Thinking about life insurance for your child may feel uncomfortable—but many parents consider it as a way to plan for the unexpected.
Before making a decision, it’s important to weigh the pros and cons carefully. Asking the right questions can help you determine whether a child’s life insurance policy is the right choice for your family. Here are six key questions to guide you through the process.
1. Will Your Child Grow to Be a Healthy Adult?
Every parent hopes their child will grow up happy and healthy. But health is never a guarantee. If a child develops a serious condition, it can bring emotional, physical, and financial strain to the entire family. Many life insurance policies require a medical assessment, meaning conditions like asthma, epilepsy, depression, anxiety, or cancer could make it difficult—or even impossible—for them to get coverage later in life.
By securing a whole life insurance policy while they’re young, you can lock in their insurability before any health issues arise. This type of policy lasts a lifetime, ensuring they’ll always have coverage, no matter what the future holds.
2. Will Your Child Pursue a High-Risk Job or Hobby as An Adult?
Parenting books always stress the importance of supporting your child’s dreams and guiding them on their journey to becoming who they want to be. But what if they want to be firefighters, astronauts, or skydiving instructors? And what does that mean for their life insurance?
If your child were to pursue a high-risk hobby or career, then their life insurance options as an adult may be limited. The life insurance companies have to weigh their risks, and someone constantly put in danger for their job is a significant risk. However, if your child were to have a whole life insurance policy, they would be insured regardless of what career or hobby they have as an adult.
3. Will Your Child Be Able to Afford Life Insurance as An Adult?
Insurance companies calculate life insurance premiums by factoring in things like the enrollee’s age and health status. Children are young and mostly healthy, and so insuring them comes with relatively low risk to the insurance company. Insurance companies will always charge their low-risk clients less than their high-risk ones, so by being proactive and purchasing a plan for them early, you could secure your child’s low rates for life. In other words, the premium rates lock in for life, so your child can keep the policy as an adult and pay the same rates as when you bought it.
4. Do Life Insurance Policies for Children Have Cash Value?
As your child grows into adulthood, so does the cash value of their whole life insurance policy. With each premium payment, the policy accumulates cash value—similar to a savings account, but with growth driven by interest and dividends rather than direct contributions. The longer the policy remains active, the more cash value it builds.
Once your child reaches adulthood (typically 21, depending on the policy), they gain full control. They can keep the policy for lifelong coverage, withdraw the available cash value, or even borrow against it if needed—as long as they continue making premium payments.
5. What Happens to the Policy When the Child Turns 21? Does the Policy End?
When your child turns 21, the policy you’ve paid for years doesn’t just disappear. Instead, the ownership of the policy will automatically transfer from you to your child – along with the accumulated cash value.
Again, the longer you and your child own the policy, the more cash there is to access.
6. What Happens If the Unspeakable Should Happen?
Life is unpredictable. While you can’t control what the future holds, you can take steps to protect your child’s financial security. That’s the power of life insurance—it provides peace of mind, knowing your family will have financial support if the unexpected happens.
One plan that helps secure your child’s future is the Gerber Life Grow-Up® Plan. It not only guarantees lifelong coverage but also builds cash value over time, offering a valuable safety net. To learn more about this policy, check out Gerber’s details page or connect with one of our licensed representatives. They can answer your questions and help you find the right coverage for your family’s needs.
If you’re curious about the kinds of things that cause life insurance claims to be denied so you can be prepared accordingly, check out our article here.
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We hope that this information on life insurance for your child is useful to you.
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This article was updated on 3/14/2025.