Takaful protection holds great importance in our lives. However, we may find our basic Takaful coverage is insufficient in supporting our lifestyles. This lack can be filled with Takaful riders. What is a Takaful rider? A Takaful rider presents an additional protection of which a basic protection plan does not cover. It is also optional. There are sometimes Takaful plans that are packaged with riders, whereas there are times when we Takaful participants would rather choose the riders suited to our needs. Well, we can choose a rider that is more suitable to our life phase, be it the beginning of our careers, building a family, or preparing for retirement.

How then can we Takaful participants ensure we are sufficiently covered at every life stage? There are various needs for each life stage, but let’s dig deeper into the possible riders that would help provide better coverage.

Beginning of career

The start of one’s career is a time when many young adults in their 20s learn to be independent, in the way they work and play, and how they handle their finances. Though young and healthy, securing a Takaful protection is important! It also helps that contributions will be cheaper than if one were to subscribe later. As these first jobbers typically do not have dependents, a basic medical coverage and death coverage should suffice. A rider that would be good to add on would be a medical and hospitalisation rider, which is an affordable option.

• Medical and hospitalisation rider – Hospitalisation and surgical expenses incurred may be covered under this type of rider, in the event of illness or accidental injury. By attaching this rider, there would be less worry about paying off the hospital bills. This rider would suffice for a young adult looking to enhance his/her protection.

Building a family

When it comes to settling down and starting a family around the mid-20s to 30s, responsibilities begin to shift – in fact, they begin to grow! This obviously comes from having more people in your life, like your spouse and children. As you get older, you also are more wary of your health. Consider, then, to review and upgrade your Takaful coverage, whether it is by subscribing to another or by adding on a rider based on these categories.

• Savings for future goals
  Saver rider – A portion of paid contributions is allocated to the participant’s unit account for savings and investment purposes. This will be especially helpful to those who intend to save for their children’s education or to purchase property, like a new home.

• Health protection
  Critical illness rider – As health becomes a greater concern, this rider type may assist to cover in the event of critical illness diagnosis and critical illness claims.

• Continuity of coverage
  • Provider rider – This rider is also beneficial in which future contributions due under the certificate will be payable from the Tabarru’ Fund in the event of total and permanent disability (TPD) or critical illness of the Person Covered. This provides you peace of mind as your Takaful coverage will continue without future Contribution required from you.
  • Contributor rider – This rider helps pay off future contributions due of an existing Takaful plan through a Tabarru’ fund, in the event of death or TPD, or critical illness of the contributor. This way, should an unfortunate event happen to you, your family members’ Takaful coverage will continue without future Contribution required from you .

• Additional coverage upon accident
  Accidental rider – This rider may also help provide additional coverage in the event of death, or TPD, or permanent or temporary disability caused by an accident, especially in this family-building phase. This could safeguard your family from the burden of costs incurred from said events, and in supporting their lifestyle.

Preparing for retirement

At a later stage of your life, you would likely be seeking a worry-free retirement. To prepare for this in your 40s, your Takaful coverage would also likely consist of a retirement or legacy Takaful plan, to ensure you are debt-free, have enough inheritance to leave your family, and get to enjoy a comfortable retirement. The following riders make another appearance but for different purposes.

• Saver rider – In the previous life stage, it was to save for the children’s education or purchase property. However, this rider, on top of your Employees Provident Fund (EPF), can also be used to prepare for your retirement years to save towards passive income, holiday travels, and/or pilgrimage.
• Critical illness rider – A 2019 research has shown that critical illnesses are the leading cause of health complications and death among older adults. Hence, this rider would help to support the potential expenses and medical treatments.
  

Takaful rider tips

It is clear that riders provide Takaful participants additional benefits to a basic Takaful plan, and can be suited to any phase in life. Though it can be said that riders are an extra cost in addition to Takaful contributions, it is well worth it as it could accommodate our current needs. However, you can also do research to survey the promotions offered in the market to help ensure a more affordable Takaful contribution.

Would you be interested to add a rider to your existing basic Takaful plan? Browse the riders available to further equip your plan.

If you have not already subscribed, or would like to subscribe to a Takaful plan that can be attached with riders, visit our website here.

Source:

Chan, Y., Ganapathy, S.S., Tan, L. et al. The burden of premature mortality among older adults: a population-based study in Malaysia. BMC Public Health 22, 1181 (2022). https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-022-13608-9