Is it worth buying health insurance riders?

The role of health insurance policies is undeniable in our lives. These days, people are more inclined to purchase various health insurance plans because this menacing COVID-19 pandemic has forced everyone to understand the importance of having the best health insurance policies in India. To see this evolving interest of customers, many health insurance companies have launched or refurbished their health insurance policies so that more customers can buy health insurance online and offer the utmost protection to their family members.

What is a rider in health insurance?

Most health insurance policies don’t include consumable items like gloves, syringes and so on. Instead, here come health insurance riders that are extra toppings to your base policy. But you need to pay some extra amount to get these riders for additional coverage.

Pros and cons of having a health insurance rider

Pros of Health Insurance Rider

A health insurance rider will help you manage everything in a better way and reduce the burden from your pocket. The prime benefit of having a rider is that it is inexpensive and strengthens your protection under the same health insurance coverage. In addition, a health insurance rider covers the price of consumables in your hospital payment.

Cons of Health Insurance Rider

Sometimes, your premiums may enhance while purchasing a rider. Even riders offer limited protection, and to avail of the advantages, you need to meet the specific conditions and criteria. Therefore, before investing a single penny, you should consider whether the purchased rider is aligned with your necessities or not.

A health insurance rider may uplift your premium amount and make a hole in your pocket. So, before purchasing the best family health insurance policy in India, you should evaluate the riders as per your needs and requirements. If you are buying all the riders without thinking, your premium will shoot up. Thus, you need to choose the riders that resonate with your requirements meticulously.

What are the top health insurance riders?

If you want to purchase health insurance policies, you should possess adequate knowledge about the best health insurance riders.

5 Best Health Insurance Riders in India

• Room Rent Waiver Rider: Most prodigious health insurance companies in India put a cap on your hospital room rent. By opting for this rider, you can select the best room at the time of hospitalization. Thus, you can save a chunk of money during your hospital stay.
• Personal Accident Rider: This rider embraces policyholders with coverage for all types of accidents (accidental death, permanent and temporary disablement, and so on). Moreover, if the policyholder dies due to an accident, the policyholder’s nominee will get twice the amount of the policy.
• Critical Illness Cover: This is another imperative health insurance rider that bears all expenses for any illness (terminal or critical illness). This rider is applicable for critical illnesses like heart attack, cancer, kidney treatment, etc. This rider immediately offers policyholders a lump sum amount irrespective of the total medical treatment expenses. Now, you have an adequate idea about health insurance vs critical illness riders.
• Maternity Cover: This rider is essential during the birth of a child. But you can use this rider once the waiting period is over. Depending on your insurance company, the waiting period could be 24 months or more. Many insurance service providers in India offer coverage to the newborn child at the time of maturity.
• Hospital Cash (HospiCash) Rider: If you need a daily cash allowance at the time of hospitalization, then you should opt for this rider. As a policyholder, you can use this rider for taking care of the hospital and other medical expenditures during your hospital stay. During the policy tenure, the insurance company will pay the daily cash amount to the policyholder. As per your insurance policy, you can use it for a certain number of days.

Suppose you own a health insurance coverage of sum insured Rs. 5 lakh, and your premium amount is Rs. 7000. By incorporating HospiCash policy rider to your base insurance policy, you will get Rs.1000-Rs.1500 per day for your hospital stay. This policy rider covers hospitalization bills for 30 days. You can enjoy the benefits of this rider by adding just Rs. 500 to your policy.

The costs of riders are 5-15% of the base premium. However, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has capped the rider prices (30% of the bottom premium) for policyholders’ benefits.

Which riders are imperative for you?

• Maternity cover rider is the most suitable for young couples who are planning to start a family within a few years. But this rider is not ideal for a couple of 50 years.
• A room rent waiver rider is ideal for a family who wants to choose a higher room rent for a hospital stay and doesn’t look for a restricted coverage.
• Personal accident rider coverage is ideal for individuals who need to travel frequently for work or official purposes.
• A critical illness rider can be purchased by a family who has a history of critical illness.

Why do you need a health insurance rider?

• To pay your debts: Sometimes, you can use health insurance riders to pay your debts. Many insurance companies in India offer family income riders that can be utilized for debt payments periodically. An accidental debt benefit rider welcomes the family with the double amount under the death benefit clause. You can use this extra amount to clear loans, mortgages, debts, and so on.
• For funeral expenses: The amount received for the death of the insured policyholder may cover the funeral cost. Recently, insurance companies have added this feature to their health insurance policies.
• For your child’s education: The hefty amount that you may receive for some riders can be utilized for your child’s future. In this way, you can offer your child a secured and scintillating future.

Health insurance riders will cover your medical expenses and hospitalization cost and offer additional financial security under any unanticipated circumstances.