skip to main content

We may earn money when you click on our links. Learn More

Icon Close  Light

Call Today! 888-234-8376

Gerber Grow Up Plan Life Insurance Review

Is whole life insurance right for your bundle of joy?  
Pro Bullet No exam
Pro Bullet Whole life
Researcher & Writer
Published on December 04, 2019

If you’re a new parent, chances are you’ve seen ads for Gerber Life’s Grow-Up® Plan. While not the only life insurance geared toward children, the Grow-Up Plan is certainly the most well known. It provides your child with a permanent life insurance policy that can lock in low premium rates and also builds a cash value over time, giving your child a handy safety cushion if needed. Do these and other benefits justify the cost of the policy?

We’ll explore the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan, including the policy’s pros and cons. Also, if your kid has ditched their Big Wheel for a V8 engine, you’ll want to learn more about Gerber Life’s insurance for older teens.

If you're looking for life insurance for yourself, check out our review on Gerber life insurance for adults.

Note: Gerber Life Insurance Company was purchased by Western & Southern  in September of 2018, but they are still offering the same great life insurance products.

Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan and Young Adult Plan: Who are they best for?

  • Those who want to lock in low premiums: Parents, grandparents, or legal guardians can lock in low premiums for their children or grandchildren in the future.
  • Those who are worried future health issues could affect their child/grandchild: Parents, grandparents, or legal guardians can get a life insurance policy on their child or grandchild to ensure they have coverage as adults.
  • Those looking to build cash value for their child/grandchild: Parents, grandparents, or legal guardians who wish to provide children with a cash value policy that can offer a future financial safety cushion.

Call today: 888-234-8376

Gerber Life Insurance Whole Life Policies

Death benefit payout range

Age range

Exam required?

Grow-Up Plan

$5,000-$50,000

14 days-14 yrs

No

Young Adult Life Insurance

$5,000-$50,000

15-17 yrs

No

How much does life insurance with Gerber cost?

One of the biggest selling points of child insurance is that you can lock in low monthly premiums for your child’s entire life. However, our research indicates that Gerber Life’s Grow-Up Plan is not the most affordable option on the market, despite its popularity.

This is one reason why you should always seek out multiple quotes before purchasing life insurance for children.

Here is the pricing you can expect for either a Gerber Life Grow-Up Policy or a Young Adult Life Insurance Policy at different ages. (Note: All examples use California as the state of residence.)

Sample rates for girls
Age

$5,000

$10,000

$25,000

$50,000

1 year

$3

$7

$16

$33

5 years

$4

$8

$29

$37

10 years

$5

$9

$22

$44

15 years

$5

$11

$26

$52

*Sample monthly rates based on https://www.gerberlife.com/child-life-insurance/grow-up-plan and are for illustration purposes only. Actual prices may vary. Data effective 12/04/2019.

Sample rates for boys
Age

$5,000

$10,000

$25,000

$50,000

1 year

$3

$7

$16

$33

5 years

$4

$8

$19

$37

10 years

$5

$9

$22

$44

15 years

$5

$11

$26

$52

*Sample monthly rates based on https://www.gerberlife.com/child-life-insurance/grow-up-plan and are for illustration purposes only. Actual prices may vary. Data effective 12/04/2019.

Is Gerber Life financially stable?

Our research indicates that Gerber Life is a strong, financially stable insurance company. It receives an impressive A rating from ratings agency AM Best in the category of financial strength and an A+ credit rating. AM Best categorizes Gerber Life as “stable,” which is an important vote of confidence when you plan on purchasing insurance for an entire lifetime.

Gerber Life was acquired by a company named Western and Southern, which has received stable ratings from Standard & Poor’s and Fitch as well as a top AAA rating from Moody’s.

Agency
Rating What it means
A.M Best2

A

Excellent

S&P3

AA-

Very strong

Moody's4

Aa3

Low risk

Fitch5

AA-

Low risk

Why choose Gerber Life insurance?

Many of us spent our earliest days gleefully chowing down on Gerber baby food, and you may have even purchased those little jars by the cartload for your own offspring. Gerber is a well-respected and trusted brand that’s basically synonymous with happy, beautiful babies. However, although Gerber Life Insurance uses that adorable Gerber baby logo on its product literature and website, it is actually a financially separate affiliate.

That said, Gerber Life has been offering cash value life insurance policies to young families since 1967 and is dedicated to being “the brand parents trust to help them achieve financial security and protection for their families.” It currently covers 3.3 million policies in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

Though Gerber Life isn’t always the most competitively priced whole life insurance for children and teens, its long history and solid ratings make Gerber Life a reliable insurance provider. Many customers also take comfort in the company’s well-known “Gerber” name and the brand’s reputation for offering high-quality products focused specifically on the youngest members of society.

Many parents choose whole life insurance for these reasons:

  • Lock in affordable life insurance rates for their child’s life
  • Ensure that their child has access to life insurance even in the event of a future illness or health issue
  • Provide financial stability through the policy’s cash value
  • Cover the child’s eventual funeral costs

If you like the idea of giving your child the gift of a life insurance policy with an accompanying cash value they can use or borrow against in a pinch, the Gerber Life Grow-Up policy might be the right call for you.

Claims and customer service

On its website, Gerber Life likes to brag about its positive reviews, and it has good reason to. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) found that Gerber Life had an average complaint rate of 1.19. The median complaint rate is 1, indicating that Gerber Life receives just slightly more customer complaints than the average insurance company. Specifically, the NAIC listed only 12 complaints against the company for the entire year of 2018 (the most recent record available). With over three million policies in force, that’s still a positive record.

