Question

Back in 2011 after the birth of my 2nd baby, I decided to get all three of us life insurance policies. Anyway, I never really thought of it thoroughly until a few days ago, I was talking with a friend who is debt free, and she is helping me. that she was informed that life insurance for children is a waste of money. She was informed that life insurance should be for the breadwinner or the person bringing in the money. I thought about it and did some research online and it made sense what she said. Before I make my final decision on whether canceling it or not, I would love to hear everyone’s thoughts.  please. We were talking about life insurance because she is helping me to see what are some expenses that I can negotiate or “cancel” so I can free up money to pay off my debts. I am currently paying $25/child quarterly with Globe Life. Their policy is $25K as GL recommended. Keep or Cancel? Your thoughts/advices are greatly appreciated.  

Answer 1

I have riders for my kids. $10k each. If something happened I would want to be able to cover their funeral.  

Comments

@delamare Thank you Amanda. Yes, that was my intention of getting it in the first place.  

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@delamare that’s why I would want a policy too. I don’t currently have one.  

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Good point!  

Answer 2

Interesting! I don’t have life insurance on my children but have considered getting it. I’d like to see what others opinions are on the subject.  

Comments

@hitherto hi Lucy! Yeah, so I pay $25 quarterly on two kids with Globe Life. My friend was saying it would make sense to get a child life insurance if they have a medical problem; otherwise, I should be focusing on getting me and my husband life insurances.  

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@charlsiecharlton I have looked into getting one for the kids to cover their funeral if something unexpected happened.  

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@hitherto thanks Lucy. That was my intention when I got it for them. is to pay for their funeral should anything happen since we can never predict the future.  

Answer 3

We have a policy for our child because it's low cost and will transfer to him when he is older, it's not big but it's cheaper to start it now than when he is older.  

Answer 4

My employer covers a small policy for children but really it would pretty much be for burial/funeral expenses. I don’t plan on buying additional

Answer 5

Some have just enough to cover funeral expenses.  

Answer 6

This depends on if you have enough money to pay for a funeral. If you don't I would keep the policy.  

Answer 7

I would only do it for the adults.  

Answer 8

I don’t have enough saved up to cover final expenses if something were to happen to my kids. And I’m sure I’d not be in a mind set to go right back to work so I would need money to cover some bills in the mean time. For those reasons we covered the kids! It’s not huge amounts but it gives me peace of mind.  

Answer 9

I have life insurance on me, my husband(breadwinner), and riders on my 2 toddlers for 10k each. Enough to cover a funeral if anything were to happen.  

Answer 10

Funerals are at least $10-12K so if you have a policy that’s low cost, I’d say keep it- God forbid you actually need it but it’s one less stress in your life following such a devastating loss.  

Answer 11

Life insurance for my 5 kids is a couple bucks a month (2-3$) and gives me $10k it they die. Which will cover their burial and some time off. For me, that’s important to be able to easily cover those costs. Especially since I have so many.  

Answer 12

Until you have the cash to pay for final expenses for the children I would keep them. The last thing you would want to worry about at a tragic time is money.  

Answer 13

Also keep in mind that there is a wide range of after death care options outside of cemetery burial, traditional (modern American) funerals, or cremation. So funeral costs don't NEED to be $10k plus if you don't want it to be.  

Answer 14

Please dont cancel. my friend lost her 15 yr old daughter when she went to visit her aunt in another state. it was 60, 000 to bring her back and bury her. she had to pay so mjuch fees ect in ca then also pay things in texas

Answer 15

I cannot fathom being in a situation where I needed it (god forbid) and not having it. We have had a policy on him since the month our son was born.  

Answer 16

We have 10k on each of our children. We did it as enough to cover burial if something was to happen to them. We have seen too many families lose a child and have to scramble to cover the funeral. If you don't have a policy, I would recommend one.  

