Medical insurance covers your medical costs in case of hospitalization. Hence, owing to the rising healthcare costs, having health insurance is a must today.
Now, even the best policies might not fulfill all your requirements. However, you can fill that gap and customize your policy as per your needs by adding riders to your policy.
But, what are the different kinds of riders available with health insurance?
In this blog, we will talk about everything related to health insurance riders.
Riders are added facilities that come with an insurance policy. By adding a rider to your insurance you can avail of extra benefits for it at a very low price. They make your basic insurance policy far more comprehensive. For example, you can add maternity coverage to your health insurance, and an accidental death benefit to your life insurance.
The premium amount for the rider depends on the age of the policyholder, coverage amount, type of insurance policy, terms and conditions of the policy, etc.
Now, let’s look at the different riders available with your health insurance.
Here are the top 5 health insurance riders
1. Maternity cover rider:
Many health insurance policies do not provide maternity cover. Now if you add a maternity cover rider with such a policy, then the rider will cover certain expenses during childbirth. The coverage will primarily be for delivery expenses but may be restricted for pre and post-delivery expenses. It is also possible that other expenses like newborn baby expenses or vaccinations might not be covered at all.
However, this rider can be availed after the waiting period, which is usually 24 months but can extend up to 72 months also in some plans.
2. Critical illness rider:
A policyholder can buy a critical illness rider with his health insurance policy. And on being diagnosed with one of the listed critical illnesses in the policy, the insurance company will pay him the sum assured for the rider.
Say you have a Rs 10 lakh health insurance policy and with that, you have a Rs 5 lakh critical illness rider. Now on being diagnosed with one of the critical illnesses in the policy, you would be paid Rs 5 lakh in a lump sum.
Critical illness riders can also be bought with term insurance plans or as a standalone policy.
3. Accidental disability rider:
Under this rider, if a policyholder is disabled due to an accident then, the insurer will pay him the sum assured (totally or partially) for the rider. However, the amount that would be paid would depend on the severity of the injury.
In case the policyholder is permanently disabled, i.e. there is loss of sight (for both eyes), loss of two limbs, loss of one limb and one eye, and he/she is unable to work, then the insurance company will pay him/her the entire sum assured. But, in case he/she is partially disabled and can fend for himself/herself, then the insurance company will pay the part of the sum assured (the amount will be determined by the insurer) depending on the injury. For instance, if the policyholder loses one eye or one limb, he/she would receive 50% of the sum assured. But, if he/she loses hearing in one ear, then he/she will receive 15% of the sum assured.
4. Room rent waiver:
Many insurance policies come with a cap on room rent. For example, suppose you have a health insurance policy with a room rent cap of Rs 2,000 per day. Now, if you are hospitalized and for which the per day room rent is Rs 4,000, then you have to pay the extra amount from your pocket.
Now if you add a room rent waiver rider with your policy you can avail the room you of your choice (subject to minor conditions like it cannot be a suite) without paying extra money.
5. Hospital cash rider:
Under this rider, in case of hospitalization, the insured receives a cash amount for all the days he/she has been hospitalized. The amount differs from policy to policy. This acts as a compensatory allowance for loss of pay during hospitalization.
However, for availing most daily hospital cash plans you need to be hospitalized for at least 24 hours to avail of this benefit.
Bottom Line:
Riders make your health policy a little bit costlier but at the same time, they make your health insurance policy a lot more comprehensive. And if you compare the premium amount versus the need, then having riders is much more cost-effective. But for that, you will have to ensure that you have the right kind of riders with your policy.