It’s worth noting that several negative reviewers on Gerber Life’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) entry describe issues and delays in receiving payouts for their policy’s cash value after surrendering their policies. These negative reviews represent an extremely small percentage of the company’s client base.

Other products from Gerber Life

The Gerber name is synonymous with babies and toddlers, but Gerber Life offers insurance products for all ages. Aside from its Grow-Up Plan and Young Adult Insurance, Gerber Life also offers these Gerber Life insurance plans for adults:

  • Term life insurance for adults, with benefits ranging from $100,000 to $300,000
  • Whole life insurance for adults that builds a cash value and provides benefits from $50,000 to $300,000
  • Guaranteed life insurance for seniors between 50 and 80 years old, with a death benefit between $5,000 and $25,000
  • Accident protection insurance from ages 19 to 69, with a benefit between $20,000 and $100,000

Gerber Life College Plan

Gerber Life also offers the Gerber Life College Plan, an endowment life insurance policy that delivers a guaranteed return at the end of the policy’s term. That guaranteed return ranges from $10,000 to $150,000.

This might sound like a good deal, especially with the skyrocketing cost of college, but the actual return on investment for an endowment life insurance policy in relatively low, and its premiums are not tax deductible.

The Gerber Life College plan might be right for you if you like the idea of receiving a guaranteed return on your investment in exchange for possibly growing your investment at a slower rate compared to other types of investing. Also, despite the program’s name, your child does not have to use this money for college, which can be helpful if they decide to take an alternate path in life.

Bottom Line: Gerber Life’s Grow-Up Plan isn’t the cheapest child life insurance

As we’ve explained in this review of Gerber Life Insurance, the company’s Grow-Up Plan lets you lock in low premiums for life and will guarantee that your offspring are insured no matter what health challenges or future careers as sky diving instructors lurk in their future. The cash value, though modest, can also serve as a useful financial cushion in a pinch.

With all this said, Gerber Life’s Grow-Up Plan and its nearly identical Young Adult Life Insurance are not the cheapest options available, so it’s worth doing your research to find the best whole life insurance policies for children. Just because your baby loves Gerber food doesn’t mean a Gerber Life insurance policy is the best fit.

We’d love to help you find the very best child life insurance policy on the market. Contact our representatives today to get comparable and competitive life insurance quotes.

Gerber Life FAQ

How much cash value can I expect from the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan?

It seems nice to build a Gerber Life baby savings account on behalf of your child through an insurance policy, but the truth is that the cash value of the plan will be relatively modest unless your child continues to fund the policy for many decades. The actual cash value of the policy will depend on the level of the benefit. Higher-benefit policies will generate a higher cash value.

Be aware that the cash value usually doesn’t begin to build for several years. That means if you need to surrender the policy after just a few years, you may receive no payout at all!

How can I cash out the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan?

You may choose at any time to surrender your Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan. Just contact Gerber Life’s customer service and let them know that you wish to give up your policy.

If you’ve built up a cash value, you will receive that money when you cash out the policy, though you’ll likely have to pay penalty fees for giving up the policy. That will cut into the amount you receive back. It often takes several years for a whole life policy to generate a cash value since the early premiums are used to pay costs related to setting up and managing the policy. If you give up your policy after only a few years, you may not receive any money back at all.

When your child turns 21, they take ownership of the policy. If they can’t or don’t want to keep making the premium payments, they can choose to surrender the policy and receive the cash value after fees and penalties have been deducted. It’s worth noting that if your child wishes to keep the policy but doesn’t have the funds to cover the premium payments, they can use the policy’s cash value to pay the premiums for as long as the cash value lasts.

What is the difference between the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan and the Gerber Life Young Adult Life Insurance?

These two plans are virtually identical, except for the age limits of the insured individual. The Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan applies to children 14 days to 14 years old, while the young adult life insurance plan is for teens 15 to 17 years old. At 18, the individual can seek out a whole life or term life insurance plan for adults, which Gerber Life also offers.

Whole life insurance premium rate quotes increase with age, so premium rates will be higher with the Young Adult Life Insurance Plan than with the Grow-Up Plan.

Who can purchase a Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan?

Gerber Life Grow-Up Plans and Young Adult Life Insurance Plans can be purchased by a child’s parents, grandparents, or legal guardians.

Can I purchase a term life insurance policy for my child?

Since children do not have dependents, there really isn’t much reason to purchase a term life insurance policy for them, and no insurance companies sell term life products for minors. If you want to insure your child, you have two options. You can either purchase a whole life insurance policy, like the Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan, for them, or you can add a child rider to your insurance policy, which will pay out a benefit to cover burial costs if your child should die.

Source:

1. Gerber Life Insurance, “Meet Gerber Life Insurance Company

2. AM Best, “Gerber Life Insurance Company” 

3. S&P Global, “Western and Southern Life Insurance Co.

4. Moody’s, “Western and Southern Life Insurance Company

5. FitchRatings, “Western and Southern Life Insurance Company (The)

6. Gerber Life Insurance, “Meet Gerber Life Insurance Company

7. National Association of Insurance Commissioners, “Gerber Life Co Compliant Ratio Report” 

8. Better Business Bureau, “Customer Reviews Gerber Life Insurance Company

9. Gerber Life Insurance, “Gerber Life Grow-Up(R) Plan

Written by
TermLife2Go
We are a team of life insurance experts with the simple mission of helping you find the best coverage for your unique situation. We research, review, and rank life insurance companies to make that process easier.