Why Parents Of Special Needs Children Need Life Insurance In India?

Having a special needs child can be emotionally and financially challenging. Besides taking care of the child and providing it with the possible facilities, you might incur considerable medical expenses. Moreover, the child might depend on you financially throughout their life.

As such, as a parent of a special needs child, one may consider availing a life insurance plan.

Why life insurance?

A life insurance policy covers the risk of premature death. If parents insure themselves under a life insurance plan, they can secure their child’s financial future. In case the parent dies prematurely, the life insurance policy will pay a death benefit which can give the dependent child the financial assistance it needs. That is why life insurance is important.

Types of life insurance plans to consider

As a parent of a special needs child, you can consider buying the following types of life insurance plans for your child’s security –

● Term insurance plan

A term insurance plan is a basic policy that covers the risk of premature death. The plan provides a guaranteed^* benefit if the parent passes away during the policy tenure. Moreover, if you choose the whole-of-life coverage option, you can enjoy a wider scope of coverage.

Term plans also offer a range of additional riders, both inbuilt and optional, that may help you extend the coverage beyond premature demise, on payment of additional nominal premium. Equip the plan with these riders and enjoy protection even in other emergencies like accidental disablements, critical illnesses and the like.

● Child insurance plan

A child insurance plan is a specifically designed policy that is meant to secure a child’s financial future. Depending from Insurer to Insurer, the plan sometimes offers a premium waiver benefit that waives off the premium when the parent dies. You can also opt for this benefit as an add-on rider by paying additional nominal premium.

Thus, some child insurance plans secure the child’s financial future by securing a corpus even after the parent’s demise.

● Savings-oriented plans

A term plan and a child insurance plan are the instruments that can help you secure your child’s financial future. Besides these plans, you may also opt for savings-oriented plans to create a corpus for your financial goals and your child’s needs. You can choose endowment or money-back plans if you want guaranteed* returns. On the other hand, if you are looking for market-linked returns, unit-linked insurance plans (ULIPs), will be a suitable choice.

Things to know when buying insurance

While a life insurance policy can help you plan for your child’s secured financial future, there are some points that you should keep in mind when buying the policy. These are as follows –

• Choose asum assured for creating a suitable corpus that will be sufficient to meet your child’s needs.
• Opt for a long-term coverage duration for longer protection and corpus creation.
• You may customise the coverage with riders so that you can get additional protection, on payment of nominal additional premium.
• The premium that you pay for the policy can earn you tax benefits under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act 1961 up to Rs.1.5 lakhs and subject to other provisions stated therein.

The bottom line

While you shower your child with love and care for their safety, don’t forget to secure their future, financially. A life insurance policy can help you do just that. Consider Buying a policy so that in your absence your child does not have to worry about meeting their lifestyle or medical expenses. The financial assistance that the plan will provide may help them become financially independent.

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