A child is always a bundle of joy. Right from the time it comes into your life till the child is all grown up and independent, your child is your pride and joy. You give your child the best possible care when he/she is an infant, send him to the best schools and colleges and want the best future prospects for him/her.
Caring for a child, though delightful, involves expenses. Whether you are nurturing your infant or paying for his/her school and college fees, you have to spend money. If you want your son/daughter to have a bright career, you have to devise a financial plan for your child’s future. Higher education requires money and given the current costs, the requirement is quite considerable.
So, how do you plan for your child’s financial future? You invest, don’t you? While your investments might yield you a considerable corpus to provide for your child’s future expenses, what would happen if you face premature death? How would you secure your child’s future then?
A child insurance plan comes into play in these situations. The plan provides an avenue of investment for your child’s future and also guarantees the promised corpus even if the parent dies prematurely.
The primary feature of children’s ULIPs is that they give individuals a three-pronged advantage, together with high insurance coverage, disciplined investments, and participation in the equity market. Three advantages mean that the sum assured is given to the nominee child on death of the insured parent, the future premium is waived off and the maturity value would be paid at the time of maturity, ensuring that your children’s future dreams are fulfilled.
The payouts at maturity of ULIPs is determined by the markets, as the funds in ULIPs are invested in equity instruments. This plan is good for longer tenures (more than 10-15 years) of policies. Insurers may provide the option of choosing between different investments funds, allowing you more control over the money you have invested. Some dynamic plans are also available where the profits may be transferred directly and automatically from equity to debt instruments.
These policies provide stable returns in the form of bonuses over the sum assured. In general, bonuses on traditional plans are paid from 2nd year onwards, and you can check if the bonus is in cash or if a reversionary bonus will be compounded or have simple interest.
Most often, the life insurance policy for kids is designed to provide a safety net to the child in case of financial difficulties during important decisions of life. These plans are available in both linked and non-linked varieties.
Payable as a lump sum at the start of the policy tenure. You may also choose to pay it frequently on a regular basis or for a limited period of time. Most Life Insurers provide options such as monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly. Premium amount varies as per the sum assured chosen by you in case of traditional child plans.
This is the amount that will be paid out in case of the policyholders’ demise. Most of the time, sum assured should be above 10 times the current gross income of insured.
The maturity amount should be chosen with an eye on the future. Assuming your child is 8 years old, and his policy will get matured in 10 years’ time, then you should take into consideration factors such as inflation and interest rates. If you fail to consider these factors, the released funds may fall short of the requirements in future. Also, plans such as single premium plans may not provide appropriate maturity benefits and features, so kindly check the policy documents clearly before applying.
Mostly meant for children up to the age of 18-21. Here, tenures can be selected from birth until the child reaches a predefined age. The policyholder/insured is not to be 70 plus years at policy’s maturity.
With child life insurance policies, you can select if the child will get payment as a lump sum, or in yearly instalments. Such a setting will help in paying dues such as college fees, marriage expenses, higher education expenses, appropriate funds for starting a business, etc.
An inherent feature of child plans is that premium waivers become applicable when the insured dies in a stipulated duration of time. In this situation, the sum assured will be paid out to the beneficiary, while the premium for the remaining tenure will be paid by the insurer. At the end of the tenure, the maturity amount will be provided as detailed in the policy document. In case premium waiver is not provided automatically with the plan, you should opt for a premium waiver rider.
Specific riders are available that give you more out of life insurance policy. The riders are available in three basic categories - premium waiver, critical illness, and accidental death and disability. The premium waiver may already be added with your plan i.e. Inbuilt, so please check the policy documents in this regard. The critical illness rider provides coverage for a set of predefined critical illnesses, while accidental death and disability riders pay an additional sum assured in case of unfortunate accidents that cause disability or death of the insured.
A partial withdrawal clause allows the policyholder to make a partial withdrawal, in case of a financial emergency. Many policies also come with the option of partial liquidity.
A child insurance policy such as a ULIP scheme allows a policyholder to select the choice of investment funds (equity, debt, hybrid and money market). You also have an option of a Systematic Transfer Plan and Dynamic Fund Allocation.