Answer 17

We have enough insurance to cover the funeral cost because we are on BS1 again due to surgery in January and awaiting surgery again this week. Once we are more financially stable I don’t think I’d be as worried but right now I couldn’t cover the funeral cost so the low cost of the insurance policy is minimal to what the expenses would be if the loss occurred

Answer 18

I work for an insurance broker and we write a lot of life insurance policies. Children’s life insurance policies are incredibly helpful for unexpected funeral expenses. They are also usually whole life policies which means that they don’t just stop. My grandma still has the life insurance policy on my mom who is now in her 40s, and that policy will still help with funeral expenses. You can also make it so that your children own those life insurance policies after you pass away so that they’re always accessible even years later. I say keep them.  

Comments

@ligament not to mention usually no underwriting!  

Answer 19

My husband works a money paying job, I’m a SAHM. He has the larger insurance policy, but I also still need coverage. If something was to happen to me, he has to find a nanny, a cook, an accountant, etc. We have 4, almost 5, children and we pay nothing for them. They’re “riders” on our policy and if something happens to them, we have enough coverage for each of them to cover funeral, burial and for my husband to take time off work to grieve. It’s not enough to me personally to just cover a funeral for my children. We would be pausing our lives for a while and not working.  

Answer 20

We recently cancelled ours and got a huge chunk of change back because of the type of policy I had and saved 141$ monthly. I did some research. It cost around 2-3 k to cremate in an alternative casket. We have discussed death plans extensively in our family. We are all to be cremated and no boo hoo fest to be thrown at a funeral home. Death is business just like every thing else. Do your research know what's available and shop around. If you want the celebration of life party and the whole 9 like my mother know what's available. There's options, make them before your family had to do it in a time of sorrow. My mother had hers planned down to what she's to wear. I think it's comical she's so controlling but when the time comes I'll be thankful that I don't have the hard decisions to make and spend more out of guilt and sorrow than is necessary. My husband has life insurance with work that cost us around 20$ month. I told him it was up to him if he wants a policy on me and I do believe he took one through his work also for me. I honestly don't know the details, Didn't ask.  

Answer 21

Your friend is correct. There’s no need for insurance on kids.  

Answer 22

We have whole and term for my husband and I. We both work (medical) and didn’t want any financial strain for our family. We have 2 million in coverage for each of us. We have three young kids (5, 4 & 2) and we have whole life policies for them. 250k each. It will follow them for the rest of their life and they can add to it up to 8 times throughout their life! The best time to purchase WHOLE life insurance is at the youngest age possible. The price will only increase with age. I think everyone should have life insurance. Even if you’re not the breadwinner it will help your family. Help cover living expenses, childcare, college? I feel at ease knowing my family would be ok financially if something were to happen to me.  

Comments

@immersionism where do you find the life insurance or which is best? I'm a single parent with two kids and think about it all the time if something was to happen to me I don't want my kids to worry.  

Answer 23

If the child develops anything that could cause them to be uninsurable in the future, that policy could be their only life insurance policy.  

Answer 24

Life insurance for children are not a waste of money. If a child dies how will you pay for funeral costs?  

Answer 25

Keep it. My 2 stepsons were killed in a dui crash by their mother. I have it on my 3 kids because you just never know

Comments

@vickivickie8 I’m so sorry! That sounds horrible!  

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@vickivickie8 I’m sorry to hear about that. Thank you for sharing.  

Answer 26

I’m a strong believer in having at least $15, 000 for kids. No one ever thinks they will have to bury their child and hopefully you don’t. When I buried my daughter it was a blow that came out of left field. We wanted a funeral and we did not have life insurance at that time. Afterwards we got it for our kids. You can get it fairly cheap.  

Answer 27

As a mom that recently lost a child, the life insurance really helped with medical expenses and to pay bills while I was out of work and grieving. It was one less thing to worry about during the horrific time. Also, generally for children, it is a whole life policy. It does accrue cash value, albeit small, but also assures their insurability as they grow into adults. You never know what could happen, they get diagnosed with cancer, and they’re no longer insurable. Something to think about.  

