Life Insurance Riders

A life insurance policy is essentially a legal contract that contains all the terms associated with your life insurance coverage. Each policy is different, so to ensure you get the most accurate information, you should be in communication licensed insurance agents to get the exact details of their policies.

Riders on Life Insurance Policies

Some life insurance policies will come with a rider that gives the policyholder additional options like:

• Disability benefits: Pays a pre-defined amount of money in case the policyholder becomes disabled.
• Insurability guarantee: The insurance company will continue to cover the policyholder for life, without any additional medical evaluations, as long as the required premiums are paid on time.
• Accidental death benefits: This benefit will pay an additional amount of money, on top of the regular amount specified in the policy, if the holder dies as a result of an accident.
• Accelerated death benefits: A policyholder that suffers from a terminal illness or requires long-term care will be able to collect the life insurance policy while they are still alive.
• Level term: Allows the insurance client to request more fixed term life insurance policies.
• Premium waivers: The monthly premiums associated with the life insurance policy will be waived for the duration of time that the policyholder is unemployed or suffering from a disability.
• Dependent coverage: With this rider, the main policyholder can add life insurance for their children or spouse at a discounted rate.
• Withdrawal: Allows the policyholder to make a withdrawal of some of the premiums they have paid so far.
• Income benefits: In addition to the main amount specified in the policy, the policyholder's beneficiaries will receive a monthly payment for a set amount of time when the holder dies.

Additional Terms and Conditions

Each life insurance policy will come with certain clauses, as well as exclusions. The most important clause that is up to the client would be the beneficiary choice. The policyholder gets to choose who will receive the funds provided by the life insurance policy when they die.

There are also exclusions that may be applied by the insurance company. For example, the company may terminate the policy if false information about the policyholder's age was provided, or if the holder hasn't made their payment after a specified grace period, which is usually one month.

Be sure to examine the full policy to make sure you understand and agree to its terms before you sign. In some states, you may have up to 10 days to cancel your policy and request a refund if you change your mind after signing.