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52. About life insurance on your children

Here's what one life insurance agent says:

"Life insurance child abuse?
Bob MacDonald is chairman of the board of Minneapolis-based Allianz Life of North America, and has worked in the insurance industry for 40 years. He thinks selling life insurance for children is as contemptible as tobacco companies advertising cigarettes to children.

"I've always felt purchasing life insurance on children was an inappropriate waste," he says. "There's no reason for it, unless the child is going to star in 'Home Alone 5.' Beyond that, it's an abuse."

He feels there are better ways to save money for college, the cost of a funeral isn't that onerous and the chance of a child becoming uninsurable as an adult is extremely small.

"Most people are insurable until they're 80 nowadays," he says. "The number of people in their 20s who are uninsurable is infinitesimally small."

The worst sin, he says, is convincing parents to buy insurance on their children when they're underinsured themselves. On that topic, the financial experts are agreed. Parents have no business even thinking about life insurance for their kids until their own needs are completely covered."