jackson'smama Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 and if you don't mind - tell me why or why not. we have three kids ages 7 and under and we currently have life insurance. we felt like it was something we could do to "help them out" in the future. now, we're wondering if it's really the best use of that money. thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksr5377 Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We don't. We spoke to several different people (friends in finance as well as our retirement planner) and they all agreed that there were better investments to make with our money. Be it a 529, a mutual fund or even just more in your Roth IRA the consenses was that we would make more money going on of those routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) We do (not whole life), but only because it's a few cents a paycheque through DH's work. Edited June 9, 2012 by nmoira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We don't. We spoke to several different people (friends in finance as well as our retirement planner) and they all agreed that there were better investments to make with our money. Be it a 529, a mutual fund or even just more in your Roth IRA the consenses was that we would make more money going on of those routes. I would agree if one is considering a whole life policy, with cash out possibilities. However, for a basic term policy, to cover funerals, is a different story. We've always had $10,000 term policies on our children. We pay about $24/year for those as add-ons to our own policies via dh's employer. He's had three employers over the years, and the term policies for the kids have always been super cheap. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 (edited) The kids and I both have free policies attached to DH's employment. In addition, DH and I both have private life insurance policies through our bank and the kids are all insured as piggy-backs to those policies at a negligible cost (seriously, it's like $3 a month). No one likes to think in these terms, of course, but it is good to have that protection for funeral costs, paying off medical bills if your child has been ill, etc. I don't know that I would have sought out policies for the kids in the absence of the piggy-back policy but it's nice to know we have them. ETA: Totally agree with people about the term vs. whole thing. I would not do life insurance as an investment for a child. There are better ways of saving. Edited June 9, 2012 by Alte Veste Academy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson'smama Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 ok. i'm 99% sure on the following: whole life. doubles at age 18 with no added cost or health stuff. has cash-out possibilities. all three kids is $47 per month. now what do you think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I had a boss a long time ago who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and could never get life ins as an adult (at any sort of affordable price) so when DD2 was born and tested positive for the gene for diabetes, I bought whole life policies for all the children. It will be paid off by the time they are 18 or so and will continue to grow over their lifetime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Michelle* Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Not separate ones, but they are covered with a $10k death benefit under my husband's SGLI. When our first child passed away, it certainly helped to cover funeral expenses and to allow me some much needed time away from work. As CathieC stated above, a small and inexpensive policy like that makes sense for kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs.Gregg Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We do, it came 'free' with our life ins. $15k ins. for each child. Having to bury our first born (micro premmie 11yrs ago) and the cost associated with that I would advise any parent to look at what the cost of burial is. I'm not trying to be morbid by my in-laws lost a child when he was 6yrs old and I know that the stress associated with the cost of his burial had a massively negative effect on them. Along with all the other stress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChocolateReignRemix Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Yes. If a child passes away, having the extra security to pay funeral bills or any other unexpected medical expenses is invaluable. I also recommend having a cushion of extra money built in so that either parent (or both) can take a leave of absence without pay if needed. If there is any history of medical issues that could affect whether the child can be insured as an adult, having a plan that converts into coverage as an adult is recommended as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglei Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Yes, whole life, and I'm so glad we did. Ds is a two-time cancer survivor - it is currently impossible for him to get life insurance. If we hadn't gotten it for him when he was less than a year old, he would not have any, and I don't know if he would ever qualify - or if he did, how high the rate would be. As it is, the rate is very low and at certain times we can increase with NO questions asked - this works well for us because, if he could only increase WITH questions, he would be denied. In a word, his policy spells RELIEF. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nono Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 No we don't have life insurance on our children. Yes, we do have enough money to arrange a funeral in the event something terrible happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mereminerals Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We don't have insurance on our kids, but my dad got policies for all the grandkids. I am uninsurable due to having lupus and my daughter has a positive ANA, so my dad is making sure that all of the grandkids will have some sort of insurance. If I am not mistaken, it is whole life that doubles at 18 and then a couple more times after that. My dad took one out on me as a child and it is the only life insurance I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twilight Woods Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We only had it on our first born... to pay for his funeral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyK Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 I don't and I wouldn't. Not a good investment, even whole life. We save for them in 529 plans and custodianship accounts. If, God forbid, our kids died, we could afford any associated expenses out of our regular income. We have a lot of insurance on us, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phathui5 Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 No. We have term life insurance for dh and myself, but nothing on the kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson'smama Posted June 9, 2012 Author Share Posted June 9, 2012 thank you for your responses and for sharing what you do. i know this is hard to discuss...we purchased this for their future - not for financial purposes should something happen to them during their childhood....so i appreciate those who've shared the perspective of uninsurability as adults. our children are very healthy and there is nothing in our histories that would suggest that something is likely to affect them, but that certainly is unpredictable for most, if not all, health issues. thanks again for helping me out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thia Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We have it b/c a grandparent purchased it for them. What we don't have is insurance for us. We know we need it, just don't know where to start. The co that holds for the children is several states away. