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Does Your Health Plan Provide Enough Coverage? Top it Up with Riders

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Published on October 12, 2021. EST READ TIME: 3 minutes

Let’s assume that your health insurance takes care of most of your needs and seamlessly fits your budget. However, maybe you still wish you could add one more benefit to the policy by paying an additional amount? Well, say hello to health insurance riders or the concept of top up health insurance. You can add riders to your basic policy, and they will offer benefits in terms of coverage or policy period or even compensation in certain cases. These riders can help you get the policy designed as per your needs. Let’s explore more about them and how they can help you get wider coverage.

What are health insurance riders?

A basic health insurance will take care of your medical expenses incurred during hospitalisation, such as doctor consultations, medicines, diagnostic tests, room rent etc. But what if you are suddenly diagnosed with a critical illness or meet with an accident leading to a total or partial disability? Will your basic plan offer financial protection? No. That’s when the riders come to your rescue. Health insurance riders are add-ons providing additional benefits to your existing policy but at an additional cost. Simply put, if you want to customise your basic health insurance plan and make it robust and comprehensive, add riders to it. These riders may or may not be available with all policies, so, it’s good to check with your provider.

Types of health insurance riders

• Critical Illness Rider :

If unfortunately, you are diagnosed with a critical illness like stroke, cancer, or kidney failure, you will be paid a lump sum amount irrespective of the expenses incurred during treatment.

• Hospital Cash :

To meet the expenses during hospitalisation, this benefit offers a fixed daily cash allowance to the insured. The insurer will pay the allowance for a specific number of days as mentioned in the policy. It can also be used for miscellaneous expenses.

• Maternity :

Under this cover, all costs relating to childbirth will be paid by the insurer but only after the waiting period is over. The waiting period depends on the insurance company and the plan that you have opted for. Some insurance companies provide coverage to the new-born till the end of the policy year.

• Accidental death :

If the insured meets with accidental death, the sum insured will be paid to the kin of the insured. This is in addition to the basic sum insured.

• Top up :

Top up health insurance plan is taken over and above your base health insurance plan. The top up will kick in only after you have exhausted the sum insured of the base policy. For instance, if your sum insured is INR 3 lakhs, your insurer will reimburse upto that amount. If the hospital bills cross the limit, the top up plan will cover the extra costs.

Need for health insurance rider

Here are a few reasons why you might need riders:

• Paying off debt :

Insurance companies pay a lump sum to the insured which can be used to pay off debts after meeting the medical expenses. For instance, in critical illness cover, a lump sum amount is paid to the policyholder irrespective of the cost of treatment. Any amount left after meeting hospital expenses can be utilized to clear debts, mortgages, etc. Similarly, under accident disability rider, the lump sum can also be used as a source of income.

• Funeral expenses :

On the death of the insured, the amount received from the insurance provider can be used to cover the funeral expenses. Generally, insurance companies pay INR 10,000 or 1% of the sum insured but it’s advisable to check with your provider.

• Paying for your child's education :

The amount received is not necessarily for treatment or medical expenses. You can use the same for your child’s education – school, college and further studies.

Conclusion

Though health insurance riders come at an additional cost, they are worth buying. However, buying all the riders might increase the premium amount substantially and might not be necessary. For instance, if you are planning to start a family, going for the maternity rider makes sense. Similarly, if you are a travel junkie, the personal accident cover can be of help. So, you need to pick top up health insurance plans that best suit your needs.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purpose only. For more details, please refer to policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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