Term insurance plan provides financial security for your loved ones after you bid adieu to the world. Not many, however, are aware that by paying some extra premium, one can get additional benefits such as insurance coverage for spouse, or additional cover in case of critical illness. It is, thus, recommended to make the policy more comprehensive by incorporating some additional features over and above a vanilla term cover.
These additional features include adding a family member, covering critical illness and disability caused by an accident. Let us understand which are the different options that policyholders can avail of:
Spouse cover
Under the spouse cover, insurers – by charging some extra premium -- offer insurance to the insured person’s partner as well. For instance, Bajaj Allianz Joint Life Rider offers spouse cover with additional premium. Another insurer Edelweiss Tokio offers extra 50 percent cover for the spouse of insured.
Likewise, Canara HSBC OBC provides child support benefit (CSB) wherein some extra amount is disbursed along with the sum insured for the child support.
Critical illness
Some insurance companies also cover critical illness in the term insurance plan wherein the company gives a part of insurance cover upon detection of some diseases. For instance, HDFC Life gives an extra lump sum if the insured is detected with any of the 19 critical illnesses for some extra premium.
At the same time, Max Life Insurance covers 64 more critical illnesses. Likewise, Edelweiss Tokio gives an extra ₹10 lakh to the insured, and covers 36 illnesses for some extra premium.
Permanent disability caused by accident
Some insurance companies offer extra cover in case of accidents which are either fatal or cause permanent disability. For instance, ICICI Prudential waives off premium after insured suffers permanent disability following an accident.
In case of accidental death, some insurers pay extra payout such as ₹10 lakh for extra premium of ₹500 – 1,000. Similarly, PNB Met Life offers a waiver of future premiums on death or disability after an accident, or even during critical illness.
In summary, we can underscore that instead of taking a plain vanilla life insurance cover, one can contemplate taking the policy with some extra benefits for a marginally higher premium.