Can children get life insurance?

Buying life insurance for children can be an effective way to set aside money for later in life. For most Canadians, insuring your child with child life insurance is an ideal way of investing and saving for their future because some policies have a built in savings component. This financial head start comes in the form of the cash value that accumulates with their life insurance policy. For example, the cash value that accumulates with whole life policies can be borrowed against, making it an ideal way for a young adult without other assets to secure a loan that would otherwise unobtainable.

Purchasing term life insurance for children is rare, and some insurance providers actually don’t offer this type of coverage for children. As term life insurance is a product that is meant to cover the insured person’s income, covering someone without any financial responsibility, obligations or job is seen by many as an unwise investment.

Another reasons people purchase life insurance policies for their children is because it can give coverage if later in life they were to have medical conditions that would make them otherwise uninsurable. This is especially important for families with a medical history.  For example, a family with a history of heart disease or diabetes may decide it is a wise investment to purchase life insurance for a child in case of later medical complications. Because these types of health issues can make getting life insurance more difficult, getting it while a child is healthy may make it a wise investment. As there are alternatives to these reasons, it is advisable that you speak with an insurance professional. LifeCover.ca specializes in connecting Canadians with independent life insurance agents.