10 best juvenile life insurance companies in 2022
Written by Anthony Martin 
Founder & CEO | Licensed Agent | Forbes Author 
Fact checked by Brian BarberLast updated on December 7, 2021Are you looking for a juvenile life insurance policy and have questions?
Great, you came to the right place.
In this article, you’ll see prices, how these plans work, the best companies, and more.
Topics covered in this article
- How juvenile plans work
- Sample prices
- 10 best companies
- What about health issues?
- How to find the best plan
How does a juvenile life insurance policy work?
A juvenile life insurance policy is usually a whole life insurance plan that’s $10,000-$50,000 in coverage. It features a savings account component called “cash value” that increases with each payment. You can use the cash value for future college expenses or anything else.
The main thing you must understand about a whole life policy is that it’s very straightforward.
Here are the details you should familiarize yourself with:
- Guaranteed lifetime coverage that will not expire
- Rates will not increase over time
- Coverage is guaranteed to remain level and not decrease
- Cash value savings component builds up that you can borrow from
All life insurance plans simply result in a tax-free check when the insured dies (the children in this case).
There are no restrictions whatsoever on how that money is used.
Guaranteed option to buy coverage later in life
One of the main reasons to even buy life insurance on a juvenile is to guarantee their insurability later in life.
Typically, juvenile life insurance companies allow the insured children to buy more coverage as adults based on specific life benchmarks. This additional coverage is guaranteed approval regardless of their lifestyle or health.
For example, it could be when they turn 25, 30, 35 or buy a home or have a baby.
It’s undoubtedly true that young to middle-aged adults are usually able to qualify for life insurance. That said, some people do develop serious health issues that make them uninsurable.
Juvenile whole life insurance rates
Juvenile life insurance premiums tend to be $10-$15 per month, with $20,000 being the most common amount of coverage bought. The exact price you pay will be governed by the amount of coverage purchased, gender, state you live in, and the juvenile’s health.
The sample rates shown are unisex.
AGE $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $50,000
0-4 $4.61 $8.21 $11.82 $19.03
5-9 $5.43 $9.86 $14.29 $23.16
10-14 $6.15 $11.30 $16.44 $26.74
15-17 $7.75 $14.49 $21.24 $34.74
Top 10 best juvenile life insurance companies in the USA
These juvenile life companies have the best policies on the market. They stand out in terms of price, application processes and financial history.
- Mutual of Omaha
- Globe Life
- Gerber Life
- Foresters Financial
- Protective
- Royal Neighbors of America
- American Amicable
- Transamerica
- Physicians Mutual
- Liberty Banker’s Life
Below you will see a thorough analysis of the best life carriers for juveniles.
Please remember that not every carrier has its product available in all states.
#1 Mutual of Omaha
- Coverage options: $5,000 – $50,000
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Brochure: click here
- Unisex pricing: yes
Mutual of Omaha (also known as United of Omaha) unquestionably offers juveniles the best whole life insurance.
Their application is extremely simple, pricing is the lowest on the market, and Mutual of Omaha has an excellent customer service and financial track record.
Lastly, if the policy owner dies, they will waive all premiums for 90 days. For kids’ life insurance, that’s very rare.
Sample Mutual of Omaha premiums
AGE $10,000 $20,000 $30,000 $50,000
0-4 $4.61 $8.21 $11.82 $19.03
5-9 $5.43 $9.86 $14.29 $23.16
10-14 $6.15 $11.30 $16.44 $26.74
15-17 $7.75 $14.49 $21.24 $34.74
#2 Globe Life
- Coverage options: $5,000 – $30,000
- Age range: 0 – 24
- Unisex pricing: yes
Globe Life’s whole life for children is very inexpensive, just like Mutual of Omaha. However, they will only allow you to buy up to $30,000 on a juvenile.
Also, Globe does not have the best service record in the industry. They are still worthy of being at the top of the list, just strictly based off how inexpensive they are.
Sample Globe Life premiums
Age $10,000 $20,000 $25,000 $30,000
0-4 $3.83 $7.15 $8.81 $10.47
5-9 $4.48 $8.50 $10.51 $12.52
10-14 $5.43 $10.27 $12.69 $15.11
15-19 $6.49 $12.23 $15.10 $17.97
#3 Gerber Life
- Coverage options: $10,000 – $50,000
- Age range: 0 – 14
- Brochure: click here
- Unisex pricing: yes (not in FL or CA)
If you already bought the max coverage with Mutual of Omaha, Gerber’s Grow-Up plan is a great option.
Sample Gerber Life premiums
AGE $10,000 $20,000 $40,000 $50,000
1 $6.79 $13.58 $26.08 $32.60
5 $7.68 $15.36 $29.61 $37.01
10 $9.05 $18.10 $34.80 $43.50
14 $10.38 $20.77 $39.97 $49.97
#4 Foresters Financial
- Coverage options: $5,000 – $75,000
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Brochure: Click here
- Unisex pricing: yes (not FL)
Foresters Financial has been in business for over 145 years, so they are not new to the life insurance business.
Their premiums are very low, and they will allow you to buy up to $75,000 in coverage. The downside? You have to meet up with an agent face to face to apply.
Sample Foresters premiums
AGE $10,000 $20,000 $40,000 $50,000
1 $4.45 $7.86 $14.67 $18.07
5 $5.24 $9.43 $17.82 $22.01
10 $5.92 $10.78 $20.51 $25.38
15 $7.43 $13.81 $26.57 $32.94
#5 Protective
- Coverage options: $10,000 – $20,000
- Age range: 0 – 18
- Unisex pricing: yes
Protective is a financially sound company with a solid financial history. What’s unique about them is that they will allow you to insure an 18-year-old.
