What is children’s life insurance?

Children’s life insurance is an optional add-on to a parent or guardian’s policy that helps extend protection to your little ones. To get it, parents typically take out life insurance in their own name to safeguard the family financially if something happens to them, and add-on children’s cover for extra peace of mind.

Depending on your policy, this optional layer of cover will pay out if a child should pass away, or suffer a serious illness or life-changing injury. A lump sum payment could provide a financial cushion to help you through a difficult time.

Cover for your children can often be added when you arrange your own life insurance, or your own critical illness cover. If you already have a policy in place, your provider may let you add it on, provided it is something they offer. You can also have multiple children on your policy. In fact, at least one leading provider says that there is no limit to the number of children that can be covered.

Financial support when you need it most

While children don’t usually contribute financially to the household, if a child becomes very sick or is involved in a serious accident, a parent may need to take extended leave from work. Without financial support in place, this can put a huge strain on the family.

Child cover can help your family cope if you or your partner needs to take time off work to care for your child, especially if the treatment or recovery takes several months or longer.

It can cover conditions present at birth, serious illnesses or injuries, or even provide a cash lump sum if the worst happens and your child passes away due to an accident.

Adding children’s cover can provide:

  • Support if a child is diagnosed with a serious illness or suffers a significant injury.

  • Assistance with medical expenses, specialist care or rehabilitation costs.

  • Financial help if you need to take time off work to care for a sick child.

  • Cover for funeral costs if the unthinkable happens.

  • Peace of mind knowing your children are protected alongside your main policy.

What does children’s life insurance cover?

Naturally the level of cover varies between lenders, but arranging children’s life cover or critical illness cover alongside your own policy can include:

  • A payout if your child is diagnosed with a covered illness or injury, including conditions present at birth.

  • A payout if your child passes away due to an accident.

  • An additional payment towards funeral costs if your child passes away.

As an example, one leading provider’s children’s critical illness cover covers 95 conditions, including ten child-specific illnesses. Another lists child-specific conditions including bacterial meningitis with permanent symptoms, irreversible blindness or deafness, encephalitis, and traumatic head injury with permanent symptoms.

Exactly how much you’ll get depends on your level of cover and the terms of your policy. If your child is diagnosed with a covered illness, suffers a serious injury, or dies in an accident, your insurer may pay out either:

  • A pre-agreed benefit amount, for example, £10,000 - £30,000

  • A portion of your main policy’s cover – say 50% – up to a set amount. This may rise to 100% of your policy cover for some conditions.

And remember, children’s life insurance is an extra to sit alongside your own cover, so your policy may still continue to cover and pay out for you, even if you have already claimed for your child.

What isn’t covered?

It’s important to remember that children’s cover is not typically a standalone policy, it’s an optional extra that you arrange with your life or critical illness insurance. That means your child’s protection depends on your policy remaining active and you adhering to the terms of your policy.

Still, some things may not be covered for your child, including as an example

  • Conditions or injuries that were already present at your child’s birth (unless specifically allowed).

  • Illnesses or injuries that happened before the policy started, or within the first few months of the policy being in place, including symptoms that appeared earlier.

  • Situations where a child passes away from a non-accidental cause shortly after being diagnosed with a covered illness or injury.

These are examples, so please make sure you are aware of the exclusions applying to any policy you are considering.

How much does children’s life insurance cost?

If you already have life or critical illness cover, adding children’s cover will involve an extra on top of your existing premium. The cost will depend on the insurer, but will extend protection to your children without taking out a separate policy.

If you don’t yet have a policy in place, the cost of your cover will depend on several factors, including:

  • Your age: The younger you are when you take out a policy, the lower your premiums are likely to be.

  • Your health: Existing health conditions can make premiums higher.

  • Your lifestyle: Choices like smoking can increase the cost.

  • Length of term: Longer policies usually mean higher premiums.

  • Your occupation: Some jobs are considered higher risk, which can increase premiums.

  • The sum assured: A higher payout means a higher premium.

  • Single vs joint life: A joint policy for you and your partner is usually cheaper than two single policies, but it typically pays out only once.

  • Level or decreasing cover: Policies with a decreasing payout (often used with repayment mortgages) may be cheaper than level cover.

  • Reviewable vs guaranteed premiums: Reviewable premiums often start lower but can increase later, while guaranteed premiums start higher but stay fixed.

Understanding these factors can help you choose a policy that provides the cover you need, whilst fitting your budget and also protecting your children.

You may find your own quotes come in cheaper or more expensive than average premiums. The best way to find out how much cover would cost for you is to compare quotes from leading insurance companies.

How to choose and use add-ons for child cover

When you compare life insurance policies, check whether the plan includes children’s cover as standard. Some may do this, but they may charge an extra premium.

When comparing plans, you’ll need to carefully check the terms of their child cover option as each insurer may offer something slightly different. Think about what level of protection would help your family most if something unexpected happened to your child.

When reviewing options, it’s helpful to look at:

  • How much the payout would be and whether it’s enough.

  • What illnesses, injuries or events are covered.

  • The age limits for cover (and whether it starts from birth).

  • If existing conditions at birth are covered.

  • Any waiting periods or exclusions that might apply.

  • If adding cover to an individual policy or to a family life insurance cover would better suit your family’s needs.

Finally, you may want to revisit your cover as your family grows. A new baby, higher childcare costs, or a bigger home are all good reasons to make sure your protection is still right for you.

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Page updated on 6th November 2025, Reviewed by Richard Groom