The child plan continues even after the parent dies and pays the maturity benefit as promised. When a parent buys a child plan, he or she is assured that whether he or she lives or dies, the plan would pay a benefit on maturity. This benefit can then be used to fund the child’s education or marriage. Thus, a child plan secures the child’s financial future.
Child plans also have the unique feature of an inbuilt premium waiver benefit. This benefit waives the future premiums if the parent dies during the plan term. So, the parent is not only assured of a maturity benefit, he or she also knows that the family would not face the burden of paying any premiums to continue the plan. The plan would continue automatically and pay benefits as and when promised.
Child plans, whether traditional or unit linked, understand the importance of securing funds for your child. That is why these child plan also allow various add-on riders which increase the scope of coverage. The policyholder can choose any rider as per his requirement and enhance the coverage provided by a child plan.
If you want to know another reason why a child plan is important, sample this. The premiums which you pay for the plan are tax-free under Section 80C up to a maximum of Rs.1.5 lakh. Moreover, any death benefit or maturity benefit received under the plan is also completely tax-free.
Having a corpus for your child’s future needs is essential and a child insurance plan helps you in creating such a corpus. By providing coverage for premature death the plan also protects your financial plans for your child from going haywire in case of death.
A ULIP Child Plan allows a policyholder to start disciplined savings for meeting the future life goals of their children. A monthly premium payment mode in a ULIP provides the same rupee cost averaging benefit that a Systematic Investment Plan (SIP) provides under a mutual fund scheme. Thus, consistent and disciplined savings provide best possible returns for meeting the future financial requirements of your children.
You must always choose a maturity date which is few months prior to the date before which you would require the amount. For instance, if your child would require financial help at the time s/he turns 21, then your policy should ideally mature 6 months before your child turns 21. This way you would not be in a pickle, in case of any transactional or claim settlement delays.
The ideal time to buy a child plan is at the earliest possible timeframe. However, it would be ideal to gift your child with a child insurance plan when s/he turns 1 as their very first birthday gift.
A child education plan is a policy designed specifically to meet your child’s future needs. It is a combination of savings and insurance. New generation child plans also include Unit Linked Insurance Plans which provide an option to create wealth as well. The primary purpose of a child education plan is to provide financial security to your child so that their education in not hindered in any way in case of your absence or unfortunate demise. Thus, it is important to have a child plan. Mentioned below is a list of the best child plans in India.
This is the most common step which policyholders hear all the time but it is true. Starting as early as possible will help you build a larger corpus for your child specific goal. In fact, most of the policies start giving maturity payout benefits by the time the child reaches a milestone or reaches the age of 18 years. For example, starting a child plan when the child is 1 year of age is a better option than investing when the child is 10 years. In the latter case, the maturity payout will be delayed by the time of college and you will be required to take a loan.
Never underestimate the market. A child plan is a scheme with a long investment horizon. You need to take into consideration multiple economic variables such as inflation, rising cost of living and education, etc. This will help you determine the actual cost of your child’s future needs. This can change drastically if the child wishes to study abroad where the cost of education is twice as much as in India.
You should, by all means, read and understand every aspect of the child plan mentioned in the terms and conditions and policy document. This will help understand how a particular plan functions and the returns and benefits associated with the same. You can also compare various terms and conditions of different policies for better clarity.
This can be availed as a rider option as well. Most of the insurance companies decide to waive off any future premiums in case of death of the parent during the premium paying term. This does not have an impact on the policy as the child will receive complete benefits on maturity.
