Double Indemnity

A double indemnity provision is a life insurance policy rider available for an additional premium under which the beneficiaries are paid double the face amount of the policy if the insured dies as a result of an accident, rather than from illness or natural causes. The cost of this rider may range from 75 cents to $1.00 in added annual premium costs for each $1,000 in coverage.

Because of the tenuous relationship between how one dies and what one's beneficiaries' needs are, it is usually advisable to forgo purchasing double indemnity coverage. If you need more insurance, it's normally a better idea to use what you would have paid for the double indemnity rider to buy more coverage, rather than to "bet" that you will oblige your beneficiaries by dying in an accident, rather than by illness.