At 17 weeks pregnant, a woman may start to consider acquiring life insurance for their soon to appear newborn. There are millions of Americans that have decided in favor of purchasing life insurance for their newborns. As with any major decision, it is important to weight the pros and cons of this idea.

The pros of purchasing life insurance for newborns include: the lowest rates, the doubling of the insurance benefit amount and a healthy newborn is guaranteed to qualify for their insurance coverage. Let’s discuss each of the aforementioned aspects in more detail.

The rates that you can find for a healthy newborn’s life insurance policy are the lowest that can be found throughout the industry. Since the company is expecting to have you and your child as their long-term customers, they will try to do their best and offer you the lowest rates. The savings can be quite considerable, when compared to insuring a young adult with some health issues.

The second aspect is the doubling cash value. If you purchase the insurance for your child when they are a newborn, their insurance benefit amount may automatically double by the time they are 18-20 years old. The rates that you pay (or that your child pays, if they decide to take on the insurance premium payments as adults) will stay as they were 18-20 years ago. If the insurance amount is sufficient enough, your child will be able to go to any university of their choice using the accumulated cash value.

The third aspect is the guaranteed qualifying. Since most newborns are healthy, there’s nothing that can cause an insurance company to deny their coverage, or hike their rates. Any healthy newborn or child will qualify for their policy. In case of an adult, they may either not qualify for certain types of insurance, or will have to pay excessively high rates. This typically happens if the person has some serious health conditions, or if they are engaged in the types of occupations that are considered to be hazardous by the insurer (pilot, firefighters, scuba diving instructors, and others).

There are more benefits in providing your child with life insurance when they are just a newborn. For instance, as an adult, your child may not be able to afford insurance on their own. If you have locked the low rates in for them, they will probably be able to afford it. Some parents even choose to help their children their whole life long - the rates are so low that it’s doable for many parents.

In terms of using insurance as an investment, its con may be lower tax incentives, when compared to the 529 plan tax deductions. However, the 529 cannot serve as an insurance, as it’s not. In case the unthinkable happens and the child is gone, their parents will get the money to cover the last expenses using the insurance. Considering pros and cons, purchasing the insurance for a newborn seems to be one of the best options. Insurance protects your family, your child, and your grandchildren. That’s why millions of Americans have purchased newborn insurance policies for their children.