Wednesday, 20 July 2016

Tuesday, 19 July 2016

Make Your Child Plan Comprehensive with Riders

Every parent dreams of a bright future for their child. They want their children to be the best doctor in town or get into nowhere less than IIT, MIT or Harvard. In addition, every parent dreams of a wedding for their child that has all the paraphernalia of a typical big-fat Indian wedding. So, from the time a child is born, you as a parent would explore every option available to fulfill every dream for your child. However, it might not be possible with the resources you have in hand. You need to then explore other options like investments and must invest intelligently.
One of the best investment options is child savings plans that will provide you money at key milestones in your child's life. These policies and plans ensure continuity and provide the money even if you are not alive during the key milestones of your child's life. In addition, you can opt for insurance riders along with the plans to added value and power to the plans. Your child will thus get the additional benefits that you opted for at a little extra premium.
Riders and Child Plans
You must therefore compare and opt for the best child insurance plan that meets your need but is affordable too. An online child plan is a good option that helps you in easily comparing various policies and then selecting the best child plan. You must also look for plans with riders and similar features that make your policy more powerful and useful. Riders are additional features that you can opt for with your plan at an additional premium amount.
It is up to the insurance company what riders include in their policies, whether to make them optional or part of the policy, or whether to exclude them from their policies altogether. Riders are meant to give you and your child a more secure and a financially stable life. It is therefore up to you to select the riders that you need. An extra premium would give that extra power to the already powerful insurance policy.
The typical riders that come with child plans are:
Payer benefit
The most valuable riders are those that are needed to ensure that the policy does not lapse in case the insured does not survive the term of the policy. The child is then paid a lump sum amount if the policyholder is no more.
Waiver of premium riders
In case of death of the insured, future premiums are waived off for the child. This ensures that the child doesn't have the burden of paying the remaining premiums, which is then paid by the company.
Dreaded diseases
In case of a dreaded disease, a lump sum amount is paid for the treatment of the child.
Personal accident benefit
In case of an accident, a lump sum amount is paid for the treatment of the child.
The death of a parent would disturb the life of any child emotionally and financially. It is therefore up to you to select the riders according to your needs. Riders make your policy very strong by adding variety and range, so must be added cautiously.
Best Child Plan provides financial support for your child education. We helps you to compare choose best child plan from leading insurer in India.
Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/childplans/2016/07/19/ritikashah11998-20/


Monday, 4 July 2016

Why Is Waiver of Premium Rider Important In Case of A Child Plan?

A child plan is essentially bought with the purpose of providing adequate financial security to a child during his growing years. It serves the following two purposes:
Provides financial support at crucial milestones in a child’s life like higher education, marriage etc. with pre-planned payouts while at the same time providing maturity benefits too.
Unlike regular life insurance policies where the policy ceases to exist after the death of the insured, a child plan continues till the maturity of the policy. It not only provides a death benefit to the child, but also the maturity policy proceeds of the plan at the time of maturity. This is where the waiver of premium rider comes in.
What Is Waiver Of Premium Rider?
This is a benefit provided by the insurers under which the child need not pay any further premiums in case the insured dies during the term of the plan. All future premiums are waived off and the insurer pays remaining premiums towards the policy. In some cases, the insurer also provides this benefit if the insured is diagnosed with a critical illness.
Why Is The Waiver of Premium Important?
It helps to keep the policy active till the maturity date so that the child receives financial benefits as per the policy terms at important stages of his life
The child is relieved from the liability of arranging funds to keep the policy active as future premiums are paid by the insurer.
The child gets double financial benefits: first, at the time of death of the insured in the form of an entire sum assured and secondly, at the time of maturity of the policy in the form of maturity benefits or fund value depending on the type of the child plan along with any bonuses, if applicable.
Important milestones in child’s life like higher education, marriage etc. will not face any financial hiccups
Elaborating With a Case Study
Mr. Arora bought a child plan for his 2 year old son for a sum assured of Rs. 15lakhs for a term of 20 years. Unfortunately, he passes away after 7 years of buying the policy. At this point, the insurer will pay the entire Rs. 15lakhs to his son (nominee) as a death benefit and will waive off, the future premiums pending for 13 years. The policy will remain active, the premiums will then be paid by the insurer and if it’s a traditional plan, the child will be paid the maturity benefits at the time of expiry of the plan and if it’s a unit linked child plan, he will receive the maturity value.
In case the insured outlives the term of the plan, even then there are maturity benefits depending on the type of plan he has selected. In short, it is a win-win situation for the child as his upbringing and financial needs are well-taken care of till he grows up to be an independent man.
Waiver of Premium as an Inbuilt Benefit or a Rider?
A lot of companies offer this benefit, but some of them make it a part of basic benefits offered in the plan and some charge a nominal amount of extra premium to add this feature in a basic child plan.
Child Plans: These are the insurance plans bought by the parents to safeguard their child’s future in case of the parents’ demise. These plans also double up as an investment tool that provides financial support to the child at important stages of his life like at the time of higher education, marriage etc.
The term plan ends with the insured’s death. The nominee gets the sum assured as a lump sum payment and the policy ceases to exist. A child plan carries on even after the death of the insured. The child will get the sum assured at the time of the death and the policy will continue till the expiration of the entire term when he will receive the fund value as part of the maturity benefits.
This feature is only available for the child plans. Here the insurer waives off the premiums payable on the policy after the death of the insured. The remaining premiums on the policy are paid by the insurer till the policy term ends. There is no such benefit offered under term plans, which cease to exist after the death of the insured. The nominee is only eligible for death benefits and has to buy a new insurance cover/investment plans for future coverage.

Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/childplans/2016/07/04/ritikashah11998-19/

Best Child Plan


Friday, 24 June 2016

Child Insurance Plans


5 THINGS TO CONSIDER FOR CHILD PLANNING

Just became a parent? Having sleepless nights taking care of the newborn and also thinking of your finances ahead? Well that is obvious that once you become a parent your focus automatically shifts on to addressing the financial issues unlike in the past.  According to Chunk, a business relations professional, “It was not until I was pregnant that I realized the various expenses related to childbearing and delivery.” So, what are the expenses she is talking about? Let’s take a look-
1. Child Delivery Expenses
Maternity charges are on the rise. Starting from expenses related to regular health checkups to myriad vaccinations and eventually to the fees of a modest nursing where one is billed anything between INR 80,000 to a few lakhs, expenses are humongous. Hospital bills also vary depending on your room and food preferences, neonatal care and medical expenses. One is lucky if the child is delivered in good health, otherwise Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) charges can get very taxing.
2. Post-Delivery Expenses
If you are a corporate or government employee, you are lucky that you’ll still be covered by your salary. But if you are a private firm employee with limited privileges, then it gets difficult. It even gets worse in case the new mother doesn’t belong to a well off family and she’s financially dependent on the spouse. No matter how loving one’s partner is, financial implications always make one nervous. Post-delivery expenses include essential stationery, baby food, medicines, immunity care, vaccinations etc.
3. Traditional Expenses
Childbirth calls for a huge celebration. It is a moment of joy for friends and relatives to receive a new member in the family. Parents take hit on their personal finances to ensure the child is received with gold and other expensive gifts and toys. Parties are thrown, a huge list of guests are invited. Depending on family traditions there are miscellaneous expenses associated with the welcoming of the new child who may include offering feast to the Brahmins and a number of deities.
4. Growing Up Expenses
As the Best Child Insurance Plan grows, it is always important to have an emergency fund because till a certain age, the child is likely to fall sick while trying to adjust with the environment. An emergency fund secures a lot of uncertainties and ensures you are able to consult a doctor regarding your child’s health. You can also consider a family floater for health insurance to take care of recurring medical expenses. Apart from health issues, when the child is around 2 or 3, getting him or her into a good crèche/school is the biggest investment that parents contemplate on from the very beginning.
5. Upbringing for the first child
Are you already nervous after reading the above expenses? Well, the estimation of finances is not over yet. While you think of all these expenses for you’re your second child, you cannot ignore the expenses related to your first child.  That’s exactly what Sasmita, a middle income HR professional had to say, “Although the stress wasn’t as much when we had planned for the first baby, but as we plan for a second baby, we can see how difficult it can get to ensure we do not compromise a bit on the expenses related to our first child”. Indeed, as parents, it is our responsibility that before we plan for a second child, we ensure that we aren’t compromising a bit on giving our first born a good upbringing.

Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/childplans/2016/06/24/5-things-to-consider-for-child-planning/