Comments

@suggestive5073 I am so sorry, mama ❤️ sending love and prayers your way.  

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@suggestive5073 I am so very sorry.  

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@suggestive5073 thank you for sharing. I’m sorry to hear about your daughter.  

Answer 28

My mom had 10k on each of us until we were older and married or had our own. Just enough to cover funeral costs

Answer 29

I think this is an incredibly personal decision, and depends on your circumstances. For myself and my husband, we each have our own policy, which includes riders for our 2 kids.  

Answer 30

I’d keep it. You just don’t know what’s going to happen. Until you are in a position to be able to pay for funeral expenses if god forbid something happened, keep it.  

Answer 31

Another thought to consider other than the insurance being used for burial expenses is what happens if the child later gets diagnosed with an illness that prevents them from getting life insurance when they are an adult? My parents took a policy out for me as a child, fortunately. I’m currently uninsurable and if it wasn’t for insurance I’d have nothing if something were to happen to me. For that little of an expense, I’d keep it

Answer 32

You could get you kids attach to you I believe binder? and it is only a few dollars more. or if you have a policy that pays a percwntage for spouce & family death they payout just check your provider

Answer 33

Research the cost of a funeral, church rental, then the after activities that take place. Could you afford to cover those costs after loosing a child? It’s better to have it and not need it, than need it Snd not have it. Unless you plan on cremation, you will be paying thousands

Answer 34

I’d keep it! I have two life insurance policies for myself and two for my daughter. If, God forbid, something happened to her tomorrow, I don’t have the money saved for a funeral. I couldn’t imagine losing a child and having to go back to work after just a few days of bereavement time so I also took having the money to take time off to grieve into consideration as well. It’s a horrible thing to think about, but unfortunately, horrible things happen sometimes.  

Answer 35

It’s something you’ll never know the value of unless you, god forbid, need it. It is definitely not stupid to have.  

Answer 36

By chance I met a financial planner at a networking event. Got to know and trust him. He set me up with a policy. One year later I was diagnosed with breast cancer. If I didn't already have a policy, I wouldn't be able to get it. When my daughter turned 18, I made her get a policy. If she gets tested for the cancer gene, I don't want her to not be able to get life insurance because the gene is deemed pre-existing. I also made my son get a policy. Do you know how many young kids these days die? Suicide, drugs, drinking, car accidents. Its crazy. I can't even count how many kids, my kids ages, are dead. And their parents didn't have the money to bury them. Paying insurance sucks. You don't get anything tangible by paying it. But, when its time to cash in you see the value in it.  

Answer 37

I would definitely keep it on the children just in case something were to happen. It’s terrible to have to think that way but my sister passed away unexpectedly with no life insurance and the service was 10, 000.  

Answer 38

I’ve never commented here but this one has spoken to me. My grandmother (died in ‘03) took life insurance polices out on each of her grandchildren and at this point my parents are encouraging we just take the money out because it’s rather useless.  

Comments

@synn17 please read my comment below before you decide to terminate your policy!  

Answer 39

We have life insurance on our kids. Of something happened life insurance would help cover the medical costs and funeral. It can also help cover wages lost during the grieving time.  

Answer 40

I lost two children five years apart, one to heart defects and the other in an accident. Keep the life insurance.  

Answer 41

Oh yikes! Life insurance for your child is NOT a waste of money. God forbid something should happen to them, would you be able to pay for their funeral? What about time off work? Could you handle having to go back to work after two weeks because you need the income? If your policies carry a guaranteed insurability option then should anything EVER happen and they develop diabetes or cancer or anything else that would make the uninsurable, they will be SO thankful that you as the parent had this policy for them. A policy with a GIO also means that once they turn 18, they can get more life insurance without any medical underwriting. I have a universal life policy on both of my kids. I will still be the owner when they turn 18 and I'll visit the terms of the policy when they are married and start having kids of their own. I STRONGLY encourage you to keep the policies especially if they have a guaranteed insurability option!  

