Extra Options in Life Insurance
The more options you add on to your life insurance policy, the higher the benefit and higher the cost. However, these extras are usually worth the money paid. One of the more popular options is called the Waiver of Premium option, which as the name suggests waives premium payments for a certain amount of time. This is usually allowed if the insured person is laid up or debilitated because of an injury or illness and is thus unable to earn an income. This waiver then becomes a true financial blessing as it often covers family members of the insured. The insurance company will often define the conditions for this waiver to come into force such as the insured company totally or permanently disabled, or a specific age for the insured.
Another popularly opted for extra is the Critical Illness Cover. If the insured person is unable to earn his income due to a critical illness, such an option allows part of the matured amount to be given as a lump sum. It also allows regular periodical payment to mirror former income. If the patient recovers, the money does not need to be paid back.
Among others is the Accidental Death Benefit, which provides a large coverage (up to 100% of the regular benefits) to beneficiaries, in the event the insured suffers a sudden and accidental death. This extra allows the insured or the dependents covered under the policy to avail of the benefit in the event the policy holder suffers from a terminal illness. This means that if the patient has less than a year to live, more than 50% of the coverage can be obtained during such illness leaving only the balance to the beneficiaries upon his death.
Such extras or options are in conjunction with the main policy and are called rider benefits. Some companies may have one or two such options included in their package to make it more benefit. But every individual’s needs are different, and policies and extras should be well thought of before the final decision is made. Read more on what you should know before taking out life insurance.