Tuesday, 14 June 2016

Who Else Wants To Know How Child Plans Work

The birth of a child brings immeasurable joy to parents. However, after the initial euphoria subsides, the future expenses start staring at you in the face. Add to this the innumerable ads on TV and print media, and you’re left with only one choice: buy a child plan.
That’s the beginning of your second problem – there are innumerable child plans out there. How do you know which one suits you the most?
Ask yourself these questions.
1. When will your child need the money?
2. How much will you need for the particular goal (marriage, education)?
3. How much will you be able to save?
4. How much insurance cover do I need?
Understanding Child Insurance Plans
There are basically 3 types of child insurance plans.
Money-Back: This is by far one of the most popular plans. Under this plan, your child will get survival benefits at regular intervals. For example, when he turns 18 years, he would get about 20% of sum assured, and a further 20% at age of 20 and so on. This plan is useful for those who feel the need for lump sum requirement at regular intervals and helps you in life stage planning.
Another benefit these plans offer is the premium waiver benefit, which ensures that in case of death of the parent, then the premiums are waived off and the policy continues with benefits.
A disadvantage of depending on this alone is that its returns often fail to match inflation, especially if you are planning to buy it for your child’s education. Education costs are growing at around 12% whereas money-backs would give you around 7-9%, leaving you grossly underfunded at the time of goal. Also, the premiums are steep.
ULIPS: ULIPs are non-traditional plans wherein returns are market-dependent. If the parent dies (or, as in the case of some policies, gets diagnosed with some critical illness), then the child would receive the sum assured in a lump sum. Also, future premiums are waived off and on maturity, the child would get the fund value too.
ULIP plans offer variety of funds ranging from conservative to balanced or aggressive. Under ULIPs, you can change from debt to equity and vice versa without the worry of taxation, thus enabling you to benefit from both timing the market and also rebalancing your portfolio.
But, ULIPs levy a variety of charges by way of premium allocation charges, policy administration charges, mortality charges, fund management charges, etc. This would affect the returns generated by the investment in market related instruments and ultimately the corpus that your child receives. Another negative of ULIP is that in case of an emergency, if you want to surrender or do partial withdrawal, the charges are high and also attract tax.
While a long term ULIP (above 15 years) could actually cost less than a mutual fund, it is less flexible. You just can’t move from one ULIP to another as in case of mutual funds. If you are putting your entire money in child ULIP plans and if it underperforms on a consistent basis, you are stuck!
Endowment Policies: Endowment policies are one where lump sum amount is paid at the time of the maturity along with bonuses. This is very useful to plan for your child’s big expenses like wedding, higher education, etc. And, unlike ULIPs, there is a minimum guaranteed amount of payment. Besides, you may get bonuses too.
Endowment policies too invest in market-backed securities, but unlike ULIPs, they invest only in debt products and the returns too are not exactly spectacular. And, if you require higher cover, you will have to pay a steeper premium. So, an ideal way is to take up an endowment policy as a debt portion of your overall asset allocation.
Almost all Child Plans cover the parent and thus, if in an event of an unfortunate untimely death of the parent, the child’s needs would still be taken care of by way of lump sum payment on death and also on maturity. But beware of plans that cover the child and not the parent! It is your child who needs financial security and not you!
Another thing to be noted is that, there are riders like waiver of premium offered along with child plans to cover the untimely death of the parent. The policy continues here at the absence of the parent, but the benefit comes at a high cost as the premium increases due to this rider. And, the mortality rate charges for a child plan are quite high too.
Source: http://blogs.rediff.com/childplans/2016/06/14/ritikashah11998-18/

Saturday, 4 June 2016

Why I Refuse to Force My Kids to Hug and Child Plan

I don't know if anyone else remembers being a kid and having your parents tell you, "Okay. Kiss so-and-so goodbye!" and we did, because that is what we were supposed to do and we didn't want to upset our parents or whatever grown-up it was. And we hated it. At least I did. It made me feel so uncomfortable deep down in my soul to have to force physical affection when I knew I didn't want to. But I did it rather than give my parents any kind of issue.
The more I think about that reaction that I had, the less I want my own daughter to have to go through that.
That we ourselves are in charge of what happens. What affection we give and receive is up to us, they say. In a world overrun with the debate about rape culture and who is at fault in an accused sexual assault, why are we teaching our kids that they have to provide physical forms of affection to anyone they don't want to?
For some time now, I have thought maybe I was looking too hard into this issue. Maybe it's not a big deal. But it IS a big deal. It's a huge deal. Kissing is an intimate act. Eventually in their lives, it will be something that they use to convey their own very personal affections to another person. It will be the start of an intimate relationship. It's a sign of friendship. It's a sign of love. It's something that no one should be forced to do when they don't want to, and especially to someone they don't want to. I want my daughter to grow up confident and in control of her body and her mind and I cannot with good conscience think that and then in the next breath tell her to kiss someone.
A lot of people don't think this is a big deal. The response I tend to get when this discussion is brought up is, "Well, I did it. I'm fine," or "Do you want to offend (insert relative here)?" I don't want to offend anyone, but more than that, I don't want to force my daughter to kiss anyone. I don't want to teach her that her affections, especially of the physical variety, are something to be commanded from her.
My feeling as a Best Child Plan was that it would be over quick, so get it over with. I think hard about that reaction. It goes deep. I then think about my daughter as a teenager. Peer pressures. Some boy who says she should kiss him, or do something else. Will she feel she should do it so as not to offend him? So as not to upset him? It will be over quick, so get it over with. Yes. That is exactly what I feel I am teaching her by forcing her to kiss people she doesn't want to now, as a child.
My son is now eleven years old, going on twelve. When he was a toddler, I used to tell him, "Give so-and-so a kiss goodbye!" and I could see in his face it made him uncomfortable. I didn't care who it offended. I stopped. I never made him do it again. Nowadays, he hugs who he wants to. He gives a pound. He is NEVER rude, always kind, and he never has to kiss anyone. When I pick him up from his grandparents, I remind him to tell his grandparents goodbye, but I never tell him to kiss anyone. I won't. I refuse.
It's important to me that in today's world of blurred lines regarding physical affections to make sure my kids know that their body is THEIR BODY. No one else's. No one can force them to use their body in a way that makes them uncomfortable. They do not EVER have to allow that from anyone. In most cases of sexual abuse, the abuser is Family. An older friend. Counselor. Clergy. Neighbor. These are the same types of people we force our kids to kiss goodbye. In my mind, how can I teach my kids not to allow someone familiar to touch them in inappropriate ways if I am telling them to provide affection to familiar people when they don't want to? This doesn't make sense, and yet so many of us were taught it was okay.
So when my kids are visiting someone and it's time to go, you will not hear me tell them to kiss anyone goodbye. Ever. I don't care who it offends. If they want to, they are free to do so, but that is their choice and not my command. They are the masters of their own bodies, and I want it to stay that way.
Source: http://www.blogher.com/forcing-kids-hug-and-kiss-people-why-i-say-no


