Gerber Life Insurance Grow-Up Plan

[thelittlemermaid]

Had this for my oldest son. Bought into the hype after he was born and wish we hadn't.

I will try and make this short, but after having our daughter {who was born with Down Syndrome and then found out about her ASD at 4 months of age} I tried to get this for her. They sent a letter stating that they could not insure her at that time and to contact them again after her 5th birthday. I waited a extra 2 years and applied again when she was 7 years old, again received a letter back saying that they could not insure her. FINE!! Called them and told them I had it with their company and that I wanted to cancel my sons policy. If my daughter wasn't good enough for them, then they didn't need to take my money anymore for my son. WHAT A JOKE THEY ARE!!! When I received the check in the mail, I about had a heart attack! I sure was expecting alot more back then what was on the check. When I cancelled the policy my son was 10 years old and when I think back all that money wasted! They sure made alot of money for doing nothing. I know they were "providing a service" but when your not using that "service" every day, it's a waste!!!!!

 

[mjkacmom]

DH has been a CFP for almost 20 years - really no reason for whole life insurance for kids or adults. Start up a 529 for your kids.

 

[mjkacmom]

Loan interest rate is 8% per year", means that it is a whole life policy that generates a cash value alongside the policy. If you wish to take out a loan against this cash value, it is available to you at an 8% interest. Children do not need life insurance because it is meant to replace the income of a breadwinner, and children do not earn a living. Most parents however focus on the other uses of a life insurance policy. For instance, it locks in low premiums and guarantees future insurability for kids when they become adults. You need to think over this carefully and decide if your kids need a life insurance policy, because it is a very personal decision.

Denise at AccuQuote
Disclaimer: I work for AccuQuote and this is my personal opinion

Nice first post. OP, this, if anything, should give you an answer. Open up a savings account.

 

[Ava]

If you're concerned about funeral costs, you can probably get a small term policy through your own employer for a lesser cost. We pay $1/month for a small burial-cost policy on our children; no matter how many children we have, it's still $1/month.

This is what I have also. My employer offers a "Dependent Life Insurance" plan where you can purchase a small amount of coverage for your spouse and/or children. It costs very little & the price is the same no matter how many children you have. It's worth it to me to know that if something were to happen to my child, I'd have the money to cover funeral/burial expenses.

 

[ZachnElli]

I've never understood the loss of income argument when it comes to a child's life insurance policy. If I lost a child, it would be months before I could return to work, so there's your loss of income. Anyway, we pay 50 cents a month for all 3 kids for a 10K policy, definitely worth it in my opinion, seriously 50 cents!!!

 

[tinkmom2]

I have had the Gerber life insurance policies for both of my girls for a few years. Right now it's to cover any expenses if God forbid something would happen. My best friend just lost her niece after being diagnosed with leukemia for two weeks. They had no insurance, the father had lost his job, and were relying on the love and kindness of their family. Also when my children are old enough they can take over the policies. I am paying less than a few mochas for them every month. To each their own but I think it's the right choice for us.

 

[Mom2Ben02]

I've never understood the loss of income argument when it comes to a child's life insurance policy. If I lost a child, it would be months before I could return to work, so there's your loss of income.

That is exactly what I was going to say - having a cushion so that I could grieve would make it worth it for me.

I do have a friend that was talked into a $100,000 (not sure term/wl) policy for her two healthy young girls. Can you say they saw her coming?

 

[Halbleib1]

The reason I bought a policy for my child is so that if something happens to him there will be no worry about funeral costs for us as parents or his wife if/when he gets married and where the money will come from when that time comes. I watched too many friends and family worry about paying for a funeral and for a total of $2400 for $20,000 policy, in my opinion, it is well worth it to me.

People need to keep in mind that the cost of a funeral for a child is alot cheaper than the cost for an adult. My daughter died at 10 days old and her funeral cost around 1000.00 for everything. It would have cost a little bit more but we chose to have her funeral at the church rather than renting the funeral home for it. We did give a donation to the church though. She was buried not cremated and we had an open coffin as well.

All financial planners that I have heard discuss the issue all say it is not worth it to buy life insurance for a child. That it is a very bad way to spend your money.

I agree with those saying to invest in a college fund or a savings account. You could have a lot more money if you invested it wisely rather than paying some company to make money off from your money.

After losing our daughter we did consider buying it for our son until we looked into it more and realized we could put the money to better use.

 

[Halbleib1]

That is exactly what I was going to say - having a cushion so that I could grieve would make it worth it for me.

I do have a friend that was talked into a $100,000 (not sure term/wl) policy for her two healthy young girls. Can you say they saw her coming?

Wrong quote.

 

[Halbleib1]

I've never understood the loss of income argument when it comes to a child's life insurance policy. If I lost a child, it would be months before I could return to work, so there's your loss of income. Anyway, we pay 50 cents a month for all 3 kids for a 10K policy, definitely worth it in my opinion, seriously 50 cents!!!

Yes you would have some loss of income but planning on months off is an unreasonable expectation for many people. After the family leave time was up and any vacation time used you would in many cases not have a job to go back to.

After the loss of our daughter my dh had to report back to work once the family leave was up or he would not have had a job to return to.
Yes life insurance would have gotten us through a few months depending on the amount of it of course but it would not have helped if another job could not be found.


The loss of a child is the worst thing you could have happen to you believe me but life still must go on. It is always there with you but life does get easier over time. Even though at the time you wish you could just curl up in a ball and die. Probably the best thing that could have happened was the fact that we were forced to return to reality and could not just curl up for months on end being pulled further down into a deeper and deeper depression.