It is natural for parents to be always concerned about the well-being of their children. And this is truer in cases where the child may have special needs due to a long-term health condition or a disability. In such a case, you can choose from different life insurance policy plans for a child with special needs, as your child will need life insurance coverage that is specially designed to meet their requirements.
 

You can purchase life insurance online, where you can compare various plans and policy quotes that will suffice for your child’s care and ensure reasonable premium payments.
 

What is Life Insurance for Children with Special Needs?
 

Life insurance policies that cater to the needs of children with special needs are types of life insurance policies where the special needs child is protected under the life cover throughout the policy term. Hence, the insured will be the parent, and the nominee will be the child, who can receive the benefits of the policy in case of the parent’s untimely death during the policy term.
 

A child with special needs or a major health condition will need to be looked after at all times. This naturally incurs a lot of medical expenses as well, which their parents can provide for as long as they are around.
 

However, in their absence, the child loses the emotional care of the parent and the financial support necessary for the child’s well-being. While, unfortunately, not much can be done about the emotional aspect, life insurance can certainly act as an income replacement for the child’s needs.
 

While this type of insurance policy may sound much the same as a regular term plan, coverage and the benefits, as well as some of the policy provisions, are designed to ensure that the special needs child can be well taken care of in the parent’s absence. The aim of such a life insurance policy for a child is to replace and compensate for the care and the financial protection provided by the child’s parent in case of their unfortunate death.
 

What are the Life Insurance Plans for Special Needs Children?
 

A range of life insurance plans is available to provide life insurance coverage to children with special needs. Life insurance for special needs children is an umbrella term for a range of different life insurance plans that have some added features and benefits that make them even more compatible with the needs of your child. However, these are two of the most popular life insurance policy plans for a child with special needs:
 

• Term Insurance
  
  The aim of term insurance is to ensure adequate and extensive coverage for the beneficiary of the insured in case of the latter’s demise during the policy term. The reason term insurance is so popular as a life insurance policy for a child is that it can ensure a financially safe future for the special needs child in the absence of their insured parent.
  
  Understanding how a child with severe health conditions may need to be financially supported in the future, a term insurance plan can be easily customised to cover various expenses related to the child’s health and care. Furthermore, the insured parent can also choose how the death benefits can be paid out, either as a regular income or as a lump sum, depending on the future needs of their child.
  
  You can choose a suitable policy if you want to be able to choose a flexible policy term, premium paying term, and a sum assured that will help you secure your child’s future!
  
  

• Whole Life Insurance
  
  A whole life insurance policy, much like term insurance, will offer life cover protection to the special needs child in the event of the insured parent’s death. However, since the life insurance coverage is up to 100 years of age, it offers much greater coverage than a term plan, which offers a maximum policy term of up to 40 years.
  
  But there are also term insurance plans that offer whole life coverage, in case of which the insured need not worry about renewing the policy or buying a new policy. They can lock in low premiums by purchasing the life insurance plan soon after the birth of their child and then enjoy lifelong insurance coverage, even during their retirement.
  
  Many whole life insurance policies also have a return of premiums¹ feature wherein, on the survival of the insured parent, they can receive a fund of all the paid premiums.
   

Conclusion
 

As you may be aware, parenting in itself is a challenging task, and caring for a child with special needs can be an even bigger responsibility. Hence, to cope with these financial obligations, the parents may go to different lengths, take loans, and save up whatever money they can to get the best care for their child. And to ensure that the child’s interests are protected even in their absence, a life insurance policy for a child with special needs is important.

L&C/Advt/2022/Dec/3351