New Baby Insurance Checklist: 5 Policies to Get Before the First Birthday

Add Baby to Health Insurance

Your baby's birth triggers a Special Enrollment Period for health insurance. You have 30 days to add them to your plan (or your partner's). This is a hard deadline — miss it and you'll have to wait until open enrollment, leaving your baby uninsured for months.

What to do: Contact your HR department or insurance provider immediately after birth. Have the baby's name, date of birth, and Social Security number (or application number) ready. If both parents have employer coverage, compare which plan offers better pediatric coverage and lower family-tier premiums.

Get Term Life Insurance (Both Parents)

Before the baby, your partner could survive financially without your income (it might be tight, but it's possible). After the baby, losing one income while caring for a child is a financial catastrophe. Term life insurance ensures the surviving parent can cover the mortgage, childcare, and daily expenses without having to make desperate financial decisions during the worst moment of their life.

How much: Use our coverage calculator, but a quick estimate: mortgage balance + 10× income + $40K per child for education − existing savings. For most new parents in their 30s, this lands at $500K–$1.2M per parent.

Both parents need coverage. Even if one parent doesn't work, the cost of replacing their childcare, household management, and emotional labor is substantial — the economic value of a stay-at-home parent is estimated at $50K–$80K per year. A $250K–$500K policy on the non-working parent ensures the working parent can afford childcare without derailing their career or finances.

Best providers for new parents: Ethos (best overall), Ladder (adjustable as family grows), or Bestow (fastest approval for sleep-deprived parents). See our full comparison.

Review (or Get) Disability Insurance

You're actually more likely to become disabled during your working years than to die. A disability that prevents you from working for 6+ months would be financially devastating for a new family — and your sick leave or short-term disability from work typically covers only 3–6 months at a fraction of your salary.

Check your employer first. Many employers offer short-term disability (STD) and long-term disability (LTD) as benefits. Check what you already have, paying attention to: the benefit percentage (typically 50–70% of salary), the elimination period (how long before benefits start), and the benefit period (how long they last — look for "to age 65" for long-term). If your employer offers LTD, it may be sufficient. If not, or if you want to supplement to a higher percentage of income, look into individual disability policies.

If you're self-employed: You have no employer coverage. Individual disability insurance is essential. It's more expensive than group rates, but it's one of the most important policies you can own. Expect to pay 1–3% of your annual income for coverage that replaces 60% of your earnings.

Create a Will + Update Beneficiaries

A will does two critical things when you have a child: it names a guardian (who raises your child if both parents die), and it determines how your assets are distributed. Without a will, your state's default laws decide both — and the state's choice of guardian may not match yours.

The guardian decision is the important one. Talk to the person(s) you'd want to raise your child and get their agreement before naming them. Name a backup in case your first choice can't serve. This conversation is uncomfortable but essential.

While you're at it: Update the beneficiary designations on your life insurance, 401(k), IRA, and any other accounts with beneficiary fields. These designations override your will — so if your life insurance still names your college roommate as beneficiary, that's who gets the money regardless of what your will says. After having a baby, update every beneficiary to reflect your current wishes.

Low-cost options: Online legal services like Trust & Will or FreeWill can handle basic wills for $0–$200. If your estate is complex (business ownership, property in multiple states, blended family), an estate attorney ($300–$1,000) is worth it.

Increase Your Home/Renters Insurance Coverage

A baby comes with stuff — a lot of stuff. Between the crib, car seat, stroller, monitors, clothes, and toys, you've easily added $3,000–$8,000 in personal property to your household in the first year alone. If your renters or homeowners policy's personal property limit hasn't been updated, you might be underinsured.

What to check: Log into your policy and look at your personal property coverage limit. If you've been carrying $15K in coverage and you now have $25K worth of stuff, call your insurer to increase it. The cost increase is minimal — often $3–$10/month for an additional $10K in coverage.

Also consider: If you're renting and planning to buy a home in the next 1–2 years (which many new parents do), start thinking about your homeowners insurance strategy now. See our homeowner bundle guide.