Health Insurance Riders

Before you make a decision to buy a health insurance policy, it is important to gain an insight into the terms associated with the same. An understanding of health insurance terms and benefits offered will help you make the right decision.

An optional benefit extends the coverage of the insurance policy. It adds coverage and provides an added benefit to your policy. You can purchase the optional cover as an add-on to your current health insurance policy during renewals as per terms of your policy and it will give you an extra coverage. You will be required to pay an additional premium for the optional benefits in health insurance policy.

There are different types of optional covers available under health insurance plans in the market. Every type of optional benefit offers an extended benefit to the insured.

Many health insurance plans have a cap on the room rent / category and in case of a hospitalization in a room category higher than the eligibility the insured has to bear the additional associated expenses. This specific cover will allow you to choose the room of your choice without any additional charges in case of hospitalization.

This optional cover will provide coverage for different types of disabilities that may include a permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, temporary total disablement and accidental death.

As the name suggests, this cover will provide a fixed amount in case of a critical illness like cancer or a heart attack. This cover will provide a lump sum to the insured irrespective of the total amount of expenses incurred upon diagnosis of a covered condition or undergoing a surgery which are part of the coverage.

This is a cover specific for childbirth. It will provide coverage for expenses incurred during the birth of a child. This cover can only be used after the waiting period, if any is over. Certain insurance companies offer coverage to the newborn child until the end of the policy year if they have covered the maternity expenses.

This benefit offers a fixed daily cash allowance to the insured, which can be used for taking care of the out of pocket expenses in case of hospitalization. The company will pay the daily cash amount to the insured for a specific number of days upon hospitalization for a minimum number of days as mentioned in the policy terms.

An optional benefit in a health insurance plan comes at an additional cost and it is important to understand whether you really need one or not. The premium amount will increase in case of the purchase of an optional benefit. Hence, buying all the types of optional benefit may not be necessary. You need to carefully choose the one that best suits your requirement. For example If you are planning to start a family, you may purchase a maternity cover or if you travel a lot, it is advisable to buy a personal accident cover.

An understanding of health insurance terminologieswill allow you to make the right buying decision for a secure future.