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Guidelines |
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A juvenile is ages 15 days through age 17 years. All siblings should apply for equal amounts or already have equal amounts in force. $100,000 is the maximum amount that will be offered without financial information on the parents or legal guardian. Can offer $100,001 or more if one parent (or the person who is financially and/or legally responsible for the child) has two times the amount of insurance in force on themselves. |
If the parents or the legal guardian(s) are insurable, they should be adequately insured before applying for life insurance on a dependent child.
Do not complete an application on a juvenile not yet 15 days of age. (This does not apply to a Children’s Rider.) Mortality is highest during this initial period of life. If completed before 15 days, we immediately return the application and any premium to the Applicant, even if the 15 days elapsed. A new application with up-to-date responses will be required.
Infants born prematurely (two weeks or more before due date) are not considered for insurance until six months of age because of the extra mortality involved. Depending on birth weight or congenital defects, consideration for insurance could be postponed until one year of age or longer.
Applications for insurance in equal amounts, which can include the same face amounts and/or the same premiums, need to be submitted at the same time for all siblings under age 18; unless an equal amount of life insurance is already in force with us or another company. This helps to avoid anti-selection.
The parent(s) or legal guardian(s) for a juvenile must carry at least two times the amount of insurance on the child (for face amounts of $100,001 or more). This is to help avoid speculation and anti-selection. We consider well-documented exceptions.
Parents or legal guardian(s) are generally the only persons eligible to purchase life insurance on their child. Other persons, such as grandparents, may apply; however, the parent or legal guardian must sign the application and the HIPAA authorization form. This signature shows acceptance of the insurance and certifies the child’s current health status.
Grandparents applying for coverage on a grandchild must have equal coverage on all grandchildren.
If an Applicant does not have an insurable interest in the child’s life, he/she cannot be Policyowner or Beneficiary, however, we would allow he/she to be the premium payor. (Aunts and uncles do not ordinarily have an insurable interest in the life of a niece or nephew).
Grandparent Gifts
A Grandparent can be a policyowner and premium payor for an application on a juvenile provided a parent or legal guardian signs the application and HIPAA authorization form.
•Through gifting, the grandparents reduce their taxable estates and remove future growth on those assets from estate tax. They also reduce probate costs by removing assets from the probate estate. They can also create a life insurance trust and accomplish the same objectives.
•If the grandparent retains ownership, a subsequent policyowner should be named to lessen probate costs.
•If a grandparent is concerned about reducing the size of the estate, ownership should be placed with some other party, like their own child (the father or mother of the grandchild).
•The policy should pass by contract rather than by will or intestate succession.
•Another possibility is to pass ownership to the child.
•The grandparent has the same or similar coverage on all grandchildren.
NOTE: We discourage ownership of a contract by a child who is under the age of majority. While some states permit contracts with minors, we reserve the right to refuse ownership by juveniles.