What is a contract rider?

A contract rider is an attachment to a contract. It can be a schedule, an amendment or any other writing that may modify the original contract. Riders allow contract drafters to avoid rewriting an entire contract.

Riders are common in the insurance industry to modify coverage terms and conditions. Riders can also state that certain portions of the contract are not effective.

Riders can be added to standard contracts to modify the purpose or subject of the contract. This enables parties to save time and money by not having to write similar contract language repeatedly. Riders are also used in lawmaking to avoid rewriting an entire bill.