| PLAN NAMES | TYPE OF PLAN | SUM ASSURED | BENEFITS PAYABLE | USP OF THE PLAN |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HDFC Life Youngstar Udaan | Traditional endowment/money-back plan | 10 times the annual premium | On maturity the Sum Assured is paid in lump sum if endowment variant is selected. In case of [money back benefit](https://www.coverfox.com/life-insurance/money-back-policy/) , a specified percentage of Sum Assured is paid. On death the Sum Assured is paid. If premium waiver option is selected the plan continues and pays a maturity benefit too. | |
| ICICI Prudential Smart Kid Plan | ULIP | Up to 10 times the annual premium | On maturity the Fund Value is paid. On death, higher of Fund Value or Sum Assured is paid. Premiums are waived and plan continues. Fund Value is paid on maturity | |
| Max Life Shiksha Plus Super | ULIP | From Rs.2.5 lakhs | Higher of Fund Value or Sum Assured is paid on death. Future premiums would be waived off. 10% of the Sum Assured would be paid every year following death till the end of plan term and Fund Value is paid on maturity. On maturity, the Fund Value is paid. | |
| Bajaj Allianz Young Assure | Traditional endowment plan | Traditional endowment plan | The maturity benefit is paid in instalment after policy completion. On death higher of Sum Assured or Guaranteed Maturity Benefit is paid. Premiums are waived off and maturity benefit is paid when the plan matures |
This plan helps you save systematically so that you can give your child the much-needed financial security in the future and gives you the freedom to enjoy every moment with your child today, without worrying about his/her tomorrow. Reliance Life offers this child insurance plan to help you protect your child’s future. This plan is a non-linked child insurance plan that gives you certain fixed benefits and 1/4th of the sum assured which is payable annually in the form of benefit during the last three anniversaries of the policy to assist you in securing your child’s future.
Jeevan Ankur is one of the best Child Benefit Endowment Plan offered by LIC. This is a traditional plan that has thoughtfully crafted topics that assist in the child’s education planning and future. This plan means that parents remain the life Insured and their children remain the nominees. The plan is a guarantee that kids get the benefits for an improved future, even if parents don’t live until end of the policy tenure.
Under this plan the premium is required to be paid till the policy term ends. When the term of the policy ends, assured sum together with the Loyalty Additions is paid as the Maturity Benefit, irrespective of whether the Life Insured, is alive or not. When the policy holder dies before the end of the policy term, the nominee, gets the basic Sum Assured as the death benefit. The policy doesn’t end in such cases and the insurer continues to pay the rest of the premiums. Besides, the nominee also receives the income benefit in the form of 10 percent of the assured sum, annually, till the end of the policy term, starting from date of death of the policy holder.
This scheme goes towards systematic saving that you can give your child the much-required financial security in the future and gives you the freedom to enjoy every moment with your child today, without worrying about his/her tomorrow. Aviva gives one child insurance plan that helps in the protection your child’s future. It provides triple benefits of Lump sum pay out on death of parent, Waiver of premiums, maturity benefit along with flexibility of withdrawals.
A traditional child plan that your child doesn't miss out on opportunities due to insufficient funds. Along with life cover, it offers regular bonuses, terminal bonuses. The plan also gives assured pay outs starting from 5th year after the premium paying term is over
This is a ULIP available in 2 options. Investment portfolio strategies that are Life cycle-based Portfolio Strategy as well as the Fixed Portfolio Strategy.
A lifecycle strategy for the portfolio denotes that first the premium will be shared between Multi Cap Growth Fund and Income Fund as per the policyholder’s age. While multi cap growth fund is a high risk and high return fund with the maximum allocation of premium in the initial years, whereas the Income Fund is a low risk low return fund. In this, the passage of the policy term and rise in the age of the policyholder’s means that the investment will be redistributed annually with money being transferred from the Multi Cap Growth Fund towards the Income Fund for protection from high volatility.
When this policy comes close to attaining maturity, a large segment of the investment will go to the income fund, that has a low risk profile. The distribution and balancing of the allocation are done by the company automatically.
The Fixed Portfolio Strategy means that the insurer gives a choice of 6 fund instruments and the policyholder will have to choose the fund according to appetite for risk.
The following options.
This HDFC child plan is a unit linked child plan having the following features: The HDFC child plan provides two types of coverage options of Life Option and Life & Health Option. Life Options provides only the death benefit in case of death of the insured during the tenure of the plan while Life & Health Option provides for both death benefit and critical illness benefit if the insured dies or is diagnosed with a critical illness during the plan tenure.
This HDFC child plan offers two payment options. Under this HDFC child plan there is Save Benefit and Save-n-Gain Benefit and the death benefit that is paid as per the Benefit Payment Preference selected by the policyholder when buying the plan. If the policyholder chooses the Save Benefit under any of the plan option, then upon policyholder’s death, the Sum Assured is given to the beneficiary who is the child. 100% of all future premiums are paid by the insurer.
