Top 4 Health Insurance Riders In India

Health insurance plans provide a host of coverage features. You would find coverage for expenses incurred before being hospitalised, during hospitalisation, and after being discharged from the hospital. Other than this basic coverage benefit, there are other coverage features, like daycare treatments, domiciliary treatments, organ donor treatment, ambulance costs, etc.

All these and more coverage benefits come inbuilt within the plan. Moreover, there are add-ons in health insurance plans too, which can be chosen by paying an additional premium. Do you know about these riders in health insurance?

Understanding add-ons in Health Insurance:

Add-ons or riders in health insurance plans are optional coverage features. They are not inbuilt in the plan’s scope of coverage. They are offered as options. If you want, you can pay an additional premium and choose the riders you would like to add to your coverage. The chosen add-on gets added to your plan, and you can enjoy a wider scope of coverage.

Benefits of Riders in Health Insurance:

Add-ons are allowed under health insurance plans to choose to select the coverage you want. Here are the benefits which riders provide –

1. They help you customise your health insurance plan as per your coverage needs
2. Since they are optional, you can control the coverage available and the premium payable
3. Though an additional premium is required, the amount is very low. The coverage, on the other hand, is quite optimal. Thus, riders allow you to enhance your health plan’s coverage without burning a hole in your pockets.

Popular add-ons are available under Health Insurance Plans:

Here are some of the most common and popular riders which you can find in most health insurance plans:

1) Critical Illness Rider:

This is, by far, the most popular and the most useful Health Insurance rider available in a health insurance plan The rider, when chosen, combines the benefits of a critical illness plan and a basic health plan. Under this rider, a specified list of critical illnesses is covered. If you are diagnosed with any of the illnesses during the policy tenure, you get the sum insured in a lump sum.

Why is the Rider useful? – The Rider gives you a fixed lump sum benefit which you can use any way you like. You can either avail specialised treatments for your critical illness or use the benefit for other financial obligations. The Rider, thus, acts as a supplement to your health insurance plan.

2) Hospital Cash Rider:

Under this Health Insurance rider, a fixed amount is paid daily if you are hospitalised for more than 24 hours. The daily amount is paid for each day of hospitalisation irrespective of the health insurance plan’s benefits already being paid. The amount even doubles up if you are admitted to the ICU.

Why is the Rider useful? – Like a critical illness rider, this rider also pays a fixed amount which does not depend on the actual costs incurred. The amount can also be used for any purpose. Thus, a hospital cash rider also acts as a supplement to your health insurance plan and gives you a daily amount for meeting any additional expenses incurred during your hospital stay.

3) Maternity and New Born add-on:

Maternity cover comes inbuilt in many health plans. In other plans, the cover is allowed as an add-on. Similarly, in many health plans where maternity is covered, the newborn baby cover is also available as an inbuilt benefit. However, in other plans with maternity coverage, the newborn baby cover is allowed as an add-on. While maternity add-on covers child-birth expenses, the newborn baby cover provides coverage to the newborn baby against any medical contingencies.

Why is the rider useful?- Maternity and newborn baby coverage are beneficial as this rider covers the high expenses incurred in maternity. Thus, it takes the burden of maternity expenses off your shoulders and is useful.

4) Personal Accident Rider:

This Health Insurance rider covers accidental deaths and accidental, permanent disabilities. A lump sum benefit is paid if the insured dies or suffers permanent disablements in an accident.

Why is the Rider useful? – Though health insurance plans cover accidental injuries and their treatments, there is no coverage for accidental deaths and disablements. This Rider, therefore, pays a benefit in these contingencies and provides financial security to the family.

These riders were the most common ones available in health plans. The next time you buy or renew your policy, keep an eye out for these riders. They would enhance your coverage at very less premiums and prove useful.

Must Read: How to compare and buy the best Health Insurance plan in India?