A rider is a term meant to denote an add-on provision to a basic life insurance policy that provides additional benefits to the policyholder at an additional cost. A rider can be added only at the time of taking the policy. This is one way to customise your life insurance policy to suit your specific needs and maximise your benefits.

There are a host of riders that are provided by life insurance companies. Some of the most popular riders are accidental death and permanent disability rider. In these, if an accident results in death or permanent disability of the person insured, then, coupled with the promised benefit, an additional sum is also paid to the insured.

The advantage of opting for a rider is that you gain from the convenience of managing just one policy in addition to paying the same premium amount as in the case of a standalone policy.

However, note that the benefits of a rider policy will accrue only till the base policy is in force.

The writer is an intern with BusinessLine

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