Securing the life of your children is a moral obligation. And, if you as a parent have children with special needs, then it is certainly a primary responsibility. Therefore, financial planning with the available resources to ascertain support is important at any time in their lives.

And there are different ways to do it! Life insurance for special needs adults is a valuable option in this regard. Various life insurance solutions can provide essential benefits based on your income. Here is a detail to help you with the life insurance options if you have children with special needs.

3 Life Insurance Options for Parents of Children with Special Needs

Here are the life insurance options for parents of children with special needs:

• Term Insurance
  
  

  Term insurance is one of the most important life insurance plans that can provide a huge sum assured at an affordable rate. You can customise the term plan based on your financial needs and utilise it as a special needs life insurance.
  
  

  For example, you can calculate the funds required to manage the expenses related to your children with special needs. You can account for the medical expenses, routine utility expenses and other hospitalisation and nursing charges. While calculating the sum assured, you can consider the inflation rate. Therefore, in your unexpected demise, your children will be secured by the financial assistance provided by your insurance provider.
  
  

  And if you feel your children may not be able to utilise the financial benefits wisely, you can opt for flexible payout options. For example, Tata AIA life insurance plan provides pay out benefits in the form of regular income for a defined income period or whole life, depending on the policy terms and conditions when the payment is due.
  
  

• Whole life insurance
  
  

  Purchasing whole life insurance for special needs is a suitable option when your family does not have adequate financial support even after your employment phase. A term insurance plan will be able to pay a sum assured to the children in the event of your unexpected death during the tenure of the policy.
  
  

  However, to ensure the benefit even after the policy tenure, you will have to either renew the term plan or purchase another life insurance plan. Both the options will seem costlier due rise in premium rate at that time of your life due to an increase in age.
  
  

  A term insurance plan can be beneficial if there is another person, friend, or family member to take care of your responsibilities after a certain age in your life. In any other case, a whole life insurance plan will certainly be the ideal option. It will provide the death benefit to your children in case of your death at any point in time.
  
  

  The policy period is not restricted to a certain number of years. Insurers also offer add-on rider^# options that can provide additional funds to help manage your financial crisis in specific scenarios without affecting the life cover that helps to secure your child's future.
  
  

• Savings insurance plans
  
  

  Insurers also provide comprehensive life insurance solutions that help you plan for the future of your children with special needs by providing a guaranteed¹ return apart from the life cover. It will help satisfy their financial needs in your absence and also guarantees¹ a benefit to you when the policy matures.
  
  

  So, if you feel that you need a regular income to take care of your children after a certain age, probably when you retire, you can buy a savings insurance plan. It is a good life insurance plan with flexible features.
  
  For instance, you can choose the premium payment mode, whether monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually, and the payout option, whether a lump sum, regular income, or a combination of both.
  
  

  You can choose the lump sum benefit when you have sufficient income to manage your daily expenses, and you need a large fund to accomplish a financial need, such as paying for your special child's education. And the regular income benefit might prove beneficial when you need a monthly income to pay for your child's medical expenses every month till the end of their life.
  

   

Thus, the life insurance options for parents having children with special needs are reasonably good. However, choosing the right option requires adequate research and planning. You can read and understand the policy terms and conditions, compare the products based on their features, calculate the premium charges, etc.

At Tata AIA, we offer online life insurance plans as well as offline life insurance plans. The process of making the purchase and claiming the benefit at any time is simple and easy. You can also utilise our online premium calculator to estimate the premium for the sum assured based on the financial requirements of your children with special needs.

You can try different combinations of the sum assured and the policy tenure to derive the most affordable premium. And, if you have decided to put money in life insurance plans, ensure to do it early in life to choose a longer policy term. A longer policy term increases the accumulated financial benefit at a cheaper premium rate.

Conclusion

Life insurance plans will secure your children with special needs in your absence. It can do so by providing a financial benefit in your unexpected demise. You can opt for term insurance to ascertain the financial benefit during the policy term, whole life insurance to ensure the benefit on your demise at any time, and a savings insurance plan if you have defined family financial commitments or retirement needs.

Then, analyse your financial needs based on your income and the expenses related to your children with special needs, and decide on the life insurance plan and premium rate.

L&C/Advt/2022/Jul/1653