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 No, we don't. We have college savings plans instead. We didn't see why they needed an insurance product. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 and if you don't mind - tell me why or why not.we have three kids ages 7 and under and we currently have life insurance. we felt like it was something we could do to "help them out" in the future. now' date=' we're wondering if it's really the best use of that money. thanks![/quote'] From what I think your situation is, no. I have a wee bit through work. There are certainly better investments out there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kalanamak Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 any other unexpected medical expenses This, along with it being a very cheap group rate I pay pre-tax, is why I bother at all. We have a high deductible insurance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssavings Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 They have $25,000 coverage attached to DH and my policy. It's a term policy, but it has guaranteed eligibility at 5x the coverage as adults. And it's free. I would not buy life insurance as an investment. We carry term insurance in case it's needed, and use other methods to invest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 We have term policy that comes with my insurance- no extra cost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in SC Posted June 9, 2012 Share Posted June 9, 2012 Our children have free life insurance associated with dh's employment. It's not a large amount, but would easily cover funeral and other associated costs. Our twins passed shortly after birth, so weren't covered by any life insurance, which is how I'm certain that the amount on our other children is sufficient. However, it hadn't occurred to me that one or more might become uninsurable, so I need to discuss this with dh to see if he feels some changes might be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 The purpose of life insurance is to aid the survivors with the financial impact of no longer having that person alive. I love my kids but the fact is that the family would have less expenses without them, not more. So, no, we do not have any life insurance on them. The odds of them becoming uninsurable by early adulthood are low, very low, tiny. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson'smama Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 i don't really see this as an "investment". they have college plans. we have retirement. this is more of a "bonus" for them after they reach adulthood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson'smama Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 The purpose of life insurance is to aid the survivors with the financial impact of no longer having that person alive. I love my kids but the fact is that the family would have less expenses without them, not more. So, no, we do not have any life insurance on them. The odds of them becoming uninsurable by early adulthood are low, very low, tiny. i tend to agree but the "odds of becoming ininsurable" is starting to worry me the most and i hadn't thought about that til i got responses mentioning it in this thread! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bettyandbob Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 My older 2 have whole life policies. The reasons are the possibility of being uninsurable as an adult and funeral expenses. One of them has some funky health conditions and I sometimes wonder is some bigger diagnoses is looming, so I'm glad we did this. Youngest has down syndrome. Our insurance wouldn't insure him until he was 8 (I guess to make sure he'd passed some of the early major health problems associated with down syndrome). He's older than 8 now, but we haven't followed up yet. I do plan to get some quotes on him, simply because one day someone will have to plan his funeral. I don't want his sister or brother saddled with that kind of expense when they are planning their own retirement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 i tend to agree but the "odds of becoming ininsurable" is starting to worry me the most and i hadn't thought about that til i got responses mentioning it in this thread! Ok, so to cover this small possibility, some folks buy insurance on their kids, pay premiums for years (albiet usually low premiums), and usually drop the insurance before the kids are ever adults. I don't remember the percentages but a high proportion of "kid insurance" policies are dropped before the kid turns 18. Even if they keep paying, the child will never directly benefit. So, they are really paying for the benefit of potential future currently unknown dependents of their child. It's a great deal for the insurance salesmen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackson'smama Posted June 10, 2012 Author Share Posted June 10, 2012 Ok, so to cover this small possibility, some folks buy insurance on their kids, pay premiums for years (albiet usually low premiums), and usually drop the insurance before the kids are ever adults. I don't remember the percentages but a high proportion of "kid insurance" policies are dropped before the kid turns 18. Even if they keep paying, the child will never directly benefit. So, they are really paying for the benefit of potential future currently unknown dependents of their child. It's a great deal for the insurance salesmen. well, since you put it that way...kinda doesn't make sense. i think i'm more equating it with health insurance in my mind for some reason. need to talk to dh. thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 We have term policies for all the kids. They are very cheap and just enough to cover a funeral at $10-15,000. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 No. If, God forbid, anything happened to them, I have enough cash to bury them. I do not view it as my responsibility to provide them with life insurance for when they need something more than burial. I would rather invest in their education and whatever else will make them self-sufficient when it comes time to think about life insurance. My mom bought that kind of life insurance when we were kids. When we were done with school, she sent us the bills. I paid initially but then thought, what do I want this for? I can buy much more life insurance for a fraction of this. (Plus, I had life insurance through work at the time.) I was also broke from student loans, and my parents were deep in credit card debt, so we agreed to let it lapse. Does that mean it was a waste all those years? Maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the4Rs Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 We do. Term policy for $25,000 on each kid and is piggy-backed on my policy for very little. I lost a sister young and my parents did not have insurance on her. I will not go through what they went through, should one of mine pass away unexpectedly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 The purpose of life insurance is to aid the survivors with the financial impact of no longer having that person alive. I love my kids but the fact is that the family would have less expenses without them, not more. So, no, we do not have any life insurance on them. The odds of them becoming uninsurable by early adulthood are low, very low, tiny. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I would agree if one is considering a whole life policy, with cash out possibilities. However, for a basic term policy, to cover funerals, is a different story. We've always had $10,000 term policies on our children. We pay about $24/year for those as add-ons to our own policies via dh's employer. He's had three employers over the years, and the term policies for the kids have always been super cheap. We have absolutely dirt cheap term through dh's work so that funerals would be covered. I think it's probably about the same coverage at a total cost of $25.00 per year. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ErinE Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 No. If you want, put the money you'd pay for insurance in a bank account for your child. They would get more out of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasRachel Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 I think about 1/2 the people on this thread are talking about whole life and 1/2 are talking about term. Whole life is generally considered a rip off. It's a poor investment. We have about $10,000 for each of the kids through DH's work. It's very little $ each year. We've used it once. DS1's funeral was about $2000 because the funeral home didn't charge us for their service, otherwise it would've been more. We also had hospital expenses that we were then able to pay off. That's all you really need for a child. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 no. we consider it a total waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAPeachie Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 We have $10K for each child for something like $2 a month through DH's employer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 yes--it's a somewhat small policy.....but yes..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyof4ks Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 We do (not whole life), but only because it's a few cents a paycheque through DH's work. This is us too. We have enough for funeral expenses (sounds morbid, but our youngest is a cancer survivor and we were smacked with reality), but only pay a few cents a month through dh's employer. Whole life and such is not worth it to us, because we have far better returns on their mutual funds to use to plan for their future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted June 10, 2012 Share Posted June 10, 2012 Yes, in the first year of each of my children's lives we purchased a whole life policy for them. The State Farm life insurance policies are good for ~$20,000, and we only paid ~$300/year for 10 years, so the oldest three are all paid up. They can borrow against it later if they need to, but I purchased them because I didn't ever want to find myself in a position where I was grieving the loss of my child and stuck without money for a funeral at the same time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 spam in post 45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 We do, through dh's employer. I NEVER thought we'd use it. Then my dd got cancer and died. :angelsad2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunflowerlady Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Yes, we do. It is just a small policy that would help cover funeral expenses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephanieZ Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 ok. i'm 99% sure on the following: whole life. doubles at age 18 with no added cost or health stuff. has cash-out possibilities. all three kids is $47 per month. now what do you think? Complete waste of money. Put it in a retirement fund for you or college accounts for the kids. Or take a vacation. Or, get good cheap term policies on both dh and you. Kids do not need life insurance. When they have dependents, then they can and should get cheap term policies. We spend about that amount for millions in insurance for dh and I. That insurance on us is for the kids, as it is designed to protect them while they are dependents. ETA: spending a few thousand on a simple burial for a child is not an issue for me. The death of one of our children would be devastating in every way except financially. Realistically, we spend so much on them living that the last thing we would need would be financial help should one of them die. God forbid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MilkMaid Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I had a boss a long time ago who was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes and could never get life ins as an adult (at any sort of affordable price) so when DD2 was born and tested positive for the gene for diabetes, I bought whole life policies for all the children. It will be paid off by the time they are 18 or so and will continue to grow over their lifetime. So thankful we purchased our children's policies at birth. My dd was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes @ 7yo & life insursance would be costly now with this unforgiving disease in her life. I do advise it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TN Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 No, we only have life insurance to cover the finances that would be lost if someone died - mostly for dh, but a little on me to cover things like education and house-hold help. We have money saved in a money market account to cover any unexpected expenditures, including the cost of a funeral. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tressa Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 We do. Small policies attached to mine. We did it in the event that something happens that makes them uninsurable. I pay $36 a year for all three kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AKamp Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 (edited) We do. They are added on to ours and are fairly small, but in the event something were to happen, costs would be covered. Edited July 21, 2012 by AKamp Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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