Family BWFor me, the thought of losing my child is unthinkable.  I’m sure this is true for any parent.  The idea of buying life insurance for our children, forces us to think about the unthinkable, which is why so many parents don’t do it.  So in order to make this very important purchase easier to deal with, we have to think about it a different way.

Changing my mindset

I didn’t buy life insurance for my daughter because I expect her to die.  The opposite is actually true.  I expect to life a long full life.  That is why life insurance is a wonderful gift to her.  Life insurance will do two important things for her:

  • It will protect her future insurability
  • It is one method of saving for her future

The guarantee

As a parent I want to plan for my child’s future. One of the best things that I could do for my child is to guarantee her insurability for later in life. By purchasing life insurance early on for my child I was able to guarantee that she will have insurance later in life. If she were to come down with some kind of illness later in life that could cause her to be refused for a policy at that time, she already has a policy to fall back on.  Because most policies purchased for children have an option for the child to buy additional insurance coverage when the child comes of age, this first policy can keep rates low and ensure that additional coverage can be obtained if needed. Considering that chronic illnesses such as asthma and diabetes (which run in my family) can cause high premium rates, this first policy will keep her rates and total cost down.

The cash

The second thing that I can do for my child is to try and give her a financial head start.  Her policy will accumulate cash value throughout her life.  When she is of age, she will be able to borrow that money from her policy to help her reach her dreams and goals.  Perhaps it will be a down payment on a house, or help to fund a fabulous wedding. Maybe she’ll let the money grow and it will help fund her retirement. Either way, I feel it’s important to have her understand the importance of saving and investing from an early age.

Think with your head not your heart

When it comes to children we tend to think with our hearts, but it is important to make sure that we use our heads when making long-term financial decisions for our kids. The policy will help you take care of final expense if the unthinkable occurs.  However, I think it’s more important to consider all the good things that the policy can provide while your child is alive.

If you have any questions or would like to share your feelings or experiences about life insurance for your family, leave us a comment. We'd love to talk to you.

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