We can insure a car with full comprehensive coverage, add maskinskade, assistance and wonder whether the sum is sufficient. With a child I often hear, however: “After all, we have NAV”, “They are healthy”, “That’s too expensive”. The problem is that we cannot predict illness, an accident, or how much such an event can change the life of the whole family.
When writing about insuring children, I always come back to one thought.
A car is a thing.
We can repair it. We can sell it. We can buy the next one.
But when it comes to a child’s health and future, the consequences of a serious illness or accident can stretch on for years, and sometimes for a lifetime.
I’m not writing this to scare anyone.
It’s about responsibility.
“After all, we have NAV in Norway”
Yes. And that is hugely important.
The Norwegian public system gives families real protection. If a seriously ill child requires continuous care and is managed by specialist health services, a parent can in certain situations receive pleiepenger, that is a benefit replacing lost income. NAV can cover income up to the level of 6 G, that is currently up to 819 294 NOK per year. If the conditions are met the benefit can be paid for as long as the child needs continuous care and has not turned 18 years old; there are also special exceptions for older children.
NAV - Pleiepenger for a sick child
There is also hjelpestønad for children and adults needing long-term private care and supervision. NAV takes into account situations where a child requires help beyond ordinary parental care, e.g. with eating, hygiene, constant supervision, training or stimulation.
If illness, injury or disability cause long-term additional expenses, grunnstønad may also come into play. NAV indicates that the additional costs must essentially persist for at least 2–3 years.
All this shows one thing:
Norway has a strong public system.
But a strong public system does not mean that in every situation it will cover all the financial consequences of what happens to a family.
And this is exactly where the conversation about barneforsikring begins
Barneforsikring is not a single simple benefit.
Most often it is a package of several different types of protection. Finans Norge points out that a typical policy may include, among other things, coverage for permanent medical disability, uførekapital, uførepensjon and serious illnesses.
Finans Norge - information and statistics about barneforsikring
And that is why it is not worth comparing two policies solely by price.
One may cost less but have a much narrower scope.
The other may cover situations that are much more important for the family in the long run.
So the most important question is not:
“How much does child insurance cost?”
Only:
“What exactly has to happen for me to receive help — and what kind of help?”
The most important risk is not always the one we think of
Parents often associate child insurance with an accident.
A broken arm.
A fall from a bicycle.
An injury during sports.
That can of course be part of the coverage, but much greater financial consequences can arise when an illness or accident leaves permanent effects.
Finans Norge shows that it is precisely permanent medical disability that is one of the most important components of claims from child insurance. In 2025 total payouts from children's insurance in Norway amounted to almost 3 billion NOK, and medical disability alone accounted for about 1.3 billion NOK in payouts.
Finans Norge - Injury statistics 2025: child insurance
This shows that we are not talking about a hypothetical product “just in case”.
Behind these numbers are real children and real families.
The child is 6 years old today. But what will it be like when they are 20?
This is, for me, one of the most important reasons why parents should at least take an interest in the topic.
When something serious happens to a child, the problem does not always end after leaving the hospital.
The child grows up.
Wants to learn.
To study.
Move out of the home.
Take the first job.
Live independently.
And what if an illness or accident permanently limits their later ability to work?
NAV operates the disability pension system, and people who became seriously and permanently ill or disabled before turning 26 can, after meeting detailed conditions, obtain rights as young disabled. In 2026 higher minimum rates apply to this group.
NAV - Disability pension and rules for young disabled
But private insurance can be an additional layer of protection.
Depending on the specific contract, it may involve a lump sum capital payment or a regular benefit linked to permanent incapacity to work.
And it is precisely then that the policy ceases to be just protection for the “child”.
It becomes protection for their start into adulthood.
Until age 26 — but always read the terms
There are child insurance policies on the market that can remain in force even up to age 26.
This provides protection not only in childhood, but also during university studies, the first job, moving out of the home and becoming independent.
However, this is not a universal rule for every policy.
The age at which coverage ends, the scope of individual benefits and the possibility of later switching to adult insurance depend on the specific terms.
Therefore the question “until what age does the insurance apply?” should be one of the first we ask before entering into a contract.
What is actually worth checking?
I would not start with the number of add-ons.
I would start with things that may matter most in 5, 10 or 20 years.
Permanent medical disability
Check whether the coverage applies only to accidents or also to illness.
This is a huge difference.
It is also worth checking from what degree of disability payments begin and whether the amount of compensation increases with the degree of permanent impairment.
Uføredekning - protection for future ability to work
This is an element that may become relevant many years later.
A child may be healthy, active and attending school today.
But if in the future illness or the consequences of an accident cause a permanent limitation of working capacity, it's worth knowing whether the policy provides a disability lump sum, a regular disability pension, or both elements.
