18 and over is a hazardous time in your child’s life – but is insuring them a smart move?
Turning 18 is something kids look forward to eagerly throughout their teenage years but concerned parents face with trepidation. It is the hallowed number that legally puts the car keys in one hand and a beer bottle in the other.
The problem, as many unfortunate parents throughout NZ have had to endure, is that a single misstep in making a mature and responsible decision could end in disaster for the ones they love the most.
Whilst any 18 year old will vehemently tell you that they are not a kid any longer, most parents will adamantly disagree. The fact is, they never stop being your kids, and that means you never stop trying to take responsibility for them.
One of the contentious decisions parents face is whether or not to take out life insurance on their children once they become young adults. Responsible parents know all too well how one lapse in judgment, one spontaneous act of throwing caution to the wind, or a serious illness is enough to rip apart a life and the lives of everyone in the family for good.
Life insurance is a service geared toward ensuring that the financial needs of your loved ones – the children most of all - are taken care of in the case of unforeseen death, injury or illness. As parents, we all want the best for our kids without reservation, and that should also include covering them against the likelihood of serious injury or an incapacitating disease.
As much as parents try to do everything within their power to keep their kids safe and in good health, the fact of the matter remains that as your child gets into their late teens, they begin to make crucial, life impacting choices, all on their own.
We’ve all been 18. At the time we all thought that we knew best. But was it truly the case? Most kids (and adults) fail to think the consequences of their actions through before taking them. Getting behind the wheel after a night partying with mates has become an all too common and deadly occurrence amongst young people today.
In fact, since the 1999 law change that lowered the legal drinking age to 18, young drivers aged 18-19 now stand a 21% greater chance of being involved in a serious traffic accident caused by drunk driving. A brief internet search of fatal car crashes involving teens will bring up some stark and sobering personal accounts of how quickly and brutally lives are destroyed forever.
Apart from motor vehicle related injuries and fatalities, kids 18 and up are also more prone to engage in reckless behavior – whether sober or inebriated.
From fights and physical altercations to extreme sports and drunken dares, the potential for something to go horribly wrong is increased at that time in a kid’s life.
Of course, there is no way to protect them all the time from all possible ways of harming themselves or becoming sick, but there is a way to protect them and your family against the financial burden such events can bring about. Taking out a life insurance and serious illness cover for your child is rooted in being proactive and insuring your family against the worst case scenario, should it ever arise.
No parent should have to suffer the loss of their child. No parent should have to watch their child suffer from a debilitating terminal illness. But many parents do, and at the time their child is diagnosed with a terminal illness or is involved in a horrific accident it is often too late to start thinking about how you will manage financially.
Ask any parent who has had a child suffer severe and permanent injury, and they will tell you that life changes drastically, in an instant. Without coverage, many parents find themselves against a wall they cannot surmount. Medical costs are exorbitant, the changes that need to be implemented for special needs care are costly, and the even starker reality of not being able to provide the care your child will need slams home with incapacitating force.
Taking out a life insurance policy tailored to support and provide for your family in a time of crisis is something all parents should seriously consider. The bottom line with life insurance for kids is that accidents do happen. Taking out life insurance on them means that if the worst case scenario does happen, you will be able to take care of them.
