Best Life Insurance for Children in 2024 (Your Guide to the Top 10 Companies)

The best life insurance for children is offered by State Farm, Prudential, and New York Life, known for their reliability and comprehensive policies.

These providers excel not just in affordability but also in offering robust coverage that can grow with your child into adulthood. Learn more on how to buy life insurance.

Our Top 10 Company Picks: Best Life Insurance for Children

Parents considering such policies should evaluate their long-term financial goals and the potential benefits of securing a policy early in their child’s life. Choosing the right insurance plan can provide peace of mind, ensuring financial support for unforeseen circumstances.

Looking for lower life insurance rates? Enter your ZIP code into our free quote comparison tool today and find the cheapest providers near you.

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

#1 – State Farm: Top Overall Pick

Pros

• Bundling Policies: Significant discounts for bundling multiple insurance policies.
• High Low-Mileage Discount: Substantial discount for low-mileage usage.
• Wide Coverage: Various coverage options tailored for different needs. Unlock details in our State Farm life insurance review.

Cons

• Limited Multi-Policy Discount: Lower than some competitors.
• Premium Costs: This may be higher for certain coverage levels despite discounts.

#2 – Prudential: Best for Strong Benefits

Pros

• Higher Sign-Up Discount: Offers a 12% discount on initial sign-up.
• Better Multi-Child Discount: Provides an 8% discount for families insuring multiple children.
• Extensive Benefits: Known for offering robust benefits packages. Find out more in our guide titled “Prudential Life Insurance Company Review.”

Cons

• Higher Premiums: Premiums may be higher due to extensive benefits.
• Complex Policy Options: Options can be complex and require careful consideration.

#3 – New York Life: Best for Excellent Plan

Pros

• Solid Discounts: 11% sign-up discount with a 6% multi-child discount. Delve into our evaluation of the New York life insurance company review.
• Diverse Plan Options: Offers a range of plans suitable for varying needs.
• Reputation for Quality: Well-known for high-quality service and reliability.

Cons

• Pricing Structure: This can be expensive compared to others.
• Limited Customization: Fewer customization options for specific needs.

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

#4 – Mutual of Omaha: Best for Custom Coverage

Pros

• Highest Multi-Child Discount: 10% discount, highest among competitors.
• Customizable Plans: Offers highly customizable plans to fit individual needs.
• Generous Sign-Up Discount: 15% discount on signing up. Access comprehensive insights into our guide titled “Mutual of Omaha Life Insurance Review.”

Cons

• Pricing Variability: Costs can vary significantly based on coverage customization.
• Complex Policy Structures: Policies can be complex, requiring more time to understand.

#5 – Guardian Life: Best for Comprehensive Plan

Pros

• Wide-Ranging Coverage: Offers comprehensive plans covering a broad spectrum of needs.
• Balanced Discounts: 10% sign-up and 5% multi-child discounts. Discover more about offerings in our Guardian life insurance review.
• Strong Customer Support: Known for excellent customer service and support.

Cons

• Higher Cost: Comprehensive coverage comes at a higher price point.
• Limited Flexibility: Less flexibility in plan modifications compared to others.

#6 – Northwestern Mutual: Best for High Ratings

Pros

• Industry-Leading Ratings: Consistently high ratings for customer satisfaction and reliability.
• Competitive Discounts: 14% sign-up and 7% multi-child discounts. Unlock details in our guide titled “Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Review.”
• Strong Financial Stability: Known for its strong financial health and longevity.

Cons

• Premium Pricing: Premiums tend to be on the higher side due to high ratings.
• Less Aggressive Discounts: Discounts are not as aggressive as some other companies.

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

#7 – MassMutual: Best for Financial Strength

Pros

• Robust Financial Base: Known for exceptional financial strength and security.
• Higher Multi-Child Discounts: Offers a 9% discount for insuring multiple children.
• Solid Sign-Up Discount: 13% discount on initial sign-up. Discover insights in our guide titled “MassMutual Life Insurance Review.”

Cons

• Costlier Premiums: A strong financial base may translate into higher premiums.
• Complex Offerings: Offers can be complex and may require expert advice.

#8 – AIG: Best for Broad Coverage

Pros

• Broad Coverage Options: Known for offering a wide range of coverage options.
• Equalized Discounts: Offers both 10% sign-up and 5% multi-child discounts.
• Global Expertise: Benefits from a broad global presence and expertise. Learn more in our AIG life insurance review.

