3 Best Children’s Life Insurance Policies in 2020

Written by Anthony MartinPosted in Children's Life Insurance last updated on May 8, 2020

Considering life insurance on one of your kids or grandkids?

Well you came to the right place.

In this child life insurance guide, we’ll go over the best child insurance plans, show you real quotes and talk about reasons why you should or should not buy coverage on a juvenile.

Click a link below to jump right to the section you’re most interested in or just read on.

How Does Life Insurance For Children Work?

All child life insurance plans are whole life insurance. There are no term policies for kids.

Whole life is a form of permanent coverage that includes a savings account component called cash value. The cash value can be used to save money for college or another purpose.

Most child life policies don’t require an exam and parents or grandparents can purchase the coverage on children and grandchildren.

Whole life policies are very straightforward. Here’s the fine print:

Premiums can’t ever increase
Policy never expires at any age
Coverage can’t decrease
Builds cash value

As we said, they are simple to understand. There’s no fine print that you need to be concerned with.

You can also get coverage on a child via a term insurance rider on someone else’s policy.

But that does not mean the child has a policy. Their coverage would merely be an add-on to someone else’s policy. If the other master policy should ever go inactive, so too would the coverage on the child.

Also, child term riders usually expire between age 18-25. Once they reach the expiration age, they are no longer covered.

Just know this…

If you want life insurance on your child, it’s always best to buy a standalone policy.

Quotes On Life Insurance For Kids

Boys and girls pay the same rate | Rates don’t change | Coverage never expires

AGE $10,000 $20,000 $40,000 $50,000

0-4 $4.00 $7.00 $13.00 $16.00

5-9 $4.80 $8.60 $16.20 $20.00

10-14 $5.50 $10.00 $19.00 $23.50

15-17 $6.90 $12.80 $24.60 $30.50

AGE	$10,000	$20,000	$40,000	$50,000
0-4	$4.00	$7.00	$13.00	$16.00
5-9	$4.80	$8.60	$16.20	$20.00
10-14	$5.50	$10.00	$19.00	$23.50
15-17	$6.90	$12.80	$24.60	$30.50

The Best Life Insurance Companies For Children

Believe it or not, not every life insurance company offers life insurance for minors. They all offer funeral life insurance for seniors, but many of them don’t insure kids.

We sorted through the ones that do offer coverage on kids to filter out the top 3 best child life insurance plans.

Below are our findings.

We chose these three because they offer the lowest premiums, easy application processes, and are provided by financially sound A rated insurance companies.

Overall Best 1^st Place: Mutual of Omaha

Policy Type: Whole Life
Builds Cash Value: Yes
Fixed Premiums: Yes
Coverage Expiration Date: Never
Age Availability: 0 -17
State Availability: All states (plus DC) except NY & WA
Coverage Range: $5,000-$50,000
Unisex Rates: Yes
Monthly Price for $10,000 on a boy or girl age 10: $5.50
Included Riders At no Additional Cost: Guaranteed Insurability & Waiver of Premium due to Death of Owner

Click Here To See A Product Brochure

Mutual of Omaha child coverage is underwritten by one of the strongest and most financially sound life insurance companies in the world. Their children’s whole life coverage is easily the best option on the market.

It’s about the cheapest, is very easy to get, and comes with two great riders are no extra cost.

The guaranteed insurability rider will allow the owner to buy more coverage on the insured children when certain life events occur.

For example, if the children get married, have their owns kids, buy a home, or turn a certain age, they can buy more coverage without having answer any health questions.

Mutual of Omaha will allow you to do this up to five times throughout the life of the child.

Also, the waiver of premium rider will waive the monthly payments for 90 days upon the passing of the policy owner. This allows for ample time for someone else to take over the payments on the policy.

You can see quotes and fully apply by using the quoting tool on this page. Once you fill out your application, Mutual of Omaha will send you a hard copy of your policy in less than two weeks.

