Child Life Insurance Calculator in Canada
A realistic coverage figure, and an honest look at where it sits in your priorities
What you would need to cover
Funeral and related costs.
The income that would stop if a parent took time away from work.
Grief leave is rarely covered by an employer beyond a few days.
Optional. Some parents buy a small policy so the child can add coverage later without a medical, regardless of future health.
Many group benefit plans include a small amount of dependent life coverage at no extra cost. Check before buying anything.
Where this belongs in your plan
The components
What makes up the number
Child life insurance, honestly
This is one of the few insurance products where the right answer for many families is a small amount or none at all. Here is what it does and does not do.
What it actually covers
Three things, and only three. Final expenses. A funeral is a real cost arriving at the worst possible moment, and it is the reason most parents who buy child coverage do so. Time away from work. Bereavement leave in Canada is short, and a parent may need months rather than days. A lump sum buys that time without touching the mortgage payment. Future insurability. Some policies let the child buy additional coverage as an adult without a medical exam, regardless of any condition that develops in between. That is a genuine benefit for a family with a history of hereditary illness, and close to worthless otherwise, since a healthy adult can simply buy their own policy at that point.
Check what you already have
Before buying anything, look at your group benefits at work. Most Canadian group life plans include dependent life coverage, commonly $5,000 or $10,000 per child, automatically and at no additional premium. Many parents buy a policy for coverage they already have. Child riders on a parent's existing policy are also usually cheaper than a standalone child policy, and a single rider often covers every child in the family, including ones born later.
The product to be careful with
Permanent or whole life policies sold as a child's savings plan deserve scrutiny. They combine insurance with an investment component, the fees are embedded and hard to see, and the early-year cash value is usually far below the premiums paid. Compare any such product against the obvious alternative: an RESP, where the federal government adds a 20% grant on the first $2,500 contributed each year, up to $500 annually and $7,200 per child in total. That grant is a guaranteed 20% return that no insurance product can match. If someone presents a child's policy primarily as an investment, ask for the projected cash value at year 5 and year 10 next to the total premiums paid over the same period, then compare both against an RESP.
Assumptions
The number above is the sum of the components you enter, less existing coverage. There is no discounting for investment returns and no inflation adjustment, because the time horizons involved are short. The time-off-work figure assumes the parent has no paid leave available for this. If your employer provides paid bereavement leave beyond a few days, reduce the months accordingly.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Last updated: July 2026
For most families, no, or only a small amount. Insurance replaces economic loss, and a child produces no income to replace. What a policy actually covers is a funeral and a parent's ability to stop working for a while. Both are real, and both are small next to what the same premium buys as coverage on the income earners.
Enough to cover final expenses and the time a parent would need away from work. A common figure is $10,000 to $25,000, and many families already have part of that through group benefits at no cost. Anything much beyond that is usually being sold as savings rather than as insurance.
Reviewed by Alexandre Bernier, CFP®, CIM®
Educational tool - estimates only. Not individualized financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Using it does not create an advisor-client relationship. Rules and figures change; verify against current CRA sources and consult a qualified professional. Editorial policy →