Comments

@vedetta311 I agree with this 100%! I had friends lose their child. They didn't have the money for a funeral. time off work. a burial. It took them years to afford a headstone for their child! It cause major turmoil in their marriage.  

Answer 42

Anyone who has someone dependent on them should have life insurance. Whether your the breadwinner or a stay at home mom. If you couldn’t cover a death of a child at the moment and you have it right now anyway you might wanna hold onto it until you have a emergency fund saved so you could cover such costs

Answer 43

Absolutely not a waste, no one necessarily expects their child to die but it happens. I had my work policy $10, 000 for my son thank goodness I was able to have a nice funeral and pay off some medical expenses since we spent the last 6 months of his life in the hospital!  

Answer 44

Don’t cancel it. The hope and prayer is your child lives a long healthy life, but the reality is it isn’t guaranteed. There is no way to know that your child will be insurance at a later date either so you’re doing him/her a favor by keeping it as something to have when they are grown. Another thing to remember is life insurance doesn’t get cheaper as we age. Maybe if it’s a term policy when you’ve already got whole life. Regardless, I would highly recommend keeping life insurance. That policy is the cost of a Starbucks or fast food meal once a month.  

Answer 45

Please get insurance on all of you. Everyday is not promised and you dont want to be left with the unthinkable. If you dont have it yet, have Wills done. I lost my husband in March, luckily we both have life insurance on both of us and our babies. Funeral runs btwn 10k-15k. That's not including hospital expenses.  

Answer 46

I had friends lose their child. They didn't have the money for a funeral. time off work. a burial. It took them years to afford a headstone for their child! It cause major turmoil in their marriage. I vowed I would never let that happen to me. Both of my children have policies. If I never use it. i will still see it as an investment and not a waste of money.  

Answer 47

Keep it! Unless you have saved $10, 000-$20, 000 for an unexpected funeral. I don't have that type of money and I have Life policies on all 4 of my children.  

Answer 48

I had someone ask me once. what would you do if your lost your child. I said I would go crazy. They then said “it’s expensive to go crazy”. Meaning if I’m not working who will take care of my family. I kept their life insurance after that

Answer 49

My nephew died this past october from the flu at 25. that insurance money not only buried him but helped his very poor family out so much . funerals are expensive and death is unpredictable. I have seen it save members of my family twice and it was a PURE godsend. my mother died suddenly at 62 and my uncle secretly paid the funeral costs for which my family will always be eternally grateful because my dad couldn't. now, does it make financial sense probaly not but if tragedy happens are you glad you have it absoultely! words really cannot express the feeling of that security.  

Answer 50

I’m not sure what type of life insurance but I’m pretty sure term is better than whole. I know this is a TBM group but Dave Ramsey talks about the importance -  
https://www.daveramsey.com/blog/typ...rance

Answer 51

My parents opened up a life insurance policy for me when I was very young and it just accumulated money like a savings account. 25 years later I checked on it and there was over $50K for me. So, it could be another way to save for your children’s emergency funds, too. All they did was put $20/month into the account.  

Answer 52

I have life insurance on my daughter. It is a 20 pay so at the end of 20 years it will be paid in full. I took it out on her when she was 5 due to her having a medical condition. I didn’t know if she would be insurable when she got older. This way she will have a policy paid in full for the rest of her life.  

Comments

@preposterous83503 wow very smart

Answer 53

The second time was when my father was in a nursing home which I had to sign papers for financial responibility of 7000. 00 a month. He died shortly afterwards in the nursing home. His funeral was paid for. but i could have imagined that being a shit ton worse. excuse my language.  

Answer 54

I have a 10k life insurance policy on my child and I will carry that until she’s an adult and decides to take it over. The last thing I want to do if I lose my child is worry about finances. It makes me sick to my stomach when I see people trying to get donations to bury their loved ones.  

Answer 55

I feel life insurance is good for everyone. Anything can happen to anyone at any given time.  

