3 Types of Coverage Every Parent Should Consider for Their Kids

If you have kids at home, you know their medical care can be expensive. It is not uncommon for a childhood accident to result in an ambulance ride and ER visit, and maybe a broken bone, lacerations, broken teeth, and so on. Childhood illnesses can also be costly, especially for ongoing treatment.

After your child's injury or diagnosis, you may be left paying hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars out of pocket for health insurance deductibles, copays and coinsurance. These events often come at the worst possible time. When a parent is dealing with their child's serious injury or illness, the last thing they should worry about is high medical bills.

And yet, this is the case for a lot of families. A U.S. Census study found that households with children under age 18 were more likely than those without children to carry medical debt (24.7% with kids vs. 16.5% without kids).¹ Families with children under age 5 are affected the most: over a quarter of households in which the youngest child is under age 5 carry medical debt.¹

By enrolling in discounted group coverage for themselves and their children through their employer, parents can help close these out-of-pocket financial gaps in health care costs and prevent medical debt from piling up.

Here are a few types of voluntary coverage that are especially helpful for parents who have children at home.

Accident Insurance

Accidental injuries are a chief source of childhood emergency room visits and hospital admissions. In fact, falls are the leading cause of nonfatal injuries involving children.² Common injuries among kids also include bike crashes, injuries related to organized sports and other various mishaps that result in bumps, bruises, breaks, or worse.

Accident insurance helps cover costs associated with these injuries, including ambulance rides, ER visits, hospital stays and medical treatment. Because voluntary insurance pays in addition to health coverage and it typically sends the benefit directly to the insured, parents may use the benefit to pay for any costs—medical or otherwise.

Click here to learn about Accident Insurance from Allstate Benefits.

Critical Illness Insurance

For any parent whose child has a serious condition, they know the worry, effort and expense required to care for their child. Chronic conditions are often difficult for families to afford—even for those with health insurance.

Depending on the carrier, critical illness insurance can help to pay some of the costs associated with congenital conditions—such as congenital heart disease, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and type 1 diabetes—or those that develop later in life, such as cancer, Crohn's Disease, or other chronic illnesses.

By including their dependent children in group critical illness insurance, employees have access to more options to help them cover costs associated with neonatal intensive care or ongoing medical care. Coverage may even help pay for daily living expenses.

Plus, if the employee's critical illness insurance coverage includes preventive care benefits or wellness riders, dependent children may also be able to utilize these benefits. Critical illness coverage can be used to cover certain preventive checkups, screenings, tests or vaccinations. The covered child may even be eligible for mental or nervous disorder treatment.*

Click here to learn about Critical Illness Insurance from Allstate Benefits.

Life Insurance

Children's life insurance is not something that any parent wants to think about, but should the unthinkable happen, having life coverage for a child can lighten the heavy burden by helping to cover final expenses and medical bills. Grieving parents may also need to take time away from work to focus on themselves and other children at home—although household bills will continue to arrive each month, which voluntary life coverage can help to pay.

When an employee has a whole life insurance policy, they may also be able to enroll their children in term life coverage, which allows them to take advantage of a discounted group rate. Children are often eligible up to age 26, although age requirements may vary by carrier.

Click here to learn about Life Insurance from Allstate Benefits.

One of the best ways a parent can protect their family and their finances is through voluntary health care coverage. Click here to find an Allstate Benefits Sales representative or to learn more about group coverage options for employees and their littlest loved ones.

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