Life Insurance Riders: Everything You Need to Know

A waiver of premium rider on a life insurance policy waives premiums if you become permanently disabled or lose income due to an accident or illness before reaching a certain age. You’d stay covered without paying your monthly premiums until you return to work. This is an excellent rider if your policy has a high premium.

An accidental death rider increases the life insurance payout if you die in an accident, often doubling the policy’s face value. This rider can be a smart choice if you are your family’s sole breadwinner.

A family income rider ensures a steady income for your dependents after your death, reducing financial strain. Check the coverage length carefully before adding this rider.

A long-term care rider on life insurance provides monthly payments if you need to stay in a nursing home or receive home care. You can purchase long-term care policies separately or add them as a rider to life insurance, helping reduce financial strain for your family if you become ill or disabled.

With a return of premium rider, you pay a small premium and get your money back at the end of your policy’s term if you're still alive. After you die, your beneficiaries will receive this benefit.

The guaranteed insurability rider allows you to increase your policy amount in the future without requiring another medical exam. This can help ensure that future health issues won't prevent you from purchasing additional coverage. This may be particularly useful for people with disabilities seeking life insurance.

A life insurance child rider is an add-on that provides coverage if your child dies before a certain age. Term life insurance can be converted to a permanent policy when your child reaches adulthood, and no medical exams are required. The converted coverage can be up to five times the original term insurance amount.

This rider adjusts your death benefit and premiums based on inflation rates, ensuring your coverage keeps pace with rising living costs. Having a COLA rider in life insurance is a proactive way to maintain the policy's value over time. This may also be called an inflation rider in life insurance.

With a critical illness rider, you receive a lump-sum payment if you're diagnosed with a severe illness like cancer, heart attack or stroke. This can help cover medical expenses and lost income during treatment.

The disability income rider in life insurance pays a monthly benefit if you become disabled and can't work. The amount is usually a set percentage of your policy’s face value, helping ensure financial stability during difficult times.

The spouse insurance rider lets you add coverage for your spouse to your life insurance policy. It’s a cost-effective way to ensure both partners have coverage without needing separate policies.

This rider prevents your policy from lapsing due to non-payment of premiums for a specified period. It's useful if you're concerned about missing payments due to financial instability.

If you have a cash value life insurance policy, an overloan protection rider prevents it from lapsing if the loan amount exceeds the cash value.

A term conversion rider allows the policyholder to convert their term life insurance policy into a permanent one without additional medical screening. This provides flexibility to adapt coverage as your life circumstances change.

This rider extends the period when you can convert a term policy into a permanent one, giving you greater flexibility to make adjustments as your insurance needs change.

A term rider in life insurance adds temporary coverage to your existing policy, often used for short-term debts or specific financial needs. A term life rider offers the insured provides coverage for a set period and integrates smoothly with your primary policy.

This rider provides a fixed payout, regardless of the actual expenses incurred. It’s often used with medical-related benefits to provide additional financial support.

The payor rider is helpful for policies on a child's life. It waives premiums if the person responsible for paying them dies or becomes disabled. Adding a payor rider to life insurance ensures the policy stays active without financial strain.

This rider extends coverage to additional family members, such as parents or siblings, under the main policyholder's plan, providing consolidated insurance for the whole family.

Policy riders in life insurance allow you to customize your plan and enhance coverage by incorporating benefits initially beyond your policy's scope.

Buying a rider is often more affordable than buying individual insurance products to provide each benefit.