Tesco has a new target market for its insurance products - the under 18s.

The supermarket giant, which bought out Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to take full control of its Tesco Personal Finance brand last June, is unveiling the Tesco Child Health Plan tomorrow. It will be one of the only health insurance products for children on the market.

For an introductory offer of £7.49 a month, children up to the age of 18 can have access to private consultations for medical tests and diagnoses after visiting a GP. For more serious medical procedures, including operations, the health plan will also give children access to private treatment if the NHS cannot carry out a procedure within 6 weeks.

Tesco says the plan is designed to work with the NHS and treatments that are not offered by the NHS will not be covered.

Experts questioned the need for children's health insurance, but admitted that many parents would be tempted to pay for the cover. Emma Walker, of moneysupermarket.com, the comparison website, said: "As a parent I know that children are usually seen quite quickly in the NHS and nothing is ever really taken to chance. I’d imagine that not that many children have to wait more than 6 weeks for an operation. However, the private consultations and the tests will appeal to anxious parents who may not have considered paying for health insurance for themselves."

Tesco launched health insurance for adults and families in 2007. Child Health Planwill be provided for the supermarket by AXA PPP healthcare, one of the only other insurers offering similar health cover soley for children.

When Tesco announced the acquisition of the 50 per cent stake in its personal finance division owned by RBS, it said it was committed to increasing its market share in the financial services sector. It believes that it can make £1 billion a year from non-food services including personal finance, up from about £400 million last year. Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco's chief executive, said: “Services are a bigger and faster-growing markets than food.”

Tesco now has a range of 28 financial products and services covering general insurance, lending and savings & investments.