A Personal Accident Insurance plan safeguards you and your family’s finances in the event of an accidental death or disablement, leading to loss of income. Your savings might face a blow in the event of such tragedies when you have to incur hospital expenses and medical bills, so it helps a lot to stay prepared.

Minor injury inducing accidents such as falling off a bicycle or slipping on a wet floor are valid enough reasons to claim financial support from your insurance company. You can buy a personal accident policy for any of your family members (spouse, children or parents) if they fall under the age range of 18-80 years.

• The Ideal Personal Accident Insurance Candidate

A report by NCRB (National Crime Reports Bureau) illustrates that there’s been a staggering jump in accidental death statistics—from 13.6% in 2002 to 51.8% in 2012. Considering the significant population growth of India, it’s not difficult to imagine that a person dies in an accident every minute.

Kapil, an engineer at a major IT firm in Delhi recollects how his wife pushed him to insure his entire family against accidents. He says,

“I’d signed-up for all insurance plans except the Personal Accident Insurance, thinking that any medical bills would be covered by my health and life insurance policies. I was wrong.”

On his way to work, he remembers colliding head-on with a speeding car that left him hospitalized for weeks.

His wife’s idea of getting a Personal Accident Insurance helped in paying the medical bills, and also provided a steady source of income for the entire duration that he was hospitalized.

You can take a few things away from Kapil’s personal experience:

• The Personal Accident Insurance gave leverage in ways other policies couldn’t
• The financial burden on Kapil’s family was considerably reduced
• Money was always at hand while Kapil missed work
• If Kapil had faced disablement, his family would not face a financial crisis

Remember, even a bump on the head is enough to potentially cause death or disablement. It’s always better to be prepared—financially and emotionally— to deal with the situation no matter what the scenario is.

• Personal Accident Insurance Coverage

The financial benefit covered under the Personal Accident Insurance policy can be availed by the beneficiary in case of any disability that prevents them from being able to work. In situations where the beneficiary passes away, the nominee receives the assured amount as benefit. Rediff suggests some concrete reasons to get a personal accident policy

Here are the conditions for welfare entitlement provided under the accidental insurance scheme:

• In the event of an accident causing death, the Personal Accident Insurance provides 100% returns of the sum insured to the beneficiary or the nominee
• Accidents such as loss of eyesight or loss of limbs that cause permanent disability to the policy-holder. In such cases, the entire sum insured is provided to the beneficiary
• Accidents that include loss of eyesight in one eye or loss of one limb. Usually, a percentage of the entire insured amount is provided as financial support
• Accidents that are temporary in nature, restricting the policy-holder from working and earning money, fall under this category. The total sum insured isn’t provided in such circumstances, but only a fraction of it is provided as one-time payment or as weekly/monthly instalments
• Expenses paid as a result of hospitalization due to an accident
• A fixed amount of money is paid as daily allowance to the insured individual to cover expenses of the medical aid provided at the hospital

As the beneficiary, you must always explore the technicality behind the term ‘disability’ before you sign the papers. Total permanent disability means losing eyesight in both eyes or losing both your arms and legs. Permanent partial disability, on the other hand, refers to losing a limb or an eye. Sit down with the insurance experts and ask them to explain everything detail before you decide to buy a policy.

• Personal Accident Insurance Disqualification

Although the Personal Accident Insurance protects against deaths or disabilities caused due to accidents, not all deaths and disabilities make the cut for the insurance eligibility.

Following are the types of mishaps causing death/disability that disqualify your insurance candidacy:

• A self-inflicted act such as an attempt to take your own life resulting in death or total/temporary disability
• An injury/illness existing before the signing of policy papers
• A disability or death as a result of consumption of liquor or use of drugs
• Death or disability as a result of engaging into aerial adventure sport such as hot air ballooning or aviation other than as a passenger
• A disease affecting the mental cognitive functionalities of an individual thereby causing death or disability or venereal diseases resulting in same
• Any act articulated as a criminal offence against the law
• A war, rebellion, insurrection, revolution, civil war, invasion, mutiny, arrests, restraints causing death/disability.
• Use of radioactive material for diagnosis or treatment of diseases
• Death/disability as a consequence of childbirth or pregnancy

You and your loved ones are surrounded by a dangerous environment, and the only thing you can do is be financially prepared, so that there’s always a continuous flow of money to pay for any situation that poses a threat to your or a loved one’s life. ICICI Lombard Personal Protect Plan provides customized coverage of INR 3 lakhs to INR 25 lakhs as insured amount, to help you and your family financially when you need it the most.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 20th, 2015 at 5:18 am and is filed under Insurance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.