Upon maturity, the available fund value is again given to the beneficiary and the plan ends. In situations when benefit payment preference is save and gain through any of the options, then in case of death or critical illness suffered by the insured during the tenure of the plan, the assured sum is given to the beneficiary who is the child, all future premiums are waived off and 50% of the premiums are paid by the company towards the plan and 50% to the beneficiary on every premium due date and the plan continues.
This is a traditional child insurance plan. This plan is designed to take part in the profits of the company in the way of bonuses. In this plan, the premium is payable for the entire tenure through the Regular Pay premium payment option or for a limited tenure under the Limited Pay option of premium payment. Guaranteed Additions are payable in this plan in terms of a percentage of the guaranteed maturity benefit, varying along the premium paying nature of the plan.
50% of the Guaranteed Maturity Benefit is paid one year after the maturity date and 55% of the Guaranteed Maturity Benefit and any Terminal Bonus are paid 2 years after the maturity date. Another option is that the vested bonus inclusive of interim bonus and Guaranteed Additions is given out upon maturity. After this, 22% of the Guaranteed Maturity Benefit is after a one-year period, 25% is paid in two years and 28% is paid in three years.
This is a ULIP meant to give market related profits to boost wealth creation for the child’s future and also life insurance protection for coverage purposes. The plan can be taken by individuals who have a child aged 0 to 18 years. This utilises the systematic transfer plan whetre the concept of rupee cost averaging is utilised and in the beginning the net premium is invested in the Secure Plus Fund and thereafter every month, a proportion of the premium is transferred to the Growth Plus Fund Under the Dynamic Fund Allocation option, the premium is invested initially in the Growth Super Fund and thereafter, upon maturity, the fund is transferred to the secure fund as protection against market volatility. A specified ratio of the fund is maintained in both the fund options and the ratio changes as the plan progresses.
This is a traditional participating insurance plan offered by HDFC Life and can be purchased online as well. This plan focuses on providing financial additions for academic expenses that occur prior to college education OR to meet specific goals like college fees or marriage expenses etc. This also includes all miscellaneous and extracurricular expenses that occur during college/school.
This child plan is offered by Aditya Birla Sun Life and is designed to provide financial additions during certain milestones of your child's education or career path such as graduation or higher studies. In case of your untimely death, the future premiums are waived off and policy remains in force till maturity giving your family and children full benefits. You are also entitled to simple reversionary bonus at the end of each financial year.
This is an individual non-linked participating life insurance child plan which helps in securing your child's educational needs by providing equal annual installments after your child turns 18 years of age. The payouts are based on your child's age and it comes with rider options of Accidental Total & Permanent Disability coverage.
This is an endowment plan which provides comprehensive protection to cater to the need of education and marriage funding along with the options of a loan facility and yearly payout. In case of your untimely death, the sum assured is paid immediately and all future premiums are waived off.
This is a participating non-linked child education plan which offers systematic money back during the early policy years along with a lump sum bonus at maturity. In case of your untimely death, the death benefit will be paid to your child along with accrued bonuses.
When should I buy a child plan?
One should ideally buy a plan as soon as your child is born. However, buy a child plan only when you have understood the following variables.
1) Expenses & Savings – Kindly note that inflation is the reason behind rising costs and such rising costs disable our savings. Even if we manage to create savings, such savings are ultimately used up in any financial contingency when the savings are not earmarked for meeting specific causes. So that by the time your child requires the money, you are hardly left with enough money to meet their expense.
2) Knowledge – Inflation is the precursor to rising costs and such rising costs disable our savings. Even if we manage to create savings, such savings are ultimately used up in any financial contingency when the savings are not earmarked for meeting specific causes.
3) Plan Kind – Child plans come in both types of insurance variants – traditional plans and unit linked insurance plans. It depends on your choice whether you want a traditional insurance plan for guaranteed returns or want to experience the market risks and reap good returns. So, the first step is narrowing down the list of plans you would like to compare between and then decide on the type of plan you want for your child’s future planning.