Most child life insurance companies (or young adults) stop at age 17.
Sample Protective Life premiums
AGE $10,000 $20,000 $40,000 $50,000
1 $6.20 $12.40 $24.80 $31.00
5 $7.00 $14.00 $28.00 $35.00
10 $8.20 $16.40 $32.80 $41.00
#6 Royal Neighbors of America
- Coverage options: $10,000 – $49,999
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Brochure: click here
- Unisex pricing: no
Royal Neighbors of America is a great company. However, they require you to meet face-to-face with an agent to sign your juvenile up for life insurance with them.
Sample Royal Neighbors premiums
AGE $10,000
Male $10,000
Female $20,000
Male $20,000
Female
1 $8.40 $8.00 $12.44 $11.66
3 $8.60 $8.18 $12.86 $12.01
5 $8.81 $8.35 $13.28 $12.35
7 $9.03 $8.53 $13.71 $12.72
Male
Female
Male
Female
#7 American Amicable
- Coverage options: $10,000 – $35,000
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Unisex pricing: no
Have you ever seen the show Fixer Upper? In the introduction to that show, the big building in the background is the home office for American Amicable.
You can insure the life of your grandchildren with them or your own children. Premiums are competitive, but they sadly have no online application process. You have to speak with an agent.
Sample American Amicable premiums
AGE $10,000
Male $10,000
Female $20,000
Male $20,000
Female
0-10 $12.62 $11.71 $22.59 $20.77
11 $12.84 $11.89 $23.03 $21.14
12 $13.04 $12.08 $23.43 $21.51
13 $13.25 $12.26 $23.85 $21.88
Male
Female
Male
Female
#8 Transamerica
- Coverage options: $1,000 – $50,000
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Unisex pricing: no
Transamerica is a strong company financially. Their prices are fair, but for some reason, they have no online application process.
You must complete the application with an agent either over the phone & email or in person.
Sample Transamerica premiums
AGE $10,000
Male $10,000
Female $20,000
Male $20,000
Female
1 $15.96 $14.31 $28.31 $25.01
3 $16.16 $14.47 $28.71 $25.34
5 $16.35 $14.65 $25.70 $29.09
7 $16.89 $14.98 $30.17 $26.35
Male
Female
Male
Female
#9 Physicians Mutual
- Coverage options: $5,000 or $10,000
- Age range: 0 – 12
- Unisex pricing: yes
Physicians Mutual thankfully does have an online application process that’s relatively easy to use.
The downside with them is that their prices could be lower to match their competition.
Sample Physicians Mutual premiums
AGE $5,000 $10,000
1 $2.95 $5.90
4 $3.40 $6.80
8 $3.85 $7.70
12 $4.45 $8.90
#10 Liberty Banker’s Life
- Coverage options: $10,000 – $30,000
- Age range: 0 – 17
- Unisex pricing: No
Liberty Bankers will not sell you a policy that costs less than $15.00 per month for some reason. Essentially, this means you may have to buy more coverage than you may want.
They would be more favorable if they did away with that rule. Nonetheless, Liberty Bankers Life is a reliable company with good customer service and fair prices.
Sample Liberty Bankers Life premiums
AGE $20,000
Male $20,000
Female $30,000
Male $30,000
Female
1 Price too low Price too low $17.33 $15.31
3 Price too low Price too low $18.03 $15.95
5 Price too low Price too low $18.64 $16.56
7 Price too low Price too low $19.47 $17.45
Male
Female
Male
Female
My child was born with health issues. Will they qualify?
It will depend on what specific health issue(s) your juvenile child has. In a nutshell, some problems are acceptable, and some are not.
As a basic example, being prematurely born is not a problem.
However, if your child has a developmental condition, they, unfortunately, will not qualify.
Here are some of the most common conditions a juvenile could have that would most likely cause them to be declined:
- Sickle cell anemia (not sickle trait)
- Spina Bifida
- Autism
- Down’s syndrome
- Type 1 diabetes
If your child has no issues, they will be approved.
How to find the best whole life juvenile policy
To figure out which policy is best for you, you should evaluate the following items for each insurance company you’re considering.
After you know these things, you can make an informed decision.
- Price
- Can you apply online?
- How much coverage can you buy?
- What happens if the owner of the policy dies?
- Financial track record of the insurance company
- When can the insured children buy more coverage later in life?
- Customer service track record
- Which riders (if any) do they include?
With that data, it should be easy to make a decision.
After gathering the information, the winner is clear.
When you analyze all the data points above, it’s very easy to see that Mutual of Omaha is head and shoulders above the rest.
Not only do they offer low rates, but they have excellent customer service and financial records. Also, their online application is the easiest in the business.
Check out this table below to compare the three biggest juvenile life insurance companies side by side.
| Information | Mutual of Omaha | Globe Life | Gerber Life |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Year in Business | 1909 | 1951 | 1967 |
| A.M. Best Rating | A+ | A+ | A |
| BBB Rating | A+ | A+ | A+ |
| 2019 NAIC Complaint Index (lower is better) | 1.51 | 7.19 | 1.56 |
| Coverage Options | $5,000- $50,000 |
$5,000- $30,000 |
$10,000- $50,000 |
| Unisex Rates | Yes | Yes | Yes (Not CA & FL) |
| $20k Cost For A 9-Year-Old | $9.86 | $8.50 | $17.51 |
| Included Riders | Guaranteed Insurability | Guaranteed Insurability | Guaranteed Insurability |
| Grace Period For Owner’s Death? | Yes | No | Yes |
