A rider is an endorsement of a life insurance policy that helps policyholders to get supplementary term coverage with regard to their premium amount. Almost all term insurance plans give policyholders the benefit of riders, but it varies according to the plan and premium. So, when buying your term insurance, please don’t fail to ask your agent or insurance advisor about the rider benefits that your policy is eligible for.
There are some riders that come as a part of your insurance plan, while some other riders need to be purchased along with your insurance policy, by paying an additional premium amount. There are various riders that term insurance policyholders can be entitled to, and these riders help you to enhance the cover.
Different Riders and their Overview
Waiving off Premium – In case a policyholder faces a loss of income or gets physically challenged after hiring a policy, this rider will help the person to waive off the future premiums, but the policy will still be alive.
Accidental Death Benefit – In case a policyholder meets an accident and dies during the policy term, this rider will pay an additional amount for your term plan.
For Example: if you have a term plan of Rs.1 crore with an accidental death benefit rider of Rs.50 lakh, then your family will receive Rs.1 lakh 50 thousand upon your death due to an accident.
Accidental Disability Benefit – In case a policyholder meets an accident and becomes disabled due to an accident, this rider will help the person to get the sum assured amount, in installments though. The amount will be paid in 10 installments, once a year. This is applicable for both temporary and permanent disability of policyholders.
Critical Illness Benefit – In case a policyholder faces a critical illness, the rider will help the person get a huge amount in return as part of his term plan. Some of the common critical illnesses covered under this rider are :
- Heart attack
- Cancer
- Paralysis
- Stroke
- Kidney Failure
- Major organ transplant
Income Benefit Rider – This rider allows the family of the policyholder to receive the death benefit in the form of supplementary income for 10-15 years along with the regular sum assured. For example, 50% of the sum assured will be paid on a monthly basis for 10-15 years or as suggested under the plan.
It is very much necessary to go through each and every rider available with your policy and choose only those which you require because riders don’t come for free. Adding a well-analyzed rider can do wonders to your policy while an unnecessary rider will only increase your premium amount and will become a financial burden for you.