Should You Add Riders to Your Life Insurance Policy?

​Are you in the market for life insurance? That could be a wise decision for you and your family. Life insurance is an effective tool for protecting against one of life’s greatest risks—the death of a breadwinner or family provider.
If you’ve never purchased life insurance before, you may be overwhelmed by the wide range of options available. How do you know which type is right for you? And how do you know how much coverage is right for you?
Those are important questions, but they’re not the only choices you may face. Many insurance policies offer optional benefits called riders. These are additional features you can add to your policy. Some increase your premiums, but others don’t. The decision to choose a particular rider should be based on your unique needs and goals.
Below are a few of the most popular riders and why they might be right for you. A financial professional can help you analyze your needs and develop the appropriate strategy.

Waiver of Premium
 
This rider is so common that it’s now often included in the base coverage of many policies. It’s a feature that waives your premiums if you ever become disabled and unable to work.1 Essentially, it’s a protection against disability, so you don’t lose your life insurance along with your ability to generate income. Even if you think disability is a remote possibility, this rider is usually so affordable that it makes sense.

Guaranteed Insurability
 
Your eligibility for life insurance protection is based on your age and your health. If you suffer a major health issue, like a heart attack or cancer, you may have trouble getting life insurance in the future, even if you’ve recovered from the ailment.
Guaranteed *insurability is a rider you can add to your life insurance policy that minimizes that risk in the future. Assume you purchase a policy when you’re healthy and choose the guaranteed* insurability rider. Then you suffer a serious health crisis. Your rider allows you to purchase additional coverage in the future at your original health classification, without going through underwriting. It could be a very helpful form of protection.

Accelerated Death Benefit
 
Life insurance is meant to provide protection to your loved ones after you pass away. However, things don’t always go according to plan. It’s possible you and your family may need the death benefit before you die.
This rider provides that option in the event you suffer a terminal illness. The rules of each policy are different. If your diagnosis qualifies, however, you can take a portion of your death benefit while you are battling the illness. Your family can then use it to pay for care, medical bills or any other expenses.

Return of Premium
 
Term insurance is often popular because it’s an affordable coverage option. It provides protection for only a limited period of time, however, and your premiums don’t accumulate as cash value inside the policy. If you outlive your policy, you may feel as though you wasted your premium payments.
A return-of-premium rider allows you to get some of those premium dollars back at the end of the term. While this may seem attractive, be aware that these riders often increase the premium significantly. It may be more cost-effective to take the lower premium and simply save the difference.
Ready to plan your life insurance protection strategy? Let’s talk about it. Contact us today at Carstens Financial Group. We can help you analyze your needs and choose the policy that’s right for you. Let’s connect soon and start the conversation.
 
1http://disabilitycanhappen.org/disability-statistic/
 
*Guarantees, including optional benefits, are backed by the claims-paying ability of the issuer, and may contain limitations, including surrender charges, which may affect policy values.
 
Licensed Insurance Professional. This information is designed to provide a general overview with regard to the subject matter covered and is not state specific. The authors, publisher and host are not providing legal, accounting or specific advice for your situation. By providing your information, you give consent to be contacted about the possible sale of an insurance or annuity product. This information has been provided by a Licensed Insurance Professional and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting insurance professional. The statements and opinions expressed are those of the author and are subject to change at any time. All information is believed to be from reliable sources; however, presenting insurance professional makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy. This material has been prepared for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide, and should not be relied upon for, accounting, legal, tax or investment advice. This information has been provided by a Licensed Insurance Professional and is not sponsored or endorsed by the Social Security Administration or any government agency.
 
17965 – 2018/9/4

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