4) Benefits – Once you decide on the type of plan you would like to settle on, it’s time to compare the plan benefits. Find out what is the plan’s maturity and death benefit, does the plan pay any bonus if it is a traditional insurance plan or is there a feature of loyalty or guaranteed additions in the unit linked policy, etc. Bonus or guaranteed additions play a vital role in enhancing the corpus accumulated and should be given due consideration.
Can I buy a child plan for my 15-year-old?
Yes. You have 2 modes through which you can buy a policy for your child - The offline way and the online way. In the offline way, you have to schedule a meeting with agent of the policy company or visit offices of various companies. You may also consult a middleman who deals in the insurance plans of various life insurance companies and find out the best plan for your child. Compared to this, the online mode is far more convenient and fast right from research to finalization. One can access all information online without having to physically go anywhere.
Remember that child insurance plans are the best when they have been compared to meet the requirement of your child. The comparison part is best when you use the online mode.
Kindly note that while the fundamental concept of child insurance is financial security, it is also a great investment tool.
Which policy is best for child?
Following are the some best policies offered by insurance companies:
What are the child plans?
A Child Plan is an insurance and investment plan combined with the aim of serving two objectives. The primary is to give financial security to the future of the child and the second is to financially support the chid through important life events such as higher education and wedding.
So, the of best child plans are meant to give this dual protection during his/life time and as a corpus for long term financial needs of the life.
How does a child plan work?
A child plan can work as either a Money-Back, a ULIP or an Endowment Policy. The Money back is by far one of the most popular plans. This plan ensures that your child will get survival benefits at regular intervals. Making it highly useful for those who feel the need for lump sum money at regular intervals and assists you in life stage planning. The drawback with utilising money back solely is that sometimes returns fail to match the inflation rate, especially if you are planning to buy it for your child’s education. Costs of education are rising at close to 12% compared to this, money-backs would give you around 4-8%, leaving you grossly underfunded at the time of goal.
Also, the premiums are steep with money back plans. On the other hand, ULIPs are non-traditional plans where returns are dependent on market. When the parent dies, then the child would receive the sum assured as a lump sum. This includes a waiver of all future premiums and fund value upon maturity.
Remember that ULIP schemes deliver a large variety of funds that range from conservative to aggressive. ULIPs allow you to switch from debt to equity and the other way without paying taxes on it. The third operational instrument of a child plan could be the Endowment Policy. An endowment policy is where lump sum amount is given upon maturity together with bonuses. This is useful as it gives space for planning your kid’s big expenses such as higher education, etc. This is different from that ULIPs, since this allows for a minimum guaranteed payment.
Let us understand the working of all types of child insurance plans.
Suppose, Mr. A, father to a 5 year old kid, needs money when his child would turn 20 years to send him abroad for higher education. He, thus, buys a child insurance plan for 15 years.
Case 1 – Mr. A needs a corpus of Rs.10 lakhs. So, he buys a traditional endowment assurance plan of a Sum Assured of Rs.10 lakhs for 15 years and pays premiums every year. If, during the 15-year period, Mr. A dies in the 7th year, the plan would not come to an end. The insurance company would pay a death benefit (usually the Sum Assured of Rs.10 lakhs) immediately and waive the future premiums. The plan would then continue for another 8 years. After completion of 15 years, the plan would mature and would pay a benefit of Rs.10 lakh. Thus, the child plan pays the corpus which Mr. A would require after 15 years for his child’s higher education.. Mr. A’s dream of sending his child abroad, thus, gets fulfilled even when he is not around.
Case 2 – Mr. A buys a money back plan which promises to pay 20% of the Sum Assured after completion of every 5 years. After the completion of first 5 years, Mr. A gets Rs.2 lakhs (Sum Assured is Rs.10 lakhs). Thereafter, in the 10th year also he gets another Rs.2 lakhs. In the 12th year of the plan, Mr. A dies. The plan pays the total Sum Assured of Rs.10 lakhs irrespective of the money-back benefits already paid. The premiums for the next 3 years are waived off and the plan continues. When the plan matures, the promised maturity benefit, 60% of the Sum Assured is again paid.
