Health Insurance Riders
There are two "riders" with insurance company jargon. One is an endorsement to the contract excluding the insurance company from covering a certain condition or illness, also called a waiver. The other is an add-on to the basic contract giving you additional "benefits". We are talking about the 2nd one here.
Riders are extremely profitable for the insurance company so you can expect riders to be pushed. Listed below are the most common ones. Use caution when deciding to get these riders. Having said that, though, remember that health insurance is also about your peace of mind. If you have the money and will feel better with these riders go ahead and buy them. We're not trying to dissuade you from purchasing these riders, we just want you to be aware of what you are actually getting. In certain cases these riders will be very beneficial to some people.
Maternity Coverage - because of the new healthcare bill this rider is no longer offered. There are a couple of HMO plans in Arizona that do have maternity included, other states may have other offerings. The premium for these plans have drastically increased. Visit my page on maternity coverage for more information.
Doctor Office Co-pays - this is a forced savings account. The insurance company is not going to pay more for your doctor visits than it receives from you in premium, period. Unfortunately, most insurance policies do not allow you to remove this "benefit". Be sure and ask us to do a cost analysis on this one.
Term Life - can be a good deal in certain circumstances. If you qualify for the health insurance you are almost certain to qualify for the term life. Please call us if you are looking for life insurance. There are life insurance policies available that are better than any rider and they generally cost the same or less.
Dental Insurance - can be a good or bad rider, depending upon circumstances. Some insurance companies include dental "discount" plans with the health insurance policy. Other companies have dental "discount" plans or dental "insurance" as an available optional coverage. The discount plans are usually a better option IF your dentist participates. With dental insurance you can go to any dentist but these plans will only cover around 50% plus you have waiting periods and deductibles. There are also "fee for service" type plans. You do have to go to a participating dentist but you know up front how much you will have to pay for any particular procedure.
Wellness Checkup - is this rider is no longer available unless you have a grandfathered policy and the rider is alreay in place. This is because the Health Care Reform Act requires preventive care on all policies sold after September 2010.
Critical Illness - riders pay a lump sum if you come down with a serious illness, such as cancer. Some policies have illness protection, which is very similar to the accident protection where your out-of-pocket expenses are more limited if you are hospitalized with a critical illness.
Accident Protection - works really well with a high deductible plan. You can usually save enough on your health insurance premium to pay for the critical illness and accident plans.
Prescription Drug Coverage - is included with most policies, but some policies do not cover you as well as others. Some policies will have a deductible separate from your main deductible before this benefit kicks in. Other policies have a discount card instead of a co-pay plan. Younger people generally do not use medication as often as older people and are more apt to accept the discount plans or the separate deductibles.