Tuesday, 31 May 2016

Child Plan or Education Insurance plan – Do I really need it?

Of late you will see and hear ads of a lot of companies (life insurance companies, mutual funds, sometimes even banks and NBFCs, financial advisory companies, etc.) yelling on top of their voice about planning a fund for your child.  The cause they are promoting is definitely good.  But remember that all such plans are not the same.  Specifically, an education insurance plan is very different from all others.
You may need a combination of multiple plans to have a solid foundation for your child.  I am covering that separately. This write-up is more to do with Education Insurance plan, or Child Plan as it is commonly called which are sold by life insurance companies.  Know this product well and how it can fit well into your child education funding goals, before you decide to buy it.
First, understand this!  Don’t get fooled!
Let me first resolve a basic confusion that some life insurance agents have been taking advantage of.
An insurance plan taken on the life of a child (where the beneficiaryon death of the child is the parent) is NOT a child plan.  Some agents sell this to (even well-educated) customers as a child education plan, but such a plan is very far from it.  Such a plan is just an investment plan.  Where is the question of buying insurance with your child as insured?  And what is the need for an education plan if something happens to the child?  Please understand this first.
That is where an education insurance plan (or child plan) comes in.  It ensures that even if you were to die, regular amounts of money is passed on to your family to support your child’s dreams and aspirations.  It also provides for marriage costs, and other expenses.
A real child plan (or education insurance plan) is an insurance plan that ensures that the child is financially protected if the parent dies. Remember that this is an Insurance plan and therefore different from all others which only help you to build a fund for your child over time.  The insurance plan does both fund creation as well as protection.
Child plans are regular premium plans, wherein premium is paid for limited period or throughout the term of the policy.
How are Child plans different from other investments you do for your child?
Cost of Child Education Plans is growing much higher than inflation rate of 5-6%.  In fact, think about it yourself.   School and College fees today would be at least 15-20 times higher for you, the parent, than what it is today.
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/145202520318/child-plan-or-education-insurance-plan-do-i