Answer 56

We have it for everyone because tomorrow is never promised.  

Answer 57

We had a term policy for hubby and me and it had a rider for each child. Only $5000 per child. Enough for burial. Good rule of thumb is 10 x annual salary. Stay at home moms should also be covered. They provide things that would require payment should they die such as childcare and housekeeping.  

Answer 58

When we were younger, we purchased life ins. on us and our two children. Everyone thought we were crazy to put it on our kids. We were living pay check to pay check with little I savings. Tragically, our 22mo old daughter became sick, was hospitalized and passed away 12hours later. I am so glad we had insurance on her so we were able to pay her final expenses without the worry of trying to find money at that time. I say keep the insurance and your peace of mind.  

Answer 59

As someone who just lost a sister suddenly. Every single person should have life insurance. A lot of jobs will only give you a couple day off a week. it’s a mess. If anything happened to my child I need more than a week, we would most likely quit our jobs completely and grieve. Things to think about. We even have it on me and I’m a stay at home mom but my husband wouldn’t want to go back to work right away, it’s a lot to think about and every family will feel something different is right for them but don’t let that dictate your choice

Answer 60

We find it important to have life insurance on our children, just like we have life insurance on me even though I’m a SAHM. If our kids were to die, not only would we not have to worry about funeral expenses, but we would also have the ability to take an extended leave from work (for my husband). Just like if I were to die, my husband wouldn’t give up any income or have any loss like that, but he would have to hire daycare full time for 2 kids, before and after school care for 2 kids, he’d probably want to hire someone to come in and clean, etc. he would also have the ability to quit working until all of our kids were out of the house if he chose too.  

Answer 61

I would keep it

Answer 62

Absolutely not a waste. I pay $20ish each month for each of my 3 kids (currently 10, 8, 6). The policy was for 20 years and I’ll be done. $100k + any interest it continues to build.  

Answer 63

I bought whole life for my kids that will become paid up plans for them eventually. I never want them to worry about not being able to Afford it.  

Answer 64

If for some reason the unthinkable happened and I lost my daughter I wouldn't want to have to beg people to be able to bury her properly.  

Answer 65

Honestly it would have helped my parents so much when my brother passed. They had 3 other mouths to feed while they were off a very long time from work. People don't think about how they are going to take care of their other children, keep a roof over their head etc as they are off from work. That should be the last thing you should have to worry about. So there's that, plus funeral, plus medical bills costs due to whatever happened. The most important to me would definately be taking care of my other children while mourning.  

Answer 66

I have a 10k policy on my son through my work and it is very affordable. I'm not doing it to make money from my son's death, only to take care of his final expenses.  

Answer 67

As many have said it’s good to have. What if they become ill and can’t be insured as an adult, they will already have something. As for me I sure wish someone had told me to get one that grandfathers all future kids. Only 2 of my kids can be insured. The other 2 were born with a “medical condition” they have a rare syndrome. And because of this they will never be able to have life insurance. If I would have known I would have gotten it sooner & added “future kids”. So their condition as we know it may not have a long life. That means we will pay out of pocket when the day comes that we loose them. The oldest that our support group knows of is in their 40s. So even though no one ever wants to bury their child, For is it’s a matter of when. But until that day comes we will enjoy each day we get. Just like everyone should with their kids. They grow so fast.  

Answer 68

I wonder if your debt free friend has a Sinking fund for funeral expenses.  I say. keep it. I have one for both my kids 20k each for $15. 00 a month.  

Answer 69

From someone in the UK. we can’t insure kids - it’s only adults ‍♀️ I wouldn’t insure my kids anyway if I could. Both adults insured and that’s it!  

Answer 70

We have life insurance on all of us. We did 15 pay for the kids. So it is done being paid in 15 yrs.  

Answer 71

Everyone should be covered. My daughter lost her son last year and the policy allowed them to take time off work which they desperately needed.  

Answer 72

I think it's important to have insurance on the kids but just enough to cover funeral expenses.