Cons

• Variable Service Quality: Service quality can vary globally.
• Pricing Complexity: Pricing can be complex due to broad coverage options.

#9 – Transamerica: Best for Affordable Rates

Pros

• Competitive Pricing: Known for offering some of the most affordable rates.
• Solid Discounts: Offers a 9% sign-up and a 6% multi-child discount. Read up on the “Transamerica Life Insurance Review” for more information.
• Reliable Service: Maintains reliable customer service across various products.

Cons

• Limited Plan Variety: Fewer options compared to others with broader offerings.
• Slower Claim Processing: Sometimes experiences slower claim processing times.

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

#10 – Pacific Life: Best for Reliable Coverage

Pros

• Reliable Coverage Options: Known for reliable and consistent coverage. Unlock details in our guide titled “Pacific Life Insurance Review.”
• Higher Multi-Child Discount: Offers an 8% discount for multiple children.
• Strong Reputation: Maintains a strong reputation for stability and reliability.

Cons

• Higher Premiums: Generally, premiums are higher due to the quality of coverage.
• Less Personalized Service: Larger scale can result in less personalized service.

Comparative Monthly Rates for Children’s Life Insurance

When evaluating life insurance for children, understanding the cost associated with various coverage levels across different providers is crucial. This section details the monthly rates for minimum and full coverage options from several insurance companies.

Children Life Insurance Monthly Rates by Coverage Level & Provider

AIG, Mutual of Omaha, New York Life, and Transamerica offer competitive rates starting at $6 for minimum coverage, while Guardian Life, State Farm, and Transamerica offer the lowest entry point at just $5 per month. See more details on our “What is the minimum coverage amount for life insurance?”

On the higher end of the spectrum, Northwestern and Prudential start their coverage at $8 and $7 respectively, but provide more comprehensive benefits for the premium.

Full coverage monthly rates vary more significantly, with Guardian Life and AIG at the lower end at $27 and $26, and Prudential at the highest at $32. This diversity in pricing reflects the varying levels of coverage and additional benefits each provider offers, allowing families to choose based on their specific needs and budget constraints.

Types of Life Insurance for Children

What is the best life insurance for a child? There are three types of life insurance available for children:  term life insurance, term life rider, and whole life insurance. The best life insurance policy for a child depends on your specific goals and needs. Let’s break down the best child life insurance plans.

Term Life: Term life is inexpensive, affordable life insurance for children and provides coverage for a particular period or term. You can purchase a term policy for $20,000 coverage on a 4-year-old child at a monthly rate of about $7.08 from Genworth Life Insurance Company.

Read more: Genworth Life Insurance Company Review

Considering that term life insurance quotes for adults can be almost double that rate, locking in a lower rate as a child might be a good idea over the long run, especially if the child has longer-term health concerns. 

At age 30, your child would have the option of extending the coverage on the policy, replacing the policy with a new one, or converting the policy to a permanent life insurance policy such as Universal Life. Keep in mind all of these options would be at a much higher cost at that time.

Term Life Rider: A rider is an additional benefit added to an insurance policy. In this case, a children’s term life rider would be added to a parent’s policy.

These riders max out between $10,000 and $20,000 worth of coverage and will cover your dependent children to a specific age, usually 23-25. You can purchase a children’s term life rider for $20,000 coverage at an annual rate of $120.00 from Protective Life Insurance Company.

It’s important to note that one rider covers all of your eligible children. You don’t need a separate one for each!

Whole Life: Whole life insurance provides permanent life coverage. Unlike term life, coverage continues as long as the premiums are paid.  A popular whole life insurance policy for children offers $5,000 coverage on a 10-year-old child at a monthly rate of $3.27 from Gerber Life Insurance Company, depending on the state you live in.

The rate on their Grow-Up Plan will vary depending on your state and your child’s gender. Some nice features of the plan are coverage doubling at age 18, the premiums never increase, and the policy builds cash value (For more information, read our “Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan Review.“)

Gerber Life Insurance also offers a similar plan that acts as a combination policy for child life insurance and college funds. They might not be the best whole life insurance policy for your child, however, so shop around.

