Buying a life insurance policy is easy. You can use a life insurance calculator to compare and find the best plans and buy a suitable one online. However, getting the policy is not always enough, as certain unexpected situations are not always covered by it. This is where the riders come in, as they can increase the protection.
What is life insurance?
A life insurance policy is an agreement between an insurance provider and the policyholder, which guarantees that the insured’s nominees will receive a certain amount of money in case of an untoward incident. Policyholders have to pay premiums towards the life insurance plan to ensure that the plan is active. A life policy comes in different forms with specific regulations and benefits. You can enhance the facilities with additional insurance riders available with your policy.
What are riders?
Life insurance riders are add-ons that you can buy as additions to your existing policy. These riders come at an affordable price but offer amazing benefits that effectively enhance your life cover. You can buy riders at the time of policy initiation. However, some life insurance plans allow you to include them later. You can select various kinds of riders as per your needs.
Different types of riders
Insurers offer a wide variety of riders, which come with customized benefits. Read on to learn about the best riders that you can buy:
- Waiver of premium
Adding this rider to the existing life insurance policy, like term insurance, ensures that you need not pay the future premiums in case of any unfortunate events, likea diagnosis of a severe illness listed in the rideror an accidental permanent total disability.
- Accidental permanent partial or total disability
The rider adds a disability clause to the present life insurance policy. Hence, if the policyholder ever meets with an accident that result in permanent partial or total disability, the insurer pays a lump sum. The nature of the incident and disability must match the rider’s terms and conditions.
- Accidental death
This rider provides an additional benefit to the nominees in case of an unfortunate accident leading to the policyholder’s absence. The sum assured of the rider is paid in addition to the actual policy’s benefit.
- Critical illness
Generally, life insurance policies do not offer any benefit for illnesses. However, you can buy a critical illness rider to add that cover. The rider comes with a list of specific critical illnesses. If the policyholder is ever diagnosed with any of the included diseases, the insurer pays the sum assured for treatment purposes.
- Family income benefit
Sometimes, it is more suitable for the nominees to get the life policy benefits as monthly installments rather than as a lump sum in case of an unfortunate event. This add-on ensures that the nominees receive a specific percentage of the sum assured every month during the remaining term of the rider or for a fixed period.
Benefits of the riders
Life insurance riders have many advantages. Some of the prominent ones include:
- They providefacilities like the additional sum assured or disability cover
- They come at an economical cost, which can be even more reasonable when you buy multiple riders
- They bringflexibility to any type of life insurance plan you may have; theyhelp you to modify the existing policy as per your and the family’s needs
- They offer tax benefits on the premium
Now that you know,what life insurance isand how riders work in case of such a plan,upgrade your current policy by investing in the best add-ons. Make sure that you compare the benefits offered by each rider carefully to determine which ones fit your needs.
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