What is an Endorsement?
An endorsement is another name for a life insurance rider, a policy add-on that adjusts or introduces a feature of the policy. Some endorsements get automatically included, while others are optional and come with an additional cost that gets rolled into the policy’s premium.
Common life insurance endorsements
To better understand endorsements, it’s easiest to look at a few of the most commonly offered ones:
Long-term care endorsements. With this policy add-on, the insured is eligible to use a portion of their death benefit to cover the cost of long-term care when it’s deemed medically necessary.
Child endorsements. These riders cover the insured’s children, extending a specific death benefit to them up to a certain age, for an additional fee.Return of premium endorsements. These term life insurance endorsements stipulate that if the insured doesn’t pass away within the policy term, the policy owner is entitled to a refund of the premiums they paid toward coverage. Choosing to add this rider will dramatically increase the cost of the policy.
In short, an endorsement is an additional document added to your life insurance policy that changes it in a measurable way. The endorsement outlines all of the relevant specifics of that change, from the additional coverage added to the cost, if applicable.