Read more: How To Cancel Your Gerber Life Insurance Policy

What Is the Youngest Age You Can Get Life Insurance

Child life insurance is offered for children as young as six months of age. Lower rates can be locked in for parents who purchase insurance earlier. This also allows for a longer time window to accumulate cash value.

Of course, if you opt for term life insurance, you would not accumulate any cash value and your plan would simply expire when policy premiums are not paid (For more information, read our “How To Find a Lower Term Life Insurance Premium.”)

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

Pros and Cons of Child Life Insurance

Let’s look at a quick summary of the pros and cons of child life insurance before we consider whether you should buy life insurance for a child (For more information, read our “Life Insurance for Adult Children.”)

Reasons to Buy Life Insurance for Children

• Provide a Savings Plan
• Lock-In Insurability
• Protect Student Loans
• Financial Support for a Grieving Family

Reasons Not to Buy Life Insurance for Children

• Children Have No Income to Protect
• Better Savings Vehicles Available

Should I buy life insurance for my child?

In a recent CNNMoney Ask the Expert column, Sarah Max asked the question, “Should I buy life insurance for my child?” Sarah included expert opinions on the value of insuring a child against premature death versus utilizing those premium dollars to build a college fund instead.

The consensus was to invest the money and forego life insurance. But the primary discussion was about whole life insurance, which is where most people wonder which insurance policy is best for children’s insurance.

As Sarah and the experts point out, whole life insurance builds cash value and can be used to guarantee a person’s insurability should she become seriously injured or develop an illness later in life.

But those features come at a steep cost in the form of fees and other charges, which can slow the cash value growth and delay the return on your investment for decades. Thankfully, there’s a better way — which we’ll get to shortly. But first, here are some expenses that a child’s life insurance plan will cover.

Final Expenses

The National Funeral Directors Association estimates the cost of an average funeral in 2013 was approximately $7,400. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, funeral costs have risen over 20 percent since 2013. 

Finding that much money for an unexpected funeral is difficult for many people. If you don’t have savings or a suitable emergency fund, a life insurance policy can help if you cannot afford to provide a proper burial for your child.

Time to Grieve

This is the primary reason I believe in life insurance for children. I can not imagine the grief I would experience if one of my children were to die. And returning to work would be the furthest thing from my mind. How long would it take before you could effectively return to work? A week? A month? Longer?

Would your employer, customers, or clients give you the time you need to grieve? If so, at what cost? A life insurance policy on your children can offset the loss of income you would experience from an extended time away.

Family Help and Counseling

Even after the initial grief wanes, you and your family will likely want to seek counseling to help get through this difficult time. Sadly, not all health insurance policies provide adequate mental health benefits.

You may need to pay out-of-pocket for any ongoing counseling or therapy you or your loved one require. Life insurance policy proceeds can help cover the cost of such services.

Consider that grief counseling might be necessary for other children in the family. The Center for Grief Recovery and Therapeutic Services acknowledges that we still don’t know exactly how children grieve loss, but it can manifest in very different ways from parents. Having access to good counseling can help minimize lasting psychological issues.

Read more: Life Insurance for Low-Income Families

A Children’s Term Life Insurance Rider May be the Answer

Genworth Life Insurance Company is one of the very few child life insurance companies that offer term life insurance policies for children. Most companies offer policies beginning at the age of 18.

But you can purchase term life insurance for your children in the form of a rider on your policy from almost any company. A rider is simply additional coverage added to a policy to insure something other than the primary insured’s life. 

These riders vary slightly by the company, but they provide similar coverage at comparable costs. Here’s how ING ReliaStar Life’s child term rider works.

• Coverage Amount – $2,000 to $10,000
• Cost – $12.00 to $60.00 annually
• Cost covers all children regardless of the number
• Age Coverage Begins – 15 days
• Age Coverage Ends – 25 years
• Conversion to an individual permanent insurance policy is available

The primary differences you’ll find are in cost and the coverage amount. For example, some companies offer child term riders up to $25,000. Another key point to note is that one rider will cover all children in the family.

So a $60.00 child term rider would provide $10,000 coverage for each child, whether you have one or ten. Many riders will extend coverage to stepchildren and adopted children of the insured as well.

