Riders let you take additional cover against a specific risk at a low price

                                      

A basic health insurance policy is a must-have today . A cover of `3-5 lakh for individuals or a `5-8 lakh family floater plan is considered sufficient.

But what about incidental expenses?

Will a health insurance policy be enough to cover a critical illness or a serious accident? Worse, what if the event impairs your ability to earn?
To tide over such medical emergencies, there is another category of insurance plans that you need to consider. These are known as riders, but they are not replacements for basic insurance policies like a pure term plan or a comprehensive health insurance.

Many of these riders are available as standalone policies, but they are more expensive. For example, the premium for a standalone personal accident policy ranges between `200 and `250 per lakh of sum assured. For a person al accident policy with a sum assured of `3 lakh, you will end up paying `600­ 750. A personal accident rider (sum assured `3 lakh) will cost you `563 an nually. According to insurers, riders help you take additional insurance against specific health or life risks at a low cost. Charges for the riders are paid (the regulator has capped the premium at 30% of the base policy) over the base premium.