Do You Need Accident Insurance For Your Child?

No one wants to think about it, but serious accidents or illnesses can and do happen to our children. The last thing you want to think about if something happens to your child are the expenses. Child accident insurance provides protection that can help alleviate the financial stress.

What Does Accident/Illness Protection For Children Cover?

Maybe you received a brochure in your child’s backpack, or maybe a financial advisor has talked about it with you but typically the coverage will include:

• A lump sum payout for accidental serious injury or death of the child (the qualifying injuries that are eligible for the payout will be explicitly stated)
• Accidental Dental coverage (if your child’s adult tooth is knocked out during hockey, for example)
• Critical Illness coverage (Cancer, Organ failure, and other serious diseases). This would also be a lump sum payout.
• Supplemental benefits you may have to pay for while your child is recovering from their injury or illness (example, tutoring services, in home nursing services). Usually it will cover out of pocket expenses up to a specified maximum.
• Eligible hospital expenses not already covered by the provincial government or an employer sponsored health plan.
• Modifications to your home

Is My Child Already Covered?

In many cases, parents may already have coverage for some or all of these terrible events though an employer sponsored plan. They may choose to purchase additional coverage that goes above and beyond what is already covered. Some parents don’t have any coverage through their workplaces. In this case they may want to consider purchasing accident coverage for their child.

Does My Child’s School Provide Accident Coverage?

Schools often provide information about coverage for children but they do not provide the insurance coverage. It is important to note that the source of the insurance advertisement is not an endorsement of the product. For example, if you receive the brochure for child accident insurance from your child’s school, that does not mean that the school is legally responsible for claims administration or any aspect of your relationship with the accident insurance provider.

All insurance companies have different plans, coverage limits and sometimes medical requirements to enroll children in these types of plans. I would recommend that parents seek a licensed financial advisor who can explain the ins and outs of child accident/illness policies so they know what is and is not covered. We have several financial advisors at McDougall Insurance and Financial who are ready to assist you. If you would like a quote please visit our life insurance page.