won’t find with term life insurance.

Cash Value

Life insurance policies sometimes have a cash value, which accumulates and grows the longer you’ve owned the policy. Term life policies don’t offer cash value, and so a child life insurance rider leaves you without that benefit.

A children’s whole life insurance policy, on the other hand, has cash value, which helps you grow a nest egg for your child over time. With the Grow-Up^® Plan, your child can choose to keep the policy upon turning age 21 or turn it in for its available cash value. No matter which route your child chooses, it’s a win-win situation.

Which Is the Better Choice?

If you want to ensure that your child can be covered for a lifetime, a children’s whole life insurance policy such as the Gerber Life Grow-Up^® Plan is a better choice. The coverage grows with your child as he or she becomes an adult, even if there are health or job changes. Your child is guaranteed to have insurance for life as long as premiums are paid.

If you’re like most parents, that’s the kind of peace of mind you’re probably looking for.

Getting Started Is Easy

You can get a Grow-Up^® Plan policy for any child from 14 days to 14 years old. Apply online in minutes for a product that can help provide financial security for your child.

Do you have an older child? We also offer Young Adult whole life insurance for children aged 15 to 17. For more information about our Young Adult policy, or for assistance in finding life insurance coverage that’s right for your family, don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-425-8394.