Monday, 30 May 2016

How will a Child Plan help in Combatting Increasing Education Cost

It’s safe to say that a child’s education has emerged as a primary cause of concern for parents. This is evidenced by the fact that the escalating costs of education are eating up a major share of the average Indian household budget. In fact, surveys reveal that about 65% of parents land up spending half of their monthly salary on school fee, extra-curricular activities, educational trips, electronic gadgets, and other expenditures related to the school curriculum. By the time their teenage child graduates from high school, parents would have already spent more than 18-20 lacs on an average. Of course, higher education is a different story altogether. To understand the situation better, let’s have a look at some of these startling figures:
Presently, a four-year engineering course costs approximately 6 lacs. In 10 years, the cost is likely to touch 15.6 lacs. By 2033, it would cost a whopping 33 lacs to get an engineering degree!
MBA course that roughly costs about 16 lacs today shall jump to 41.5 lacs in 10 years from now. By 2033, the cost would have reached a staggering 88.9 lacs approx considering inflation!
In the department of medicine, the expense of completing a course shall hike from the present 12 lacs to 66.7 lacs in a matter of some years down the lane
Overall, the cost of higher education will continue to rise at 10-12% year on year.
While the cost of sending a child to school has seen a sharp surge of about 160% in 8 years, the average annual income of parents has risen a paltry 30% during the same period. Owing to the increased competition and lifestyle inflation, children have not been displaying much eagerness in attending government colleges having minimal facilities. The influx is towards costly private-run institutions. Further, the wish to pursue an overseas education adds a new dimension to the situation. The expense of completing a course in a foreign land would cost about 3-4 times more as compared to that in India! The total expenditure would primarily depend upon the duration of the course, stay, traveling, and the choice of university & country.
Considering this scenario, it is imperative for guardians to plan for such massive cash outflows of raising a child
Investing in a Child Plan turns out to be the ideal solution!
Let us now delve on how a child plan helps to deal with this situation of the mounting costs of education:
Builds a Corpus for Meeting Education Expenses
The primary benefit of buying a child plan is that even with minimum premium payment, one can build a corpus of as much as 10 times the amount invested in the plan. This lump sum amount comes handy once the child is ready to take up higher education. For instance, a parent who wants his/her child to attain an MBA degree, then, according to the statistics mentioned above, there would be a requirement of almost some enormous lacs of money, if the child were to pursue the course in 2033. Now, starting investing early on child plans helps to build a corpus of such an amount at the end of the policy term to fund the course fee.
Facilitates Compounding Given that the rate of inflation in education is skyrocketing, it becomes imperative for parents to invest in a tool, which offers them the benefits of compounding. In this context, a child plan is the perfect example, which works on this principle of growing wealth. If started early, the money stays invested for a long period of time, and the policy gradually starts gaining from the power of compounding. This helps in generating a huge amount of money at the time of policy maturity, which can be utilized to support the child’s education needs.
Offers a High Level of Equity Returns for Combatting the Rising Costs
A child plan gives guardians the opportunity to invest in equity instruments under unit linked child plans. Those having a risk appetite can opt for investing in equity funds or balanced funds, and enjoy the perks of high and medium returns on their investment. The key is to start early and stay invested over a long term horizon, so that the volatility in returns flattens out.
Dynamic Fund Allocation Safeguards the Capital
Child plans allow policy holders to opt for their preferred funds based on their risk taking capacity and investment appetite. Further, they also offer the options of Systematic Transfer Plan and Dynamic Fund Allocation, which safeguards the essential capital against market instability. By parking the money in equities during the initial years, these plans enable policy holders to tap the maximum profits. Then, during later years, the funds are switched to more secure debt instruments, thereby stabilizing the profits already earned. These features ensure that the capital does not erode and can be used when needed the most to meet the child’s education expenses.
Can be used as Collateral for taking loan
In situations, wherein parents need additional funds for financing overseas education, a child plan may be used as collateral to secure a loan.
Annual payouts for school fee
Child education plans also offer periodic annual payouts for meeting the school fee of the child. This is particularly useful in the absence of the parents. Most child plans provide 10% of the sum assured via annual payouts, so that the child can continue going to school, even if the parents are not around.
It is important to note here, that a child plan can help in combating the rising education costs, only if the policy holder embraces the idea at an early stage. One should always remember that each additional year of investment translates into a bigger corpus, thus providing better financial assistance in meeting the costs of providing a good education to the child.
Source: http://mihir2014.tumblr.com/post/145146618031/how-will-a-child-plan-help-in-combatting

Monday, 23 May 2016

Be Prepared For Various Stages of Life

Humans tend to go through various stages of life. Childhood and old age are two stages of life which need maximum financial stability. Imparting best education, quality lifestyle and good ethical values is something that every parent tries to provide their children. Financial stability can in modern times prove to be the biggest hurdle to conquer. Education sector, health sector, commodity sector, every market is inflating at a exploding rate and has adverse effects upon finances of modern households.
Thus providing quality education and better lifestyle to family can be a hard task. Apart from this the truth of death can also leave your loved ones stranded amidst worry and trouble. Well, the right thing to do when you are alive is to plan for the future. To Invest, and invest in the best insurance plan. A normal professional spends most of his life earning bread and butter for his loved ones. Basking in the sun, toiling to goals is all that captivates the mind. Spending almost whole life in doing so, a vital question is often undermined. WHAT NEXT? Old age is inevitable and such age poses a lot of challenges and questions ahead. Living a whole life with financial independence, a sudden dependence can prove to be heartbreaking.
Cbanner-commercial-child-carehild insurance plans are devised to provide best possible financial assistance to the child at various growth stages of his life. Starting from basic primary level education to higher education, abroad education, marriage and so on. In common words, it’s just an investment which ensures a secured hassle free future for your child. The money paid as premiums are in its own way an investment which can be retained at specific stages of life. Various child insurance plans can be compared and opted for. In case of death or any injury, these insurance plans ensure smooth movement of the child`s future with no financial barrier. Depending upon the insurance plan and its terms stated, a person can avail returns at the maturity level of the plan. The age bars of the person and the Child Plans is also considered by the insurance providers in order to determine the maturity age of the insurance plan. Usually the returns are provided at stages where the child will need them the most, such as college education, marriage, higher education and so on.
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/144799473578/be-prepared-for-various-stages-of-life

