When you buy a life insurance policy you buy coverage to protect the financial needs of your family in case of your unfortunate demise. But it is not only the untimely death of the earning member that can put a family in financial crisis. In case of any accident or disease that leads to a permanent disability of the earning member, may also lead to a financial crisis for the family, and then the whole concept of the protection is lost. Thus in order to keep your family well protected against the adversity of the income loss, it is better to take policies that cover you in case of any critical illness or an accident. And in order to get that protection, you do not need to buy separate policies and pay a separate premium for it. You can always add on a rider to the policy that you buy to get this all-round coverage.
A rider is thus additional protection that you take up in the form of coverage which gives you full proof protection in the same policy itself. They are the add-ons that are available with the policy and are quite beneficial to avail as the extra premium that you would need to pay to add a rider is much less than what is needed to be paid for a separate policy altogether. And by adding on riders the overall protection that you want to provide for your family is also maintained.
Different Types of Riders Available With a Life Insurance Policy
Accidental Death and Permanent Disability Rider
The accidental rider provides protection both in case of accidental death and also in case of accidental disability. Thus if a person has taken an accidental rider along with his policy and faces some kind of an accident then in case of his demise his family will not only get the original Sum Assured he is entitled to get from the policy but also will get an extra Sum Assured which the Accidental Death benefit rider would provide the nominee with. And if the insured person faces any permanent disability then also the sum assured of the Accidental Benefit rider would be paid in full. In the case of partial disability, the insurance company would pay only a part of the sum assured, and the ratio of the same would be determined by the company only.
Now, this advantage you would have not got if you would not have opted for the Accidental Rider. And to keep yourself thus covered if you would have taken a separate policy then the premium amount for the policy would have been way higher than the amount that you pay for this add on the rider.
- Critical Illness Rider
There are many general insurance plans available that provide you with a critical illness plan. You can opt for those plans if you want to keep yourself and your family from facing the burden of financial loss that may occur due to a critical illness that would prove to be terminal.
In this plan, if a person is detected with a critical illness that might prove to be life-taking as per the interpretations of a certified medical practitioner, like heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, cancer etc. then the whole sum assured is paid to the policyholder and the policy is terminated. Thus this is an important requirement in your protection portfolio.
But you need to pay a premium for this which would be quite close to the premium that you pay for the life coverage in a life insurance policy. Thus if you simply take a rider of Critical Illness along with the insurance policy that you buy, then the add on a premium that you would need to pay in the life insurance policy for the Critical Illness Rider is almost half of what you would have paid in case you had taken a separate policy. Thus it is a profitable proposition to take a rider than to buy a separate policy.
Premium Waiver Benefit Rider
In case the policyholder faces death or is disabled, by some accident or due to some illness then the premium of the policy is waved off, but the benefits the policyholder was entitled to still continues till the end of the term. If the life insured in the policy is alive and the policyholder faces death or disability in that case too the premium is waived off, but the benefits continue for the life insured. By waving off the premium the life insurance company means that the policyholder or Insured person would not need to pay any further premium and still be entitled to receive the benefits by the end of the tenure.
Now, there is no separate policy that you can opt for in order to pay for your premiums if any above-mentioned circumstances happen so you have to take the rider along with the policy to protect the financial interest you and your nominee has from the policy, and the add on the premium that you need to pay for this policy is not high at all, rather in some policies you would find this rider as an inbuilt facility, like the child benefit plans, where it is known that the child would not b able to pay future premiums in case of death or disability of his parent.
Can We Take a Rider Once the Life Insurance Policy is Enforced?
It might happen that you realize the necessity of taking accidental coverage or a critical illness coverage after you have taken a life insurance policy. Then, in that case, you would need to check the policy terms and conditions to find out whether you can opt for the same post for the enforcement of the policy or not, as some life insurance companies might provide the same.
Thus it can be very simply concluded that if you want to take only a critical illness policy or an accidental policy then you can take one, but if you are already availing for a life insurance policy then it is better to opt for the similar facilities in the form of a rider rather than taking fresh policies as the rider would be available at a way cheaper price.
