Life insurance for your kids? Why not!

Are you looking for a gift for your child or grandchild? Have you ever thought of taking out life insurance or critical illness insurance for them? SSQ spells out the advantages of insuring a young child.

Increasingly popular, life insurance and critical illness insurance for children is about offering peace of mind for parents. But is it worth it?

SSQ looks into the matter.

What are life insurance and critical illness insurance for?

When illness or death strikes, the last thing you need is financial problems due to this unfortunate event.

That’s where life insurance and critical illness insurance come in. This type of insurance pays you a tax-free cash amount that you can use as you see fit.

Life insurance

Life insurance is often seen as compensation for loss of income in the event of death.

When it comes to your children this doesn’t apply, but the insurance proceeds can still be of use.

As a beneficiary, you can use the money to pay for funeral expenses or take an unpaid leave from work to help your family through a difficult time.

How much does it cost?

If your child is 5 years old, your premium will be $19.58 a month for an insurance amount of $25,000*.

Critical illness insurance

Each insurance company will have a list of critical illnesses they cover which generally includes childhood diseases like cystic fibrosis and autism.

If your child is diagnosed with an illness that is covered, you’ll receive a cash amount that will allow you to:

• Replace your income so that you can stay home with them or take them for medical treatments.
• Pay for extra expenses such as transportation, home care, and help with housework or child care.
• Pay for drugs and treatment not covered by your provincial health plan.

How much does it cost?

If your child is 5 years old, your premium will be $16.52 a month for an insurance amount of $25,000**.

Why take out insurance for your kids?

What are the benefits of taking out life insurance or critical illness insurance for your child?

Guaranteed insurability

The sooner you insure your child, provided they are healthy, the more advantageous the insurance is.

As you get older, the risk of getting sick increases, which could result in extra premiums or even refusal by some insurance companies to insure you.

Insuring children when they are young and healthy may avoid certain nasty surprises that life may have in store later on.

Lower insurance premiums

Because your child is still young, the risk of a critical illness or death is much lower than for an older person.

Therefore, it costs less to insure a child.

Contract flexibility

Once your child is insured, it’s easy to convert the insurance policy as they get older.

Later, they can change the insurance amount or even add other insurance products to their initial policy.

Premium payment in the event of disability

If you are the one who pays the insurance premiums, the insurer will pay the premiums for you should you become disabled during the contract period.

To take advantage of this benefit, this type of coverage has to be added to your child’s insurance policy.

Advisor’s guidance

Every person is unique. That’s why it’s a good idea to discuss your financial situation and the future of your children with your advisor.

The advisor will be able to assess your needs and help you select the insurance product that suits you best.

(Whole life 100 insurance product offered by SSQ. Premium rate for a boy as at September 2017.)
(Critical illness T75 insurance product offered by SSQ. Premium rate for a child as at September 2017.)

Note: This blog post is provided for information purposes only. It is not a substitute for professional legal, financial or fiscal advice. For advice specific to your personal situation, always speak with your advisor. SSQ cannot be held responsible for any decision made as a result of reading this blog post.