Baby Life Insurance

**fairy74** · 04-30-2007, 08:57 AM

Most people do not get baby life insurance because babies are not earning money. Life insurance is usually to replace a wage earners earnings if they die (or a stay at home spouse's contributions to the household which would now be missing and must be paid for). If your baby is covered by health insurance that's great but life insurance for a baby is usually not necessary. Life insurance is usually only necessary when other people depend on a salary coming in. (i.e. young singles usually don't need life insurance) You said you wanted your baby to be fully insured in case something bad happens? What does that mean exactly? If you have health insurance are you afraid of funeral expenses or something like that? If so, I'd make a little EF for that....

**thekid** · 04-30-2007, 09:20 AM

I fully agree with Fairy. I see absolutely no reason to get life insurance on a baby. I didn't even know such a product existed. I'm actually kinda shocked. Actually, I'm really shocked! Life insurance is meant to prevent any financial difficulties dependents may encounter should the policy holder die. Who is a baby's dependent?

Besides the moral implications, I don't think it makes much financial sense. Life insurance, by nature, is a speculation on the lenght of the insured person's life. It may be necessary when one or many people are dependent on the insured.....albeit the rates are usually in line with the insurance company's bet as to how long the insured will live (but you can't afford the risk if you have dependents). Hopefully, the baby will have a long, healthy life. That's the reason why the rate is low. In all probability, the company will not have to pay out for a very long time.

**thekid** · 04-30-2007, 09:33 AM

Originally posted by questions View Post

I want my baby to be healthy and happy and I want to make sure that she is fully insured in case something bad happens.

I just want to be sure you understand the difference between life insurance and health insurance. As mentionned above, life insurance covers the event of death (ie: the insurance company pays an amount to a beneficiary in the event the insured person dies) and health insurance covers health care costs that the insured person may need. Did you really mean life insurance for your baby and not health insurance? Getting health insurance for your baby would be very wise (if not already covered by you or your husband's health insurance plans), getting life insurance not so.

**Elgin526** · 04-30-2007, 09:56 AM

Well, there are two reasons I can think of that it might be a good idea.

If you don't have health insurance, or really bad health insurance where you pay a lot out of pocket, it could be of use in that instance. Heaven forbid, but should a baby/child have a long illness and then dies, the parents are stuck with the medical bills on top of funeral expenses. A life insurance policy may not cover all the left over exspenses, but it certainly would help.

The other is if the baby policy is a whole life policy, it could help that child get life insurance once they are an adult, as there are illnesses and conditions that you can get at a young age that can prevent you from geting life insurance latter in life. Of course that depends on the policy and if that is your goal (maybe there's a genetic illness in your family that would make this a possiblitly for you) you need to make sure this is something included in the policy.

If $1 a month helps you sleep at night, I don't see the harm in it, myself. But I know others will disagree with me, and that's fine, you'll get a range of opinions that way!

**Ima saver** · 04-30-2007, 09:56 AM

I would never consider life insurance for a child. (for all the above reasons)

**greedy4chips** · 04-30-2007, 12:42 PM

Elgin makes the best arguments for getting BABY life insurance. $1 a month for 18 years is not going to crush you financially and makes your child insurable later in life if that is a concern.

I think you need to base your decision on a motive. Are you looking to cover funeral expenses? Get a financial windfall in the unlikely event of your child's death? Cover unexpected health costs not covered by current health insurance? Why not, its only $12 per year?

Good luck with your choice?

**momof1in150** · 04-30-2007, 12:48 PM

If you are talking about the Gerber Grow Up plan, it is only $12 for the first year and then it increases each year. It is also a Whole Life Policy.

I just don't see the logic behind life insurance for children. They have no income and no financial commitments so they have no need for insurance.

**pearlieq** · 04-30-2007, 09:10 PM

I don't see the point of it. The policies aren't really worth that much money, so I don't see what good they would really do. A decent emergency fund would cover any "final expenses" for a child. Funerals do not have to be expensive.

The amount of insurance wouldn't really be worth that much when the kid grows up either. If they're uninsurable as adults, the amount the insurance policy would pay would be woefully inadequate for their needs.

Any "benefit" provided by these policies could easily be accomplished just by disciplined and prudent saving.

**b4freedom** · 05-02-2007, 09:36 PM

Originally posted by questions View Post

For only $12 a year, isn’t it worth the peace of mind to get to insurance?

I want my baby to be healthy and happy and I want to make sure that she is fully insured in case something bad happens.

...so I can convince my husband that we should get life insurance for our baby.

Re-read what you wrote above.

1) Baby life insurance won't give you peace of mind. It just means that if your baby dies, you get $10,000.
2) Baby life insurance won't make your baby healthy or happy. It won't make you fully insured. It's not insurance to protect you from death. It's insurance to pay for the cost of death.
3) Convincing your husband is what the commercial told you to do. Stop watching tv and beliving the lies of commercials.

It's one of those American rip offs. It plays on false beliefs and instictive fears that you may have. Your $12 a year is better invested into an educational trust fund to pay for your childs education. Check out Upromise.com to see an example of something better that you can do for your child.

**cicy33** · 05-04-2007, 09:20 AM

However, if something does happen do you or any posters have the means to pay for funeral costs? That is the reason I would consider it. Not like thousands and thousands but enough so that the only thing you have to worry about is your grief. I can totally understand the need to get basic no frills life insurance on a baby. Sadly, no one can plan for the future.

**JanH** · 05-04-2007, 09:39 AM

My Hubby and I chose to add a small term life insurance policy to our own for each child. We did it because we didn't have a large enough emergency fund and we wanted to have enough to pay for funeral expenses during such an awful time. We know several families who have lost children during the adolescent/teen/twenties years and the services were beautiful and heart-wrenching. A couple of them have been in our own family. We didn't want us or family members to have to deal with wondering how to pay for things in a time of such intense grief. We didn't want to seem morbid, but we didn't want to deal with money. It has become something we pay for twice a year, but not something we dwell on. Hug those precious babies and enjoy watching them grow up!

**DebbieL** · 05-04-2007, 11:40 AM

Can't see the point in insuring a baby or child. The whole purpose of life insurance is income protection (what would my family do without my income if I were to die, etc), IMO. I've always thought that the whole idea of insuring against your child's life is totally morbid. I don't think I could possibly even think of cashing an insurance policy on my child if the unthinkable happened. Funerals don't have to be huge frilled expenses. I think the funeral industry is absolutely full of scam artists who are taking advantage of people at their worst possible moment. Who needs a $10K casket??? It's just a spot for your body, why does it need to be fancy when it's just being put in the ground? I just don't get it.

I've lost 2 very close family members (siblings). My brother died at 20 and my sister passed from cancer at 46. My parents had a funeral for my brother (and I'm sure it wasn't a fortune). My sister was cremated and we held a memorial service at her church. I don't think there was much cost involved with that one either (her husband arranged it). Both services were nice, without costing an arm and a leg. If my own daughter dies, the least of my worries will be paying for a funeral.

**Ima saver** · 05-04-2007, 02:50 PM

The premium does increase each year as they age.

**catlinye_maker** · 05-04-2007, 03:19 PM

My mother's funeral a few years ago, with cremation and done relatively inexpensively, cost 4-5 thousand dollars. If you have that much in an emergency fund, well and good. But we don't, yet, though we're working on it. So I agree with the posters who say that a small policy isn't a bad idea if you can't count on having the cash to cover funeral expenses. I'd rather have to think about cashing an insurance policy than worry about having to afford the funeral at all.

Baby Life Insurance