Personal Accident Health Insurance

Personal Accident Insurance is a type of health insurance that covers the insured in case of loss of life, permanent total disability, permanent partial disability, and death arising due to an accident of general nature related to work or travel.

An accident can have a severe impact on one’s life whether it is a minor accident or a major one. Not only it affects the overall well-being of an individual but also decreases their savings. It is thus recommended to buy a reliable health insurance policy that protects you against any such unforeseen event. A personal accident policy is designed to offer some financial relief to the injured person or dependent in case of a misfortunate event of an accident.

The policy provides compensation to the insured in case of a misfortunate event of death, bodily injuries, mutilation or impairment due to an accident. The insured will be compensated if the accident happened due to travelling by air, rail, drowning, bodily injuries, burn, or a collision.

Another benefit of a personal accident policy is that it offers cover to the policyholder for accidental disabilities arising due to an accident. The compensation is offered in case of impairment, dismemberment, or death due to an accident. In case an accident leads to impairment, then the insured will also get compensation for the loss of income.

It might be tough to overcome such difficult times but a reliable personal accident plan may make it easier for you. The plan ensures you the utmost peace of mind even in difficult times by offering you insurance cover for hospital bills, ambulance expenses incurred due to transportation of the patient to the nearest hospital, medical bills, etc.

Advantages of Personal Accident Health Insurance

You can enjoy the following coverage benefits under a personal accident health insurance policy:

• Accidental Death Cover: An accident can have adverse effects emotionally as well as financially on the dependent family members. In such a case, a personal accident insurance cover provides the nominee the entire sum insured as specified in the policy document.
• Permanent/Total Disability Cover: If an accident leads to lifelong total impairment or permanent disability like loss of limbs, then the insured will be provided a specific sum insured.
• Permanent Partial Disability Cover: In the case of bodily injuries that lead to permanent partial disabilities, the insured is provided a certain percentage of the benefit.
• Temporary Total Disability: If the insured individual is bedridden due to temporary total disabilities, then he/she will be provided a weekly allowance to compensate for the loss of income for that period. This amount can also be used to pay off the EMIs if any.
• Hospital Daily Cash: In addition to the primary coverage benefits, a personal accident cover also offers you daily cash benefit in case of hospitalisation due to an accident. The benefit can be availed for a specific number of days as specified in the terms and conditions under the policy.
• Expenses Related to Ambulance Services: Personal accident insurance policy covers ambulance expenses incurred to carry the insured to the hospital in case of an accident.
• Repatriation or Transportation of Mortal Remains: If the insured dies due to an accident, then the nominee is provided the expenses incurred arising due to repatriation and transportation of the mortal remains from the place of accident to the hospital, cremation ground, or home. Also, the nominee will be compensated for the expenses related to religious ceremonies.
• Broken Bones: A personal accident policy pays a fixed compensation to the insured in case he/she gets injured with fractured bones or any bone damage due to an accident.
• Burns: The insured gets insurance cover in case of accidental burns.
• Family Transportation Allowance: This benefit provides cover to the immediate family members of the insured for the expenses incurred on transportation to reach the insured. The cover proves to be beneficial in case the hospital is far away from the insured’s residence.
• Education Advantage: The education advantage benefit provides cover for the education expenses of the dependent child in case of the unexpected demise of the policyholder due to a misfortune event of an accident.
• Loan Protector: If the accident results in unexpected death or lifelong disabilities of the insured, then this benefit offers a lump sum amount as mentioned in the policy schedule.
• Adaptation Allowance: Adaptation allowance, also known as home alteration and vehicle modification benefit is offered by a few insurance companies. Under this benefit, the insurance company offers money to modify one’s house and/or vehicle in case of permanent total disabilities or disbursement arising due to an accident.

How Many Members Can Be Covered Under Personal Accident Insurance?

Personal Accident Insurance can be purchased on an individual or group level. Individual personal accident policy is purchased by someone who wants to cover themself or dependents against financial instability during an emergency.

Whereas a group personal accident cover can be purchased for a group of people who have something in common, like workplace or location.

For instance, a group of workers working in a coal mine can be covered under Group Personal Accident Insurance.

How To Buy The Best Personal Accident Health Insurance?

There are numerous personal accident insurance plans in the market which cater to the varied requirements of policy buyers, in order to make an informed decision, you must consider a few factors before choosing one for yourself or your loved ones. Read them below:

1. Type of Health Plan

Choose an individual or family/group personal accident plan as per your requirement.

2. Premium Amount

Select a policy in which the premium is reasonable. Even if you choose an insurance policy with a higher premium, make sure that the policy offers you enough benefits.

3. Quality of Service

It is important to check the quality of services offered by the health insurance company, for instance, if its customer support service is available 24*7 or not, ease of claim initiation process, etc.

4. The network of Cashless Hospitals

It is also wise to check how wide and strong is the insurer’s network hospitals offering cashless claim settlement facilities. Higher the number of network hospitals, the better it is. Also, it will be better if the hospitals are near your residence.

5. Policy Coverage

Choose a personal accident insurance policy that offers the required coverage including all the daily activities that may result in accidents at the workplace or at home. Make sure to choose a personal accident policy with extensive coverage features as it keeps you more protected.

6. Exclusions

In order to make an informed decision, make sure you go through not only the inclusions under the policy but exclusions too. Pay close attention to the exclusions and if they are likely to occur in your life due to any reason, then prefer not purchasing that particular personal accident insurance cover.

7. Claim Settlement

To be able to use your personal accident insurance policy with ease, you must make sure to go for an insurer with a good claim settlement ratio and a smooth, quick, and hassle-free claim settlement process. Also, be informed of the involvement of the Third Party Administrator (TPA), if any.

Personal Accident Insurance Premium Calculator

Calculation of personal accident health insurance premium before purchasing personal accident cover, whether personal or group, is very important. If you want to calculate the premium of a personal accident insurance policy that you have been considering, remember it would require you to keep a few aspects in mind to make the best possible choice.

Here is a list of key elements you should consider when calculating a personal accident insurance policy:

• The annual income of the person to be insured
• Total number of people to be insured
• Sum insured amount

Remember, when buying a personal accident insurance policy, you will have to require the name, date of birth, occupation, and other details of people to be insured as well. Moreover, keep in mind that it is compulsory for every insured individual to have a nominee. Lastly, the mobile number and email ID of the primary applicant is also expected.

Personal Accident Insurance Policy Comparison

If you have a few personal accident insurance policy options at hand, but do not know which one to go with, perform a comparison. Comparing personal accident insurance policies will help you narrow your options, eventually leading you to the ideal policy. However, also keep in mind that you will have to consider a few significant aspects to make the best possible comparison of personal accident insurance policies.

Here is a list of prime elements to consider when performing a comparison of personal accident insurance policies:

• Plan basis (individual or family floater)
• Policy term
• Age limit
• Sum insured (maximum amount)
• Health insurance company (on basis of CSR)
• Accidental death benefits
• Disability coverage
• Medical expenses and ambulance charges
• Worldwide coverage
• Family discount
• Exclusions
• Policy premium

Top 5 Personal Accident Health Insurance Plans

Out of several affordable and dependable personal accident health insurance plans in the market, tabulated below are the best ones as per the Claim Settlement Ratio (CSR) for the year 2019-2020:

(CSR According To IBAI’s General Insurance Claim Insights Handbook For Policyholders - 5th Edition)