Child Plans

• Child ULIPs: The premium in this case is invested in Debt instrument and equity, and the person can switch across as and when he sees fit.
• Child endowment Plans: Invested premium in the debt instruments is kept with the insurance firm and is payable only at time of maturity.
• Premium Amount: It is subject to the sum assured and the amount of maturity benefit you opt for
• Premium Payment Mode Sum Assured: The sum assured must not be less than at least 10 times your current income, says the thumb rule
• Regular premium - Under this mode of premium payment, you need to pay the premium on a regular basis, viz. annually, semi-annually, or quarterly.
• Single premium - Under this mode of premium payment, the premium is paid only once.
• Policy Term - When you realize that your child should get on his/her feet is the best time for the policy to mature. Choose the policy term to meet the exact period. E.g. If one of your children's age is 10 years, then choose the policy term of 8 years.
• Maturity Amount - Consult a financial advisor and remember the inflation rate and all other factors, plan the maturity amount that you would need at policy maturity. You can receive the maturity amount as a lump-sum payout or over a period of 5 years.
• Waiver of Premium - This rider comes inbuilt into child plans. In case this is not part of the plan, it is advisable to include it without failure. If the insured dies, the nominee is entitles to receive the entire benefits of such a plan while no additional premium payment is required.
• Partial Withdrawals - It is often seen that parents instead of holding back themselves for the policy to mature like to withdraw the sum assured in multiple fragments whenever they need it. This is often selected to fulfil the financial needs of the child at certain key moments
• Riders and Benefits - They add-on to the coverage offered by the plan and make it more valuable both qualitatively and financially.

• Premium Waiver Benefit
• Accidental Death and Disability Benefit
• Critical Illness Rider Benefit

Advantages of a Child Plan:

Corpus for Child's Education:

Even with minimum premium payment, child plans are able to provide as much as 10 times the amount paid in the child education plan. This lump sum amount in child education plans can be foremost utilised towards education expenditure. A child education plan is often enough to pay for college education, and even higher education in a foreign country. The money available from a child education plan depends on the terms and conditions of the plan and on the amount one has invested in it by way of premiums.

Savings for Medical Treatment of the Child:

Child plans also allow the option of withdrawing money during the tenure of the child investment plans. This can be used for medical treatment of the child when he or she falls ill. Such partial withdrawals come in very handy when the child is hospitalised due to an ailment, minor accident or a more serious medical condition. The best child plan helps to reduce the financial burden caused by medical expenditure and such payouts act as an add-on for one's health insurance plan.

Supports the Child in the Absence of Parent:

Death does not come with invitation and no amount of preparation can leave on ready for such an event. The consequences are more so for the innocent child. The death of the parent(s) causes severe trauma to a child and can leave his or her future hanging by a thread. The insurance company offers a premium waiver if the parent (i.e., the insured) passes away during the policy term of a child plan. The premium waiver benefit often comes built into child plans. If not, one should definitely opt for this rider. The child receives a lump sum amount promised at the time of purchasing the child investment plans and does not have to pay balance premium. The rider enables the policy to continue without any breaks and passes the financial burden of remaining premium to the insurer.

Income Protection for the Child:

A child plan also protects the income of those children who start earning at a young age. It includes child actors, musicians, artists and performers among others. It provides the advantage of capital appreciation over the long term for the child.

Collateral for Loans for Higher Education:

Higher education is expensive, whether one plans to send the child to a private college or university in India or abroad. In fact, international education is significantly more expensive. Child plans come in handy if one intends to secure a loan for higher education as these are allowed to be used as collaterals. They can also be used as collateral for other child-related borrowings

How to buy a child plan:

It should be started at time of birth of child; reason is by the time the child attains maturity the corpus fund will be very high. This will ensure the child gets a better education, and also help the child in securing a good future. Need to read all terms and condition before investing into the fund. Once all terms are acceptable only then invest into the fund.
Check insurance companies that provide premium waiver benefit, in case the insured dies while the policy is still going on, then the rest of the premiums will be waived off by the company.
Check for companies that provide partial withdrawal options. This comes in handy when you come across some unforeseen circumstances and a person is in need of the money, then they can withdraw some from this fund.
Check out the types of investment options like Systematic transfer plan, Dynamic fund allocation plans. These plans help in guarding the investments against market instability.