Looking for a way to enhance your existing health insurance cover? Here are some health insurance riders which you might want to consider.
A health insurance rider is an instrument that broadens your scope of coverage. It is an add-on provision to a policy. Doing so is highly recommended when you feel that your health plan is not providing ample coverage. It could be due to your changing family requirements or your ailing health.
For example, Priya had a regular health insurance policy at the age of 25 years. When she got married at 28, she decided to add the maternity rider to her insurance. Doing so would ensure ample coverage for her when she planned a family.
Your needs and requirements do change with time. So here are 4 riders that you can consider-
Hospital Cash
This is a health insurance rider that is fairly common and popular with policyholders. It provides coverage in the form of daily cash. If the policyholder is admitted, they would be paid a fixed amount for hospital costs and related expenditures. The insurance company gives this amount once during the policy tenure. It applies for a fixed number of days, as per your policy.
Room Rent Waiver
Some people don’t want to share rooms in the hospital. In such instances, costs of individual rooms can shoot up. However, most health insurance policies have room sub-limits. If you want to be admitted to a premium hospital with a separate room, consider room rent waiver. As per this rider, you can pick a room of your choice, without additional admission fees.
Personal accident waiver
Often referred to as the double indemnity waiver, you get compensation for various accidents. Again, there are sub-limits on accidents with a regular health insurance. You will get only a limited amount for permanent partial disablement, total disablement (temporary and permanent) and accidental death. By adding this rider to your basic policy, your scope of coverage is broadened.
For example, you had an accident and suffered from total disablement for a temporary period. The restricted coverage on regular mediclaim is not enough. But with the personal accident waiver health insurance rider you get additional financial benefits. Also, in the event of death, mediclaim coverage is restricted. But with this rider, your family can get as much as twice the sum assured.
Critical Illness Rider
Though health insurance covers critical illnesses, the amount may be inadequate. In particular, with the whopping hospital costs, a critical illness can be financially exhausting. Opting for this rider, you can be covered for anything between 10 to 38 critical illnesses. With this rider, not only are you covered for medical expenses, but also diseases like-
- Kidney failure
- Heart attacks
- Cancer
- Some forms of organ transplant
On the whole, these are just 5 of the main health insurance riders you can opt for. For a nominal increase in the premium, you do benefit with broader coverage – and peace of mind too.