What are Insurance Riders? - Insurance Rider Series Part 1
This is the first post in a series all about insurance riders and all the types of riders there are what benefits each of them can have depending on your lifestyle.
Life insurance requirements are rarely one-size-fits-all. That’s where insurance riders come in
Think of riders like add-ons to a Life Insurance Policy that lets an individual customize a life insurance plan to suit their unique needs.
Usually, a rider is added to someone’s policy to cover something they believe is necessary but isn't sufficiently covered by a standard insurance policy.
Adding riders will also usually raise the cost of the insurance.
The most common riders are Critical Illness, Disability Waiver of Premiums, Return of Premiums and Child or Spousal Riders. All of these will have their own dedicated blog with more detail in the coming weeks.
Why consider life insurance riders in the first place?
Well, an individual may choose to add riders because they allow them to tweak the coverage as per their needs.
Some riders can be used to extend coverage and add more flexibility to the policy’s terms and conditions.
We recommend that if someone is looking to add riders that they speak to an advisor like us to help plan out your riders to cover all their needs.
Once a person has decided on the riders needed for their lifestyle, they must check if their insurer provides them. Not all insurers offer the full range of available riders.
Can riders be added to an existing Life Insurance Policy?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The answer is usually – probably not.
The best time to add a rider to a life insurance policy is at the beginning when the application is done and and the quotes are run.
If someone wants to add a rider after the life insurance policy comes into effect, some companies do it, but it’s a hassle and they will have to submit an application for the rider coverage.
Removing a rider is much easier.
The insurer just has to be informed by the client about wanting to cancel the rider and they will remove it from their coverage.
Once the rider has been dropped, the insurer will adjust their monthly premium accordingly.
Series
What is a Term Rider? - Insurance Rider Series 2
What is a Critical Illness Rider? - Insurance Rider Series 3
What is a Guaranteed Insurability Rider? - Insurance Rider Series 4
What is a Disability Waiver of Premium Rider? - Insurance Rider Series 5
What are Child and Spousal Riders? - Insurance Rider Series 6
What is a Return of Premiums Rider? - Insurance Rider Series 7
What are Paid-Up Addition Riders? - Insurance Rider Series 8
Next Steps:
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