Child Insurance policies are a combination of life insurance and investments. In child insurance plans a small portion of the premium is goes toward providing the life insurance of the parent and a large portion of the premium goes towards the investments. In an unfortunate event if the parent dies within the premium paying period the policy continues and the future premiums are waived and the beneficiary (in this case your child) gets the Sum Assured and all other benefits, bonus etc.

You can decide the risk level of investments for your plan, A 100% Equity or a 100% Debt or a combination of both with different allocation as per your comfort level. The more equity allocation would give you a higher return but is also a bit risky in the short run. If you have a long term horizon say 10 years or so then you should go for a higher Equity allocation.

One word of caution " Please make sure that you know the expenses and other deductible’s very clearly before hand " because the early years charges are quite high in some plans and in some policies the exit years can be expensive.

Most of the insurance companies in India are offering Child Insurance Plans. If you are planning to buy a secure future of your child then at least compare plans of 4 or 5 insurance companies and then decide, because each company will have something different to offer.