2^nd Place: Gerber Life

Policy Type: Whole Life
Builds Cash Value: Yes
Fixed Premiums: Yes
Coverage Expiration Date: Never
Age Availability: 0 – 14
State Availability: All 50 states (plus DC)
Coverage Range: $10,000-$50,000
Unisex Rates: Yes (except for CA & FL)
Monthly Price for $10,000 on a boy or girl age 10: $10.06
Included Riders At no Additional Cost: Guaranteed Insurability

Click Here To See A Product Brochure

Most people know of Gerber because of the baby food, but they do life insurance too!

What’s unique about the Gerber Life Grow Up plan is they double the life insurance coverage once the insured child turns 18 (with no increase in premium).

That sure is great, but their premiums are on the high side, so essentially what they’re doing is charging you all along for what the coverage would be at age 18.

They too guarantee you can buy additional life coverage later on in the child’s life without them having to show evidence of insurability.

Overall, it’s a good plan and one worth considering. If you already bought coverage from Mutual of Omaha, then Gerber would be a great one to have after them.

3^rd Place: Globe Life

Policy Type: Whole Life
Builds Cash Value: Yes
Fixed Premiums: Yes
Coverage Expiration Date: Never
Age Availability: 0-24
State Availability: All 50 states (plus DC)
Coverage Range: $5,000-$30,000
Unisex Rates: Yes
Monthly Price for $10,000 on a boy or girl age 10: $5.41
Included Riders At no Additional Cost:

Last but not least is Globe Life. They doesn’t have the best service record, but they have one of the best life insurance plans for babies for two reasons.

First, their premiums are also about as low as you’ll find. Secondly, they allow you to buy coverage on children who are up to age 24. This is rather unheard of as technically you’re buying coverage on an adult if your child is above 18.

No other carrier does that.

So pretty much if you want coverage on a child who is age 18-24, then Globe Life insurance for children is your best bet. If your kids or grandkids are below 18, then go with Mutual of Omaha or Gerber.

3 Of The Biggest Reasons To Buy A Policy On Your Children

At the end of the day, it’s a matter of preference whether you buy life coverage on your children.

There’s no hard and fast rule that says yes you should or no you shouldn’t. It’s all about what YOU think is best.

That said, here are the most common reasons to buy kid life insurance.

1) Funeral costs

This is by far the most obvious and popular reason why parents and grandparents alike purchase a child life insurance policy.

Although the chances of a child dying are very slim, it could happen. Having a life insurance policy on one of your little ones gives you nice peace of mind knowing their funeral expenses wouldn’t create a financial hardship.

Afterall, an average burial in the USA costs around $10,000. Cremations aren’t cheap either. They can easily run up to $6,000.

2) Guaranteed insurability later in life

One of the many benefits of whole life insurance for children is the ability for them to get guaranteed coverage later on life.

Basically, the insurance company will allow the insured child to purchase more coverage (up to a certain amount) without them having to show evidence of insurability.

That means their health or lifestyle cannot prevent them from getting coverage.

So if lets say your child were to develop cancer in their 20’s or 30’s, the policy you purchased for them would entitle them to buy additional coverage and their cancer would not prevent them from doing so.

3) Savings for college or other reasons

Since a child insurance policy is always whole life, there will be cash value that accrues overtime. Cash value in a whole life policy is like a behind the scenes savings account.

Every time you make a payment, a percentage of the payment goes into the cash value account. Additionally, the account earns interest each month causing it to grow even more. There is no limit to the growth of this account.

You and your children are entitled to withdraw funds from this cash value account anytime you want for any reason.

For example, let’s say your child needs money for college or buying a home or some other expense, you can tap into the cash value to help with that.

So should you buy whole life insurance for children?

Some professionals say yes you should, and some say no you shouldn’t.

Here’s the truth of it…

It’s entirely up to you! If you sleep better knowing your children/grandchildren are insured, then buy them a policy. If not, then don’t.

Again, it’s totally up to you.

Insurance (of any kind) provides peace of mind. The question is, do you feel the peace of mind is worth the few bucks you’ll spend to get whole life for your kids.

Only you can answer that.

How Much Child Life Coverage Can You Buy?

Most insurance companies will allow you to buy between $5,000- $50,000 in life insurance for minors.

Every carrier is different regarding their minimum and maximum.

