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Life Insurance: Children’s Policy

[1]Though I would not normally invest in a life insurance policy for our children, Paul and I do have one life insurance policy that covers all three of our children.

For us, the purpose of life insurance is to cover our family expenses after our deaths. Our children would not leave any debts or responsibilities, so we choose not to carry policies for each of our children.

The one policy we carry is a group policy through Paul’s employer. The cost is less than $3 per month and holds coverage for $15,000. For the inexpensive price of this coverage, we have chosen to carry this insurance for our children.

Housed in the fourth file opening [2] of Box 2 [3] of our important documents, the life insurance documentation for our children’s policy includes the summary page and information page.

Summary Page

This summary page has the contact information for the benefits administrator, benefits identification number, and employee number. Click here [4] for more details about this summary page that I keep at the front of each file opening to make access quick and efficient.

Information Page

To make a claim, we must contact the benefits administrator at my husband’s office. The benefits administrator works with the provider directly. Therefore, we do not hold a paper copy of this policy.

In setting up this file, I contacted the benefits administrator and requested a detailed explanation of where, when, and how to send a claim. I typed that information creating an information page. In the awful event that we need to file a claim, Paul or I will get this document and follow the steps.

Tracy’s Tip: Waiting until tragedy strikes to get this information will add anxiety and stress during your time of grief. Researching now and writing down the instructions will save you time, energy, and stress in the future.

The information page includes:

These two documents complete the fourth file opening and the second category – life insurance. As my children grow, we may decide to carry policies for each of them. If and when that time comes, I will place those policies in this file opening.

You may need more file openings for your insurance documents. If you carry policies for your children or parents, then you may need a file slot for each person. Keeping your file organized by either insurance type (term, long-term, accidental, etc.) or by person (Dad, Mom, Child #1, etc.) will help you in using time wisely to reach those documents.

This process is a marathon. I worked for 3-4 months exclusively on these files when I set them up. At that point, I was a stay-at-home wife and had the time to invest in organizing and researching the information. If I were setting up my file now, then it might take a few years. With three little ones, spending time training them is a top priority.

If you struggle with organizing your paperwork, then consider your schedule. I pay/schedule bills twice a month. During this time, I am near my important documents and spend 15 minutes filing, organizing, and updating my files. Find a time when you are already near those documents. Planning to organize is one step closer to executing your goal. Happy organizing!

Question:  When are near your important documents, what are you doing?