Having your first child changes your life in countless ways. As a new parent, you have to provide for your child and think of their needs just as much as your own. One investment you can make in their future is applying for life insurance. In this article, we explore why life insurance can be so important for new parents and how you can apply for a policy.
What Is Life Insurance?
Life insurance provides added financial security by paying beneficiaries a death benefit upon your passing.1 Life insurance is typically offered as term or whole life policies, providing coverage for a specific time period or for the policyholder’s lifetime, so long as they pay their premiums on their active policy.
Why First-Time Parents Should Apply For Life Insurance
Life insurance is important for most families for a few key reasons:2
- To help cover living expenses: A policy beneficiary may be your children, a spouse, or another loved one. A death benefit provides added financial security for beneficiaries by allowing them to help pay for basic living expenses which they might struggle to do without your income.
- To help cover end-of-life expenses: Between medical bills and funeral costs, dying can be quite expensive. Life insurance can help cover those costs, easing the burden on a surviving spouse or your child.
- To help provide for your child’s future: Savings for major expenditures like your child’s college or wedding may not be enough if you pass unexpectedly.
- To help pay debts: When you die with debt, that debt can pass to your family, including children. A life insurance policy can help pay debt and help ensure it doesn’t negatively affect your child’s future.
4 tips for applying for a life insurance policy
Applying for a life insurance policy is typically straightforward, but it’s important to understand how policies work and what you’re getting before you sign an agreement. Here are some tips to help you choose a policy.
1. Compare term and whole life insurance3
Term life insurance typically offers lower premiums but is only active for a specific period of time, such as 10 or 30 years. Whole life insurance provides coverage for the entirety of your life and includes an investment component that accrues cash value over time. With a term life policy, you’ll pay less for premiums but still be covered should you pass during the term.
A whole life policy is more expensive but may offer more features like the ability to draw upon a policy’s cash value to pay for end-of-life or retirement expenses, reducing the financial burden on family members.
2. Determine your goals for a policy
First-time parents should assess their finances to understand how much money their child would need to help with living expenses until adulthood, as well as education costs. It can be a tricky financial puzzle, so you can consider working with a financial advisor.
3. Consider an adult beneficiary
Parents often want a life insurance policy to benefit their children. But designating a minor as a beneficiary may have unintended consequences. Insurers usually don’t pay death benefits to minors directly. Instead, the court system will likely appoint an adult custodian to manage the money until the child comes of age. Court costs and administration fees typically reduce the benefit received by your child later. Instead, consider setting up a trust or designating a spouse or close relative to oversee distribution of the death benefit to your child.
4. Explore child life insurance
In some instances, it may be wise to consider life insurance for kids. Child life insurance policies make a minor child the policyholder and will help cover costs in the event of your child’s death. It’s a grim consideration, but families at risk of serious medical conditions or children born with serious medical conditions that will impact the rest of their life may benefit from child life insurance.
Some of the key benefits of child life insurance is that it can help with future insurability for their medical condition, which can help reduce costs in the future, and some policies may provide cash value should the child pursue college or have other significant expenses later in life.
The bottom line
Life insurance can provide first-time parents with added peace of mind ensuring that their children will have additional financial security should they unexpectedly pass.
When shopping for life insurance, it’s important to compare policy types and features to determine what makes the most sense for your family’s financial needs and goals. Working with a trusted financial advisor or independent insurance agent can help you figure out the best options for your growing family.
Sources:
1 Investopedia – Life Insurance: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Buy a Policy. Updated February 28, 2025. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/lifeinsurance.asp. Accessed April 18, 2025.
2 CBS News – Why parents need life insurance: 5 reasons to get it now. Updated October 18, 2023. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/why-parents-need-life-insurance-5-reasons-to-get-it-now/. Accessed April 18, 2025.
3 Investopedia — Term vs. Whole Life Insurance: What’s the Difference? Updated February 27, 2025. https://www.investopedia.com/term-life-vs-whole-life-5075430. Accessed April 18, 2025.
Content within this article is provided for general informational purposes and is not provided as tax, legal, health, or financial advice for any person or for any specific situation. Employers, employees, and other individuals should contact their own advisers about their situations. For complete details, including availability and costs of Aflac insurance, please contact your local Aflac agent.
Aflac coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of Columbus. In New York, Aflac coverage is underwritten by American Family Life Assurance Company of New York.
Aflac life plans – A68000 series: Term Life Policies: In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania & Virginia, Policies: ICC1368200, ICC1368300, ICC1368400. In Delaware, Policies A68200, A68300 & A68400. In New York, Policies NY68200, NY68300 and NY68400. Whole Life Policies: In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, Pennsylvania & Virginia, Policies: ICC1368100. In Delaware, Policy A68100. In New York, Policy NYR68100. B61000 series: In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma & Virginia, Policies: ICC18B61JWO & ICC18B61JTO. In Delaware, Policies B61JWO, B61JTO. B60000 series: In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma & Virginia, Policies: ICC18B60C10, ICC18B60100, ICC18B60200, ICC18B60300, & ICC18B60400. Not available in Delaware. Q60000 series/Whole: In Arkansas & Delaware, Policy Q60100M. In Idaho, Policy Q60100MID. In Oklahoma, Policy Q60100MOK. Not available in Virginia. Q60000 series/Term: In Delaware, Policies Q60200CM. In Arkansas, Idaho, Oklahoma, Policies ICC18Q60200C, ICC18Q60300C, ICC18Q60400C. Not available in Virginia.
Coverage may not be available in all states, including but not limited to DE, ID, NJ, NM, NY, VA or VT. Benefits/premium rates may vary based on state and plan levels. Optional riders may be available at an additional cost. Policies and riders may also contain a waiting period. Refer to the exact policy and rider forms for benefit details, definitions, limitations, and exclusions.
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