Who Is Eligible To Buy Infant Life Insurance

Not just anyone can buy a policy on a child. Life insurance companies will generally only allow the following people to buy life insurance on newborns or juvenilles:

Parent
Grandparent
Great grandparent
Stepparent
Legal guardian

Adoptive parents are totally acceptable by the way.

Insurance companies don’t require consent from the child which is why they only allow these individuals to purchase coverage on the child.

Another important thing to note. Grandparents can buy life insurance for grandchildren without receiving consent from the child’s parents.

How To Buy A Life Insurance Policy For Children

Most life insurance companies will allow you to buy coverage on children 100% online.

Generally, you can fully apply in less than 5 minutes.

Quick Tip: Use the quote tool on this page to see instant child life insurance quotes and fully apply online! The coverage will be provided by Mutual of Omaha which is one of the largest most financially stable insurance companies in the world (they produced those Wild Kingdom shows). No down or up front payments are required, and you’ll have a policy at your house within 1-2 weeks.

Don’t worry because you won’t need a lot of information to complete an application.

Above all else, know that there is never any kind of medical exam required.

Here’s what you’ll need…

All you’ll have to do is provide the following information about the children/grandchildren you’re insuring:

Full name
Date of birth
Gender
Answers to a couple of medical questions (vary by carrier)

Then you’ll have to provide the following information about the person purchasing the coverage:

Full name
Relationship to the insured kids
Address
Gender
Date of birth
SSN
Phone number
Beneficiary names
Payment information

Once you fill out all the required information, the insurance company will process the application and mail you a paper policy that generally gets to you within a few weeks.

In case you were wondering…

Yes you can still apply via a paper application if that suits your preference (not every carrier offers this).

For example, the Gerber Life grow up plan can be bought online or via a paper application that you fill out and send in.

For the kids to qualify, you’ll just have to be able to say no to a few basic questions about the child’s health.

Remember, 99% of the time no exam is required.

As long as the child or grandchild you’re insuring was not born with some kind of chronic illness, disease or disorder, they’ll be accepted.

Child & Baby Life Insurance Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the most commonly asked questions we receive regarding life insurance for my son or daughter.

If you have a question that is not addressed here or someone else in this article, email us at info @ choicemutual.com

We’ll post the question and answer on this page within 48 hours.

Can you get life insurance for a child?

Many life insurance companies offer life insurance for a child. It will always be a whole life insurance policy which is permanent coverage with a savings component called cash value.

For baby life insurance, do you need the child’s consent?

No life insurance company requires children to consent to a life insurance policy on them. As long as you’re a parent, grandparent, great grandparent, stepparent or legal guardian you can buy coverage on them without their knowledge.

What options are there for kids with preexisting conditions?

It really depends on the exact health issue(s). You would need to consult with an agent to see if there is any life insurance company that offers infant life insurance with underwriting accepting of the particular issues your child is dealing with.

As a general rule, any kind of chronic illness or disease will result in a decline.

Are there term insurance policies for teenagers or young children?

There are no term life insurance policies for children. All juvenile life insurance is whole life insurance. However, there are term insurance riders that can be added on to someone else’s policy, but that’s a rider not a policy. With a term rider, the child does not have a policy. They are merely an add-on to someone else’s policy.

Is there a waiting period for juvenile or life insurance on babies?

There’s never a waiting period for coverage on children. No matter what insurance company you’re looking at the coverage begins right away. The only payout exclusion on a child policy is suicide during the first two years. All other causes of death will result in a full payout of the death benefit.

Is there a child life insurance age limit?

In most cases, insurance companies won’t insure children who are 18 and above. Since they’re adults, they want them to purchase their own coverage. Generally speaking, kids under 18 can be insured by an adult without the child being involved in the process.

Can you get life insurance for newborn?

Most life insurance companies will allow children to be covered who are as young as 14 days. Be sure to double check with the provider you’re considering, but again most companies will absolutely allow life insurance newborn children.

How much does baby life insurance cost?

Most juvenile life policies cost less than a cup of coffee per month. You can generally get $10,000 in coverage on a 10 year old for about $5-$7 per month. Go here to see child life insurance quotes for various ages and face amounts. The thing to remember is that whole life insurance quotes for children will vary by the insurance company. Be sure to compare rates from 3-5 companies before you buy a policy.