At O’Hagan’s we believe that children are our future, treat them well and let them lead the way, show them all the beauty they possess inside. Okay, so that’s Whitney Houston who believed that, but we certainly agree that it’s important to take precautions to safeguard the younger members of our families and protect ourselves against the financial implications of our children getting sick or badly injured.

 

In recent years, the great work of organisations such as Canteen and Dream Chaser foundation have been born out of the grief of a child contracting a terminal illness, but there are many situations which could lead to a change in family living arrangements or medical expenses which need to be met and a lack of available funds at the right time can put extra strain on the household.

 

Figures released by childcancer.org.nz state that “Collectively, New Zealand children undergo a total of 100,000 cancer treatments and procedures each year.” Despite these numbers, there are still a large number of New Zealanders who prefer to take their chances when it comes to planning for the worst. In fact for many people discussing illnesses affecting their children appears to be a taboo subject, with one client even saying to me that they felt it would be “tempting fate” if they took out Insurance on their children. 

 

For many, a reliance on the public health system provides the only back up in the event of a child’s illness. Yet for a small cost, if you have trauma or medical Insurance yourself, you can add your children to your own policy. This can give you an extra option to provide immediate medical care or funds to cover the cost of specialist or additional medical treatment, pay for alterations or home help or provide an income to cover household expenses while taking time off during your child’s recuperation.

 

As an example, a 35 year old male with $100,000 trauma cover and medical insurance would pay around $35 per fortnight for his own cover, but could add the additional cover to protect his two children for around an extra $12 each for the medical cover and just $3 to get insurance payable upon the diagnosis of a traumatic condition.

 

There are also additional products that can help with the costs of treatment if you have recently had a baby, which will cover the newborn up to the age of two, at which stage the insurance can transfer to the child’s product. In much the same way, once your child reaches the age of 21 they will be able to convert their cover to whatever insurance needs they will have as an adult. The additional benefit will be that they may be covered without extra medical underwriting and will also be starting from a lower premium cost, which will mean that the expense of their insurance in later life will be minimised. I once spoke to a client who has had her life Insurance in place since she started work and she made the comment that her friends can’t believe how cheap her premiums are whenever they’re comparing expenses.

 

As Whitney said, “Children are our future”, and as O’Hagan’s say, treat them well and make sure their future is protected by talking to your local adviser about the options that are available to take care of your whole family.