Term life insurance provides the best value in life insurance protection. Adding a children’s term life rider can add more even value and help you achieve a more well-rounded approach to protecting your loved ones (For more information, read our “Best Life Insurance Companies that Offer 10-Year Term Policies“).

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

About Term Life Insurance Coverage for Children

As you consider investing in life insurance to cover your children, you’re likely sensitive to the potential premium costs. After all, raising a family isn’t inexpensive, and a high life insurance premium may not work well with your budget.

Fortunately, most insurance companies that handle term life policies provide you with the option to purchase term life or obtain coverage for your children by visiting our guide titled “5 Ways to Get Term Life Insurance Quotes.”

According to Bain, “A rider is simply additional coverage added to a policy to insure something other than the primary insured’s life. As an example, imagine adding a jewelry rider to a homeowner’s policy to insure expensive items beyond what the base policy provides.

It’s the same concept with a children’s term rider. These riders vary slightly by the company, but they provide similar coverage at comparable costs.”

Important to note is that one rider will cover all children in your family. So if you’re paying $60.00 for a $10,000 child term rider, the death benefit is $10,000 for each child, regardless of whether you have one, two, five, or even more children. Some riders extend coverage to adopted and stepchildren as well.

Preparation, Not Premonition

Considering life insurance for your children doesn’t mean you’re expecting or willing the worst to happen to your loved ones; it simply means you care enough about your family to ensure you’re prepared for anything.

If you’d like to learn more about term life policies and child term riders for you and your loved ones, talk with a trusted professional who can answer all of your questions.

Buying Term Life Insurance for Your Children

It may seem strange to think about buying term life insurance for a child. After all, beyond the emotional loss, your family likely wouldn’t suffer from the loss of income, which is typically the reason people buy life insurance in the first place.

Life insurance is designed to care for loved ones that depend on you once you are gone, it does not make sense to purchase a life insurance policy for a child. You don’t need life insurance for your children as they do not have dependents that need financial care once they are gone.

Death Expenses

Of course, there are some reasons to get your child’s life insurance. When considering purchasing such insurance for your children, think carefully about how their death could affect you financially.

Consider expenses such as funeral costs and, depending on the age of the child, the possibility of having to take care of any unsettled debts. In this case, term life insurance for a child does make sense. Burying a child is unimaginable, but struggling to pay for the funeral would make it even more challenging.

Child Riders

Unfortunately, very few insurance companies offer separate policies for children. There are child riders, however, which many companies offer as an add-on to a parent’s insurance coverage. Typically parents can pay an additional flat fee and in the unfortunate event that their child died they could receive some coverage for these costs.

Can you get a life insurance policy on your child’s father? Yes. If you are not happy with plans and providers for a child plan, you can purchase life insurance for the child’s father and get a child life rider to cover your children. 

Read more: Life Insurance for Parents 

Case Studies: Best Life Insurance for Children

Selecting the right life insurance for children ensures financial security and peace of mind. Below are fictional case studies based on real-world scenarios, illustrating the effectiveness of State Farm, Prudential, and New York Life.

• Case Study #1 – State Farm: The Johnsons easily upgraded their child’s life insurance with State Farm after a major life event, appreciating the swift and flexible service.
• Case Study #2 – Prudential: The Kims chose Prudential for its strong financial stability, ensuring their child’s future financial needs are well-secured.
• Case Study #3 – New York Life: The Chavez family benefited from New York Life’s tailored plans that adapt to their child’s growing needs, providing continuous protection.

These examples highlight the importance of selecting a provider that offers both competitive rates and adaptable, reliable coverage for your family’s evolving needs.

Learn more: What is universal life insurance?

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption

The Bottom Line: How to Buy Life Insurance for a Child

Life insurance policies for children are a type of investment designed to protect your family from unexpected life events while offering an opportunity to save for the future. 

However, insuring a child is not necessarily the best idea for everyone. A trusted agent can guide you through the advantages and disadvantages of insuring your child. See more details in our guide titled “How To Calculate Your Life Insurance Age.”

Sometimes, parental good intentions might be misguided. Before you consider coverage for your child, consider how comfortable you are with your insurance. You should always prioritize having good coverage for yourself first. 

Our quote comparison tool below will allow you to shop for affordable life insurance rates from the top companies near you — just enter your ZIP code to get started.

Your life insurance quotes are always free.

 Secured with SHA-256 Encryption