8 Life Insurance Riders You Must Know

Life insurance riders can be defined as the options for additional coverage that are available along with your life insurance plans. You can pay an additional premium and opt for the riders while purchasing your life insurance policy. Life insurance riders can help in customizing your insurance policy according to your requirements. If you have made the right choice of your life insurance riders, it would have been of great help to your family at the time of claim.

Life insurance is a long-term product and as you progress in your life, your insurance needs would undergo certain changes. With the onset of different phases of life like marriage, parenthood, etc. your responsibilities will increase. So, by opting for life insurance riders you can make certain changes to your life insurance policy at a nominal premium.

Now, let us check out some of the best life insurance riders which can help you in obtaining additional coverage at a reasonable cost.

1. Accidental Death Benefit Rider

In case of accidental death benefit rider, if you have an accidental death then your nominee can obtain the sum assured along with the rider benefit from the insurance provider. There are many accident cases in which the death of the insured person might not occur on the spot. So, most insurance providers include a certain duration post-accident to provide this additional cover. An Accidental Death Benefit Rider is a must-have in the below-mentioned cases

1. If you are traveling through flights very frequently for work or travel purposes
2. If you are commuting through vehicles like public transport, car, bike, train, etc.
3. If your occupation involves heavy physical labour in manufacturing units or construction sites, etc.

You must read the terms and conditions of your policy document carefully as there can be confusion regarding what can be considered as an accident or not by the insurance provider. 

2. Accidental Total and Permanent Disability Rider

If due to an unfortunate accident, you suffer from a total and permanent disability that forces you to leave your work permanently then this rider would help you with the flow of cash. The benefit offered by this rider would vary from one insurance provider to another and is also dependent on the sum assured of the base plan. There are some insurance providers that offer a particular percentage of this rider as a regular source of income every month up to a period of 5 to 10 years.

In case of your demise after suffering from the disability during the policy term, then your nominee would be getting the remaining portion of the sum assured or according to the condition of the rider. Usually, the accidental total and permanent disability rider are included along with the Accidental death benefit rider.  

3. Waiver of Premium

If due to any disability you are not able to work anymore and your life insurance expires as you are not able to pay the premium, the Waiver of Premium rider would be your saviour then. By this life insurance rider, if you are suffering from any disability and your insurance policy is ongoing then your premiums can be waived off. This rider would help you to overcome the worry related to the non-payment of premium leading to the lapse of the policy. If you are involved in a risky profession, then the Waiver of Premium rider is a must-have for you.  

4. Accelerated Death Benefit Rider

An Accelerated Death Benefit rider would be helpful if you have been diagnosed with any terminal illness and your life span is reduced due to it. According to this rider, a portion of the sum assured is paid out to you on the diagnosis of the illness. This amount can be used for the expenses incurred in your treatment. The remaining portion is paid out to your nominee after your demise. This rider can be availed at a very low cost and can help to ensure that your family is financially secured after your demise. These illnesses are unpredictable but you can do a self-analysis about your lifestyle and the environment in which you are living. This would help you in deciding to opt for this rider or not.

5. Critical Illness Rider

Critical illness riders are one of the best life insurance riders into which you can invest to secure yourself against any critical illnesses. This rider mainly covers major critical illnesses such as heart attack, paralysis, kidney failure, cancer, stroke, etc. You must check the policy document carefully for the list of inclusions and exclusions associated with this rider as they are different from one insurance provider to another. 

The above-mentioned critical illnesses will not cause death immediately but you would no longer be fit for earning and can face financial crisis. The rider helps you by providing the sum assured on diagnosis and this lump sum can help you in your treatment or in handling other expenses. You should consider opting for a Critical Illness rider if

1. You are a top-level executive who has a lot of work stress
2. You smoke frequently
3. You have an unhealthy lifestyle

6. Surgical Care Rider

If you are going to undergo a surgery in India, then a Surgical Care Rider will provide you with a lump sum benefit. The coverage would be different for major and minor cases of surgery. Moreover, the benefit provided by this rider would differ from one type of surgery to another. You can opt for adding the Surgical Care Rider into your base policy if you wish to avail coverage for the surgical expenses in case of eventualities. 

7. Term Rider

In case of your demise, your nominee can obtain a lump sum or monthly income with the help of the Term Rider. The rider benefit which your nominee would obtain can be either the coverage amount of your base plan or a value that has been specified in the policy. If you wish to leave behind a corpus or a huge amount for your children and family, you must choose to opt for Term Rider.

8. Hospital Cash Rider

By the Hospital Cash Rider, if you undergo hospitalisation then you would obtain a fixed benefit in each day of hospitalisation. The amount you would obtain as the benefit, the maximum, and minimum sum assured, the terms and conditions vary from one insurance provider to another. You can think about opting for this life insurance rider if you wish to obtain cover for your hospital expenses in case of any incident.

Conclusion

So, riders are optional; you can purchase a simple insurance policy but the power with which riders come is truly worthy. There might be times when emergencies can arise and you might suffer from a critical illness or permanent disability. Hence, you would need a life insurance policy with riders in case you have dependents and they are dependent on you for their livelihoods.