MANILA, Philippines – It is every parent’s dream to send his child to college. However, given the continuously increasing rates of tuition in universities and the relatively lower rate of increase in salary that employees receive each year, securing one’s children’s future becomes a big financial challenge for many households.

There are ways of overcoming this hurdle, like having multiple sources of income such as part-time jobs or what most Filipinos call “raket” (sideline), but what comes next if it happens that this setup still doesn’t provide enough?

Perhaps, what parents will need in facing this stage of their lives as providers is not an extra job but a change in perspective.

Even if you’re earning just enough at this point, and even if your child is still in elementary (or infanthood for that matter), saving up and investing early is still the key to securing your child’s future educational needs.

How to do it

Saving up on your own is definitely one way of doing it. But when emergencies happen, dipping into your “savings” is what you usually do to tide yourself over financially. Now, does this put your child’s college fund at risk? It does.

So what is an effective way to save for your child’s college education? Now this is where and when the role of a third party company becomes significant.

Relying on an insurance company for your child’s education? Why not? Especially if that company has over a hundred years of proven, genuine and dependable service made possible by a stable net worth spanning 10 decades, then it is worth the consideration.

How it works

Insular Life, through its “College Provider” educational plan, crafted several options parents may choose from; from the most affordable Plan 100 (with P100,000 college fund) to Plan 2000 (with P2,000,000 college fund). The college fund is guaranteed regardless of the economic condition of the country.

Each plan is five years to pay, meaning that in five years’ time, you have secured a guaranteed college fund for your child. This fund may be claimed when the young one reaches the age of 17. Additionally, it comes with a life insurance benefit that is equivalent to the face amount of your chosen plan. It is guaranteed until your child is 21.

Apart from helping parents prepare for their children’s future, Insular Life also made it a point that the educational plan is open to all. As long as the parents are 18-55 years old and the child is 0-10 years old, they are eligible to avail any of their preferred Insular Life “College Provider” plan. That’s guaranteed insurance for you and your child!

It also comes with an additional benefit; holders of the plan can rely on “College Provider” for allowance should the payor of the educational plan meet an untimely death or suffer total and permanent disability. The child will immediately receive a pre-college cash allowance on a yearly basis equivalent to 10% of the college fund that would help finance his elementary and high school education so he can reach college.

Now that a new educational system has been implemented, can plan holders claim the college fund even if the 17-year-old student is still in high school? Yes, they can. The cash can be availed in lump sum after the child’s 17th birthday, and plan holders can use it to enroll their children in any school they prefer. Because after all, it is their hard-earned fund, saved and nurtured through “College Provider”, for their loved-one’s future.