For an additional fee, physicians may add a waiver of premium rider to their policy which allows the policyholder to forgo insurance premium payments in the event that he or she becomes critically ill, seriously injured, or disabled. This type of rider is sometimes known as a disability waiver rider. With this rider, a policyholder who suffers a qualifying disability can keep their policy in effect even if an illness or injury prevents them from earning income and paying their regular monthly insurance premiums. If and when the policyholder recovers from their disability, the policy insurance premiums will be reinstated.
Waiver of premium riders typically include a waiting period of at least 6 months which must elapse after the onset of a disability before the policy’s insurance premium will be waived. There are also strict conditions to qualify for a waiver of premium rider, as a policyholder must meet certain health and age requirements. Serious pre-existing conditions will be permanently excluded from the coverage of the rider, and most riders include very specific definitions for “disability.” While some waivers may go into effect if the policyholder is too sick or injured to work in their profession of training and expertise, other versions of this rider may only waive insurance premiums if the policyholder is too disabled to work at all in any profession.
It is important to note that a waiver of premium rider does not offer income replacement in the event of a disability, it simply eliminates the cost of insurance premiums while keeping the policy in effect.
