Having a Baby? Here's How Your Insurance Needs Will Change

A new baby will cause many changes to occur in your life within a short time frame. While most of these changes are fun and exciting, some are stressful, such as making decisions about childcare when it’s time to return to work or getting adjusted to a new sleep schedule.

One change that often leads to confusion for many first-time parents is how much their insurance needs will change once their newborn baby has entered their lives.

Along with giving you a new reason to consider a reliable life insurance policy, your new baby will also impact other forms of coverage you may have, such as your health insurance and car insurance plans.

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Here are some ways that your new baby can cause your insurance needs to change and what you should do to adjust.

Life Insurance

Before your baby arrives, take the time to look over your current life insurance policies. And if you don’t already have one in place, now is the best time to start comparing plans and companies.

For the time your child is still living at home with you, it is imperative to think about your current life insurance plan and what would happen to your child if you, your spouse, or both of you happen to pass away before they reach the legal age of 18. How would their financial needs be met?

You will need to consider the amount of the loss of income if one of you died and how that lack of reliable income would affect the other parent’s ability to take care of the child. In the case of a stay-at-home parent, you will need to consider childcare expenses were they no longer there to do it.

It is also an excellent time to think about what would happen if the worst-case scenario occurred and something tragic happened to both you and your spouse. Along with making changes to your policy for life insurance plan, you need to make the proper adjustments to ensure that the right person is appointed as your child’s legal guardian.

Read: The Perfect Age to Get Life Insurance

Auto Insurance

When you add a new addition to your family, whether it is the first child or the third, you may need to add a new, safer vehicle to your garage. Adding a new car or replacing your current vehicle with an upgrade or to something bigger like an SUV or minivan will impact your auto insurance policy.

On the bright side, adding a vehicle that is much safer than your current car to your policy will often help your premium go down or allow you to take advantage of more money-saving discounts.

Since you are hauling around more precious cargo, you will also be more mindful of your driving habits, which could help you get a safe driving discount with many auto insurance companies.

Be sure to find out from your insurance about additional discounts you might be eligible for once your newborn arrives, and you add a new vehicle to your policy. If you are planning on buying a brand-new car, you will want to determine the price to insure it before you buy.

Read: The Top 5 Factors That Affect Your Auto Insurance Premium

Health Insurance

Anyone who plans to have children should have a good health insurance policy in place long before they start a family. It is a common misconception that insurance companies think pregnancy is a life-altering event. Most of them do not.

That means if you become pregnant and do not have health insurance, you must wait until open enrolment starts to be covered. If the enrolment period is too far ahead in the future, you could miss some important and critical prenatal care.

You will need to add the child to your health insurance plan soon after they are born, so choosing a health insurance policy that offers exceptional family plan options is also something to consider.

Read: 10 Tips for Choosing the Right Health Insurance Policy

Disability Insurance

If you have an employee benefit insurance plan, having a new baby will cause you to look into your company’s plan and find out more about what options are available to you. While you are looking into the paternity leave terms or your options for maternity leave, you should take this time to check out the terms of your company’s short-term disability coverage.

Some companies consider short term disability the same as time off for maternity leave, while others may offer their workers a combination of the two. If you live in a country with parental benefits through the government, your company may offer a top-up on those payments. Maternity leave may be paid or not paid, depending on your company’s policies. However, disability insurance can cover a percentage of your total salary as you take time off from work, even during maternity leave.

Read: 12 Disability Benefit Riders to Improve Your Coverage

To learn more about the changes you can expect with your insurance coverage after having a baby, contact our experts for more details. Our licensed professionals will be happy to answer any questions you have.