Ideal for risk-averse parents seeking assured achievement of goals

CHILD INSURANCE PLANS

- HIMALI PATEL

ICICI Prudential Life Insurance recently launched ICICI Pru SmartKid 360. Several other insurers also offer such plans, designed to help parents build a corpus for key milestones such as higher education and marriage.

How they work

Child insurance plans are structured for long-term, goal-based savings. “The plan provides milestone-based payouts aligned to the child’s age, often around 18 or 21, when education expenses peak,” says Vikas Gupta, chief product officer, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company. These plans also offer a maturity benefit at the end of the policy term. Some plans allow partial withdrawals at key academic stages, such as college admission.

“The parent typically acts as the life insured, while the child is the beneficiary,” says Anup Seth, chief distribution officer, Edelweiss Life Insurance.

These plans come in two variants. “Parents can choose between guaranteed benefit options, which prioritise certainty, and market-linked variants aimed at long-term growth,” says Madhu Burugupalli, head - product management & strategy, Bajaj Life Insurance.