Living benefit riders (LBRs) enable an insured to receive benefits from a policy while living. These are also referred to as accelerated benefit riders (ABRs) and asset-based riders or benefits.

In some life insurance and annuity policies, LBRs are free options; in others, they are paid riders, typically as some percentage of the account balance.

Examples of conditions covered by LBR benefits include: terminal illness; chronic illness; critical illness; critical injury.

The ability to receive an LBR is typically triggered upon some qualifying event or set of conditions; for example, a physician’s certification of terminal illness.

LBRs provide flexibility to a policy owner or insured to adapt policy benefits to changing or unexpected conditions.

Formally, LBRs are not long term care insurance, and they may not be marketed or sold as such. LBRs can serve, however, as a partial replacement for or supplement to long term care insurance.