Ankit and Ramya became proud parents to Adya when they were both 30 years old. Excited though they were by the new addition to the family, they quickly realised that having a child meant handling a lot of responsibilities they had never really considered before. Both their families, their friends who were parents, tons of other elders they had met and who knew Adya was born came to congratulate them, bringing presents and a ton of advice. While a lot of the advice was regarding the child’s health and immediate requirements, a few also cautioned about the need to start planning for Adya’s future immediately.

Education costs in India are higher than ever before and rising inflation is pushing up costs significantly every successive year. Even enrolling children to kindergarten can end up costing parents a lakh today. These costs will only multiply as the child gets older. Higher education is even more expensive, with the best schools and colleges raising fees significantly.

Child education plans have emerged as an instrument for young parents to systematically save for a child, until the time the child requires the funds for pursuing their education. Opting for a child education plan also ensures that the child’s education is secured even if the parents are not around. Plans such as the Generali Central Assured Education Plan provide a Death Benefit, wherein the insurer waives off all future premium payments and immediately pays a guaranteed Death Sum Assured to ensure the family’s immediate needs are taken care of.

Read on to learn how a child education plan can be best leveraged by young parents to secure their child’s educational goals :

1. Preparing a roadmap for securing the child’s future:

New parents often get caught up with catering to a child’s needs for the present and plans for the future are allowed to fade into the background until the moment arrives. However, parents do want to fulfil their child’s every dream and to do that, it is important to plan with a proper roadmap in mind. The planning must also take into account that the parent might not actually be around to see the child achieve their dreams. Parents need to plan out their goals down to the last detail and then figure out details such as how much achieving each of these dreams would cost and the amount of time it will take to fulfil these dreams. Along with planning out the roadmap for the child’s education, it is also imperative to ensure that the goals being set are also accomplished. Setting up a child education plan allows parents to easily acquire funds to meet educational milestones for the child, and to take care of any requirement for funds.

2. Inflation cannot be ignored while building a roadmap:

It is easy for young parents to not take inflation into account while setting up goals for the future. However, with education costs on the rise steadily guided by inflation, this can often be a fatal mistake. A goal amount set for the future, keeping in mind current educational costs, can often result in a huge gap between the funds the child will require and the funds the parents can arrange for. This is why it is necessary to factor in inflationary costs while calculating future goals. An incorrect goal amount will send your child right back to the bank for an education loan, which can become quite a burden to pay off.

Child education plans are a good tool to invest in for securing a child’s future because it provides the dual benefits of providing returns on investment and also of acting as an insurance cover which can come in handy if the parents are no longer around. While investing for a child’s education , it is important to evaluate all the options on the market before selecting the best option for your child.

3. Protecting your goals in the best way possible:

While opting for a child education plan, parents might be required to appoint a trustworthy family member or friend as an appointee. An appointee acts as the person who will receive, invest and deploy the sum assured by the investor, in the unfortunate absence of the policyholder. Young parents should also remember to draft their wills so that in their absence, the role of the appointee is spelt out clearly and concisely.

A child education plan ensures that a child has the opportunity to fulfill their dreams when he grows up. Plans like the Generali Central Big Dreams Plan , which is a ULIP that allows for minimum premium payments of either Rs. 5,000 monthly. It is possible to opt for this child education plan even when a child is between the ages of 0 to 17 years, allowing the parents to gift the child with a headstart in terms of financial resources.