Saturday, 21 May 2016

Child Plans

 Child Plans

Financial Planning for A Special Child Should be Long Term

World Autism Day was observed on 2 April, as an occasion to raise awareness about children with autism. While an estimated 12 million children in India live with disabilities, we are grossly uninformed about the financial implications of raising a child with special needs. Parents of children with disabilities are often faced with the concerns of managing expenses for therapy, schooling and care, as well as ensuring financial security for their child's future. Here are a few key points to consider when planning finances for a child with special needs: Save more
Disabilities can hinder a person's ability to work or earn a living. It is therefore important for parents to ensure that the corpus they accumulate lasts for their child's lifetime. While ordinarily, parents would aim to save enough to care for a child for the first 20 years or so or their life, in the case of a disabled child, this support must be extended to 50-60 years or more.
Have a separate contingency fund to take care for six months of regular expenses for the child in uncertain circumstances. "While deriving the corpus amount for the contingency fund, you need to take into consideration the physical and medical condition of the child which may deteriorate over time
Appoint a guardian
Choose an individual you trust to become responsible for taking care of your Child Plans after you, and provide them with assistance even in adulthood, and designate them to be your child's legal guardian in the event of your passing. Seek legal assistance to draw up a will specifying how your assets will be distributed after your passing, and whether they should be handled by your child or their guardian.
Also See: How to plan financially for a special child
If the expenses for the disabled dependent are less than maximum tax deduction amount, an ad hoc deduction of Rs 75,000 is made." Further, unlike investments made in the name of minors, income from investments made in the name of a child
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/144693246858/financial-planning-for-a-special-child-should-be


Thursday, 19 May 2016

Promise A Secure Future to Your Child

Generations pass on culture, traditions, inheritance to the generation which comes after them. This purely is the real nature of human existence. Humans tend to create their unique identity which makes them quite different and identical at the same time. Children are considered to be the backbone of any civilization as they carry forward the name, traditions and history of the human race forward. In modern times the most important priority for every parent is to provide the best education to their children. This can be a real challenge for most of the parents as the current inflation in the education sector is constantly on the rise and with every passing day, the inflation graph is going up. In order you are wondering, how to keep a check on the same? How to provide best education to your children?
Here is your answer. Invest in Child insurance plans. A Child insurance policy provides promised benefits towards your children education. Child insurance plans not only make sure that your child gets financial assistance in order to pursue higher education but also provides benefits at various stages of his/her life such as marriage and so on. Insurance is just like any other investment with far more coverage and benefits than any other institution of financial savings.
Insured party promises to pay a fixed sum of money towards the insurer at fixed intervals of time. These payments are known as premiums. Premiums are convenient installments which an insured party pays in order to avail benefits of the policy on maturity of the policy. The advantage of Child Plans is also that incase of any fatality occurring to the insured, the beneficiary would be provided with the benefits. This means your child would be secured for a better and prosperous future. Child insurance is also provided with rebate under the income tax law of the country.
In order to avail child insurance, all you need to do is find out which insurance provider to opt for and compare insurance policies using online insurance comparing websites. These websites provide you with a detailed analysis of various insurance plans as per your preference and need. Insurance providers across the country and helps you to take your decision in a better and profitable way. Forget about the paper heaped insurance buying process, in less than 10 minutes get insured. Make sure you invest well after all it’s your child s future you investing in.
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/144595633423/promise-a-secure-future-to-your-child

Thursday, 12 May 2016

Ensure Education of Your Children

Children are considered as budding assets of the nation. Hoping that they grow up to become future professionals is the optimistic hope of people who are associated with them. Research shows that almost 57 million children are still out of school in Africa alone. The challenge of literacy is huge and many NGO”s , organizations are working towards curbing the illiteracy and giving a hope for the future of children. No doubt the data is highly alarming and sends shockwaves through the administrative sections of different countries around the world.
Research also shows that most of the children are forced to withdraw from school and start earning due to financial crunches. This does not necessarily mean that such children came from a poor background, but due to unfortunate events they were forced to do so. Some of them lost their parents and loved ones, while others lost everything due to natural calamities, whereas many didn’t have a source of income. This can happen to any child of the world and nothing can be more disheartening than to see a child struggling for his and his family`s life.
We as individuals most of the times concentrate on our present and give little of time to our future. Have we ever thought, how can our children sustain life if something happens to us? In this growing inflation, how will they be able to complete their education to the best of their desire? Don’t we want that no matter whatever happens they should not compromise on their living standards?
Questions are many but the answer is one, “Future Investments”. Child insurance plans assures that your child, whom we have nurtured with slewed heart is financially independent and do not have to compromise on their way of living. Education inflation would be taken care by the insurer and also convenient financial assistance would be provided to your child at various stages of life.
Insurance makes life easier in future but when it comes to children, one needs assurance. Child plans make sure that assurance is assured by the the leading insurers. Keep your trust on the investments and make sure you have the insights of the plans you are opting for.
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/144239779168/ensure-education-of-your-children



Monday, 9 May 2016

One Good Habit That Can Change Your Child’s Future!