Case 3 – Mr. A buys a ULIP paying a premium of Rs.1 lakh every year for 15 years. If he dies during the plan term, the death benefit would be paid. The premiums would be waived off and the plan would continue. On maturity, the fund value is again paid which would help Mr. A’s family to send the kid abroad for higher education.
What is the difference between beneficiary and nominee?
As the term suggests, Nominee is a person who is nominated or appointed by the policyholder to look after his/her financial accounts, assets, etc., after his death. It is the responsibility of the nominee to disburse the proceeds among the legal heirs.
A Beneficiary is an individual who has a financial interest in the life of the policyholder. The beneficiary can be either the legal heirs or financial institutions like banks who have provided loan/ finance to the policyholder.
In certain cases, the nominee and beneficiary can be the same person.
What documents do I need to buy child insurance plan?
Age Proof - Birth Certificate, 10th or 12th mark sheet, Driving License, Passport, Voter ID, etc.
Identity - PAN Card, Aadhar Card, Voter ID, Driving License, Passport.
Income - Proof mentioning the income of the insurance buyer. Such as Salary Slip and Bank statement.
Address - Ration Card, Telephone Bill, Driving License, Passport, Electricity Bill.
Proposal - Fully updated proposal form.
How to choose the right child insurance plan?
You should choose the right child plan after taking into consideration the following factors:
Your monthly savings
Premium waiver benefit
Unit linked insurance plans
Adequate cover
Number of kids you have
Other factors
Inflation rates.
Government Policies.
Market conditions.
Who is beneficiary in child plan?
The beneficiary term decides who will get the insurance plan’s benefit when there is the death of the insured occurs. There can be multiple beneficiaries in a policy. The main beneficiary is that person who receives the benefits from the insurance plan.
Why beneficiary is important in child plan?
No one likes to think about dying, but when it comes to life insurance, you need to figure out who will get the money when you die. One must fully understand the role of a beneficiary and how the life insurance policy functions.
Do I get any tax benefits?
Besides supplementing you with financial back-up for your kid, the investment in a child plan also brings savings in tax and allows you to reduce liability.
Tax Deduction under Section 80C: The premium payable towards the child insurance plan during a financial year qualifies for the tax deduction under section 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This tax deduction can be availed up to Rs 1.5 lakhs, while computing the taxable income.
Tax Exemption 10 (10D): Benefits like the death benefit, bonus under a child plan, maturity benefit, gives financial assistance and also delivers tax exemptions on the pay out of policies pay outs under section 10(10D) of the ITA.
Kindly note that while the fundamental concept of child insurance is financial security, it is also a great investment tool.
At what age does term life insurance go up?
Term insurance premium does not go up every year after policy issuance.
Can I add my child to my health insurance?
Yes, you can add your child to your health insurance along with your spouse. You will have to pay additional premium for any family member additions.
Can I cancel my Gerber Grow Up Plan?
Yes, you and your child can cancel the Gerber Grow Up Plan, provided the child has reached the age of 21 years.
Can I buy a health insurance for a child only?
Yes, there are specific child-only plans where no parent/guardian is covered. However, the policyholder’s age should be 18 years or younger.
Can I get my money back from term life insurance plan?
No, usually term life insurance plans do not offer any money back on maturity.
How much does it cost to insure a child?
The premium amount will depend on various factors like sum assure, age, policy term and so on.
What is the best child policy in LIC?
Jeevan Ankur is one of the best Child Benefit Endowment Plan offered by LIC
What is death benefit in Shiksha Plus Super?
Who is eligible for Child Health Plus?
NA, child health plus is an American insurance policy sold in the United States only.
What is the right time to buy a child insurance plan?
It is advisable to buy a child insurance plan the earliest as possible as it will help you accumulate a higher cover over a long term.
Who is beneficiary? Why is it important to have a beneficiary?
A beneficiary is a person who is entitled to receive the cover benefits as mentioned by you during the time of policy purchase. They can be your spouse or children or parents.
Do I get Tax Benefits under a child plan?
Yes, investing in an child insurance plan will entitle you to tax deductions for the premiums paid as per Sec 80C of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
What documents do I need to buy child insurance plan?
You will require the basic KYC documents for proof of ID and address of yourself and the child. Additionally, you will have to submit the age proof as well.
