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Term InsuranceIntermediate5 min read
Term Insurance Riders Explained
Critical illness, accidental death, premium waiver — which riders are actually worth adding.
Riders are optional add-ons attached to a base term plan for a small extra premium. They customize the cover to your specific risks.
Common term riders
- Accidental Death Benefit (ADB): pays an additional sum assured if death is due to an accident — useful for high-commute or high-travel profiles.
- Critical Illness (CI) Rider: pays a lump sum on diagnosis of specified illnesses (cancer, heart attack, stroke, kidney failure), separate from the base death benefit.
- Permanent Disability Rider: pays a lump sum (or waives future premiums) if you become permanently disabled due to an accident.
- Waiver of Premium: waives all future premiums if you are diagnosed with a critical illness or disabled — keeps the policy alive without further payments.
How to think about riders
- Critical Illness rider is one of the highest-value add-ons — illness, not death, is the more common financial shock.
- Don't pile on every rider available. Two well-chosen riders are better than five marginal ones.
- Compare the cost of a rider against a standalone health/critical-illness plan — sometimes a separate policy is cheaper and broader.
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CoverCliq is an independent insurance awareness and policy intelligence platform. All content on this page is educational and informational only and should not be considered insurance, financial, legal, tax or investment advice. Consult an IRDAI-licensed professional before making insurance decisions.