There is a famous line from William Wordsworth’s poem: Child is the father of man!
In simple words it means that whatever you are and whatever you think as a child, that’s the kind of person you are going to be after growing up! The habits you have as a child will form the man in you in the future!
When you become a parent, you want to imbibe the very same good qualities and impart the same teachings and ethics that you have to your child for his/her better future. To ensure that your child grows to be a good human being and lives a happy and secure life, you need to follow certain habits and let those also get passed on to your children as well so that they can carry on the tradition! One of the most important things you can do for your child is to invest in a child insurance plan. You may say that you’re young and are going to be around to take care of him, but then why not have your child more resources, if he can!
Let’s help you understand how a child insurance plan can really be a boon for your child’s glorious future:
1)  Education
You have beautiful dreams for your child’s education and even your child might want to go for the moon! But would you be able to afford the moon when he grows up? Would education be economical enough to fit inside your pocket? Well, look around, the cost of good education in today’s times is going through the roof, think 15-20 years down the line and you’ll realize that you might need additional help. Investing in child insurance will ensure that by the time the policy matures, the investment you made over the years will eventually help your child in getting a higher education of his choice.
2) Savings
Paying premiums on insurance might seem a bit heavy on your budget, but consider your financial goals over the years. Right from your child’s primary education to higher education, his marriage and other important milestones in his life would require funds. This habit of saving money and investing in insurance will not only assure guaranteed returns, it will also mean that you’re safeguarding his future with regular savings. As it is said, rupee saved is rupee earned!
3) Health Emergencies
Gone are the days when people used to suffer from genetic diseases. With changing lifestyles and the world getting affected from newer and crazier diseases every other day, it becomes absolutely necessary to have an insurance cover to meet any health emergency. It is best to start investing in such a plan from childhood when your child is hale and hearty so that in future, if unfortunately the child happens to suffer from some disease, he will have adequate funds to get proper medical treatment. Health is still the best wealth that one can boast of and to save money for better maintenance and treatment of health related issues is the wisest of decisions!
4) Loans
You might save enough money for their education, but there are good chances that you still might be short of some amount. For those unforeseen circumstances, a Child Plans will come most handy as it is widely accepted by all the financial institutions as collateral for loans for higher studies. This way your regular small savings over the years will result in getting your child his dream education!
5) Death
Life expectancy is rising in our country thanks to better health care facilities, but there is still no guarantee of a long-life! Life is still fragile and in the unfortunate scenario of your death, your child’s life should not turn topsy-turvy, at least financially! The child’s education, day to day expenses and future should be insulated against such emergencies! Having an insurance policy is a safety net your child requires the most in your absence!
Source: http://childplan.tumblr.com/post/144086899343/one-good-habit-that-can-change-your-childs

Wednesday, 4 May 2016

How To Plan For Your Child’s Future With Mutual Funds?

With cost of higher education shooting up, fixed income return options are unlikely to help you save for your child’s future. You need to aim for equity returns.
People usually save either for retirement or with a specific goal in mind. One of the goals is children’s future like education or marriage, while other goals could be to buy a house, car amongst others. This article focuses on the children’s future as a goal.
There are 3 key variables that you broadly need to keep in mind when planning for children:
The amount you may need for the child’s education (and marriage)
Years left to the event
Return expectation to build in
As you can see, there is a vast difference in the monthly amount you need to save, with difference combination of years left, and returns you will earn.
So our first advice to you is to start early. If you start investing for a child when you marry, you may have as many as 20 years ahead of you. But if you start when the child is say 5 or 8 years old, then you could be left with barely 10-12 years. The more the years you have, the less you need to set aside on a monthly basis.
The other critical part is the return your savings are generating. It is common to find parents investing in fixed deposits or Public Provident fund(PPF) to sponsor their children’s education or marriage. While as an investment option it is safer, it also generates paltry returns of 8-9% per annum. While interest on PPF is tax-free, that on fixed deposit is taxable, which pulls down the post-tax returns even further. Given the rate at which cost of higher education is shooting up in the country, debt definitely seems an investment option not worth considering.
As against this, if you try to aim for equity investments, your returns could be between 12-14% per annum, which is the bare minimum returns equity markets show over long periods.
As your approach the last 2-3 years of the child’s educational needs, you can choose to shift the portfolio towards debt, to eliminate any volatility risk – though this would not be a major consideration as the requirement for funds would be spread over a 3-4 year period.
Many parents prefer to open an investing account in the name of the child, in order to isolate the account, accommodate for gifts in the name of the child, and for tax reasons. If you plan to save in the name of the Child Plans. The best investment is in an investment in education".
Source: http://bestsavingsplan.tumblr.com/post/143835066329/how-to-plan-for-your-childs-future-with-mutual


Saturday, 5 March 2016

Buying the Best Child Plans



It is natural for parents to wish the best for the child. When it comes to some of the more important milestones in their children’s lives like education, marriage or buying a house, parents do not like to fall short, least of all financially.