These are completely different types of payouts.
Finans Norge classifies both the disability lump sum and the disability pension among the basic types of coverage found in personal insurance and child insurance.
Finans Norge - rules regarding main scopes of child insurance
Serious illness
Some policies include a one-time payment upon diagnosis of certain illnesses.
Here it is especially important to read the definition.
The term "kritisk sykdom" is not enough.
You need to see, exactly which illnesses the contract covers and what conditions must be met.
Finans Norge emphasizes that serious or critical illness insurance provides a one-time benefit upon diagnosis of one of the illnesses defined in a specific contract.
Finans Norge - Critical/Serious illness
Hospital stay and additional costs
A prolonged illness of a child affects the whole family.
It may mean travel.
Parking.
Additional overnight stays.
Organizing care for siblings.
A change in work patterns.
Sometimes also adapting the home.
NAV can, in certain situations, support the family, for example through care benefits, attendance benefit or basic benefit.
NAV - Care benefits
NAV - Attendance benefit
NAV - Basic benefit
A private policy may, however, provide additional benefits, so it is worth checking exactly what triggers a payout.
The cheapest policy may not be the cheapest when you really need it
This is a rule I also mentioned regarding home and contents insurance.
Price is important.
But a price without the scope of coverage tells us nothing.
You may pay little for a product that does not provide a payout in the most important situation for you.
You may also pay for add-ons you do not really need, and have too low a level of coverage where the financial consequences would be greatest.
Therefore, instead of asking:
“Which company is the cheapest?”
it's worth asking:
“What is most important to me and where in the terms is it written that this is actually protected?”
A healthy child today does not mean that insurance will always be available
For personal insurance, the health declaration is very important.
The insurer may ask for information relevant to risk assessment, and the person entering into the contract is obliged to answer correctly and completely. Norwegian law simultaneously limits the scope of health information – the insurer cannot request data concerning periods earlier than 10 years.
Lovdata - Forsikringsavtaleloven, § 13-1a and § 13-1b
Health information can affect:
the acceptance of the child for insurance,
the scope of coverage,
possible exclusions,
or the refusal of a specific part of coverage.
Therefore parents sometimes postpone the decision, saying:
“We can do it later.”
We can.
But we have no guarantee that the health situation will be the same in a few years.
This is not an argument for hastily buying a policy.
It is an argument for not putting off even getting interested in the subject indefinitely.
Do not hide information about the child's health
This is very important.
It is not worth omitting information just because we fear a higher price or an exclusion.
The Insurance Contracts Act imposes an obligation to provide correct and complete answers to questions that matter for risk assessment. In the case of a serious breach of this obligation, the insurer's liability may be limited, and in particular situations even excluded.
Lovdata - the obligation to provide correct information and the consequences of its breach
If you do not understand something in the health form - ask.
Do not guess.
Does every child have to be privately insured?
I do not want to answer: “yes”.
Because the role of a good advisor is not to sell the same thing to everyone.
Each family has a different financial situation.
Different savings.
Different obligations.
Different risk tolerance.
And different expectations of insurance.
It is worth consciously answering a few questions.
What will happen financially to our family if a child requires intensive care for a year?
Will one of the parents have to reduce work?
Do we have savings?
What if the illness leaves a permanent disability?
Do we want to financially secure the child also when they are 20 or 25 years old?
If we know the answers, then we can consciously decide:
we need additional protection or we do not.
This is a completely different decision than:
“I don't have a policy because I never thought about it.”
We often protect the car better than the child's future
A bit paradoxically, but that's exactly how I started this topic.
With a car we can analyze very precisely:
full kasko,
maskinskade,
glass,
rental car,
deductible.
We read what will happen if the engine fails.
And about the most important person in our life we say:
"Nothing will happen."
Let's hope nothing actually happens.
Insurance is not about predicting tragedy.
It is a decision about what we want to do with the financial consequences of something we are unable to predict.
And that's precisely why, in my opinion, it's worth sitting down calmly at least once to look into this topic.
Not out of fear.
Out of responsibility.
Editorial note Twoja Norwegia
This material is not a recommendation to purchase a specific policy or the offer of a specific insurer. We asked Monika Roza, an adviser dealing with insurance in Norway, to explain why parents should know the concept barneforsikring at all and what questions are worth asking before making a decision.
The Norwegian public system provides families with significant benefits, among others pleiepenger, hjelpestønad, grunnstønad and – later in life after meeting the conditions – uføretrygd. A private policy is an additional solution and its scope always follows from the specific contract.
Profile of Monika Roza on Twoja Norwegia
Previously, together with Monika, we also prepared a guide:
Hus or innbo? Home and contents insurance in Norway - Monika Roza explains
Information verified: 3 November 2026.
