You may often have wondered about how and why life insurance is important for securing your family’s future. And over time, you may have heard and read enough about how it provides financial support to your loved ones in your absence.

However, life insurance is a diverse product, and you can opt for additional benefits in your policy through a life insurance rider^#. Such riders^# are meant to ensure that even though your life insurance policy may be enough to protect your family, an emergency, such as accidental death, should not disrupt their financial stability when you’re no longer around to care for them.

And hence, adding an Accidental Death and Dismemberment (Long Scale) or ADDL rider to your policy can be a wise step.

What is an ADDL rider?

The accidental death rider benefit is an additional and optional benefit that you can add to your life insurance plan for an extra premium. In return, the rider^# will offer a benefit or sum assured in case of your accidental death. The reason the accidental death benefit rider^# is useful is that the lump sum benefit it provides is over and above the sum assured offered by your base policy.

In insurance terms, a death that has occurred strictly due to accidental causes can qualify as accidental death. This can include situations such as a car crash, drowning, a sudden slip or fall that leads to death, an accident that occurs while using machinery, choking, etc.

While it is true that your life insurance plan may cover different types of death and aid your family accordingly, an accidental death benefit ensures that the additional lump sum benefit it provides can help your loved ones and they do not have to compromise on their dreams and aspirations.

However, unlike your life insurance plan, which does not cover serious or grievous injuries, the life insurance accidental death benefit will pay out a percentage of its sum assured benefit in case you suffer a severe injury or disablement as a result of an accident.

How to Select an Accidental Death Benefit Rider^#?

But before you add the accidental death benefit cover to your policy, here is what you should consider:
 

• Your age:
  
  There is no saying when an accident may take place and the extent of damage it can cause. Given how young people are much more mobile, tend to travel and move around a lot and are exposed to a variety of elements, it is quite likely that as a young person, you could be prone to many accidental occurrences.
  
  Furthermore, like your life insurance policy, adding the accidental death benefit rider^# to your policy at the earlier stages of your life ensures that you can be prepared for any accidental mishaps right from the start.
  
  
• Your income:
  
  Though it is highly recommended that you get the accidental death benefit cover as soon as you get a life insurance policy, you also need to consider the additional premium payments. Dropping the cover from your policy due to the lack of finances can expose your family to financial hardships in case of an accidental event. You will also need to consider how your family, which is dependent on your current income, can sustain themselves with a life insurance cover that includes the accidental death rider^# benefit when you’re not there.
  
  
• Your risk:
  
  Your daily schedule or profession may include a certain amount of risk that may lead to accidental injuries or death if something goes wrong.  However, remember that if you are working a job that can be classified as a hazardous occupation, you may not be eligible for the accidental death rider^# benefit.
  
  Even if you pursue hobbies that pose a potential risk of accident, there is a chance that you may not be able to add this cover to your life insurance plan. Therefore, consider the amount of risk on your life while getting this rider^#.
  
  

Features of the Accidental Death and Dismemberment (Long Scale) Rider^#

With an accidental death benefit rider^# in your life insurance policy, you can avail of protective coverage against situations that cannot be covered by your life insurance policy. Moreover, a life insurance policy will offer the sum assured as a death benefit only in the case of the policyholder’s demise during the policy term.

Here are some of the salient features of the Accidental Death and Dismemberment (Long Scale) Rider^#:

• Receive a certain percentage of the rider^# sum assured, based on the extent of the injuries, burns or disablement.
• A lump-sum amount is paid out on the rider^# to protect your family in case of your accidental death.
• Under some policy-specific conditions, the accidental death or dismemberment benefits can be doubled for added coverage.
• The premiums paid on the rider^# are eligible for tax* deductions under Section 80C of the Income Tax Act, subject to the terms and conditions of the policy.
  
  

Conclusion

It wouldn’t be right to assume that there will be no need for an accidental death benefit rider^#. Most people are content with a simple life insurance policy and feel that it will take care of their family’s needs. While this is partly true, it is also important to consider how you can maximise the coverage and the benefits of your life insurance plan with the selection of a suitable accidental death benefit rider^#.

 L&C/Advt/2022/Nov/2975