Benefits of child plans
This is how child plans can help parents provide a better future to their children:
§  Education – is getting more expensive by the year. Inflation in education probably outscores inflation in every other sphere of life
§  Marriage – an occasion that comes in the lives of your child, so you want to make it as unforgettable as possible
§  House – prices are so high that for many owning a roof over the head is a dream that stays just that. Parents would like to provide their children with a house by contributing at least towards the downpayment.
Child plans can play a role in helping parents realize all this and more.
How child plans work
By setting aside money towards a child plan, parents can amass a significant corpus over a period of time. The money can then fund the aforesaid objectives.
Child plans are available in two variants –
·        traditional or endowment plans which invest in debt investments like government securities (gsecs) and corporate bonds among other options.
·        market-linked or unit-linked plans (ULIPs) which invest in equities
Parents must choose an option that is best suited to their objectives and risk appetite.
Importance of riders
While planning for child’s future, it pays to make a comprehensive plan so as to cover all possibilities. One way to achieve this is through riders.
Simply put, a life insurance rider is an add-on that enhances the cover of the primary plan in case of an event. Among many, here are two riders in particular that can add value to the child plan:
§  Premium waiver 
Most child plans offer premium waiver benefit – either as an option or as an essential feature of the primary plan. The premium waiver is particularly important as in case of the death of the parent, the insurer waives off future premiums while continuing to fund the insurance policy till maturity. This makes sure that the maturity benefit that was set for a certain age remains intact as planned, in addition to the death benefit paid.
§  Accidental death/dismemberment benefit
You can safeguard against accidental death or disabilities arising as a result of accidents, over the term of the child plan.
In case of accidental death/dismemberment, the rider comes into play and pays out an amount, usually equal to the sum assured. The primary child plans continues and will pay out the sum assured on maturity.

Source: http://www.indiainsurance.co/blog/life-insurance/buying-the-best-child-insurance-plan-in-2015/#

Wednesday, 24 February 2016

Financial steps to take before you have a child

There’s no greater happiness in the world than the arrival of a new baby. From the moment the child is born, it is difficult for new parents to take their eyes off their little bundle of joy. But a child is also one of the biggest responsibilities the world has ever known. Financial planning for your child is a very important part of this responsibility. This financial planning is built upon certain crucial steps that you need to take before you have a child. We have therefore enlisted 8 financial steps that you must take before you have a child.
1) Get health insurance

There is nothing more important than the health of your new born, and to look after that, both the mother and father should be physically and mentally healthy. Since medical care is quite expensive these days, it is advisable to buy a health insurance policy before you have a baby (if you haven’t bought one already). Check which insurance policies cover maternity benefits. Though no company explicitly offers maternity insurance, certain companies provide benefits like consultation fee cover. Take a policy that covers your baby as well.

2)    Lifestyle changes

Middle Class and Upper Middle Class couples of today are used to living a more than modest lifestyle; but a baby’s entry into their lives changes a lot of things. Your disposable income decreases considerably, and you can no more expect to splurge on certain indulgences the way you did earlier. It is therefore, necessary to start making certain lifestyle changes to cut down on expenses. These expense cuts depend on the kind of lifestyle you live. For example, spending less on clothes and accessories, fewer dinners outdoors, less partying etc.

3) Review insurance

Before you have a baby, you must also review your existing life insurance policies and in case you don’t have a policy, you must buy one immediately. If you have already got a life insurance policy, then you have to check with your agency to ask if they would allow enhancing the cover. If they do not provide this facility, you should buy a new policy soon.

4) Check maternity benefits/ leave provided by the employer

If you are an expecting mother, you need to check your employers’ maternity leave policy and other maternity benefits provided by the company. Most companies offer paid maternity leave for 3 to 6 months. Some companies also offer unpaid sabbatical up to a certain period. You also need to start saving other leaves like sick leave, paid leave, etc. to use for your pre-natal checkups during pregnancy.

5) Stem cell cover

Stem cells can treat various illnesses and lifestyle diseases, and new parents are often encouraged by stem cell banks and doctors to preserve their children’s stem cells. Preserving stem cells becomes important if your family has a history of certain diseases, like Leukaemia. Once you decide to go for it, there are other decisions to make like choosing the right stem cell bank and arranging the money required to meet the cost of preserving the cells, and deciding whether you want to make a onetime payment or opt for monthly installments.

6) Devise a long-term investment strategy
In this Child Plans Having a child is just the start of the biggest responsibility you could ever undertake. The one thing that will be your biggest concern apart from your child’s health is his or her education and career. You may not be unaware of the extremely high cost of education in the country, which includes quality primary education too. Before you have a child, you need to start finding ways to regularly invest small amounts that can be later used to fund your child’s education.

7) Start planning a will
Life is unpredictable and you would certainly not want your child to be left without someone to look after him or her if anything should happen to you.

Financial planning for your child does not have to be as daunting as it seems. With certain right steps (like the ones mentioned above), taken in time, it can happen very smoothly, thus, proving the adage- a stitch in time saves nine.

[Source: https://www.tomorrowmakers.com/articles/financial-planning/8-financial-steps-to-take-before-you-have-a-child]