Personal accident insurance policies – all you need to know

30 May 2019

By definition, an accident is something which no one can ever see coming. It brings with it a lot of stress and duress – financial and emotional. Depending upon the severity of the accident, one could be partially or completely disabled. In fact, an accident can also lead to one’s death and put the financial future of dependant family members into jeopardy. As such, the wise thing to do is to invest in a personal accident insurance policy that can provide adequate financial coverage during such periods of uncertainties. Here’s all you need to know about what is personal accident insurance.

Personal accident insurance – what is it?

As the name suggest, a personal accident insurance policy is basically a type of accidental insurance policy that offers protection against various kinds of incidents classified as accidents. These include a road accident, falling off a flight of stairs, injuries sustained due to sports and so on. The policy holder becomes eligible to receive the sums assured if the accident affects his livelihood or source of income, partially or completely. It also covers his family members in case of his unfortunate death resulting from the accident.

What is covered under this policy?

Just knowing the definition of what is IPA insurance is not enough. You also need to read the terms and conditions of the policy to understand the coverage offered under it. Typically, the policy can be enchased in the following scenarios:

• Accident leading to partial, permanent disability – loss of speech, sight, hands or legs etc.
• Accident leading to total, permanent disability that prevents the policy holder from resuming his professional duties and bringing home a livelihood or salary.
• Accident leading to the death of the policy holder in which case the registered nominee becomes eligible to receive the sums assured.
• Cashless hospitalisation in case the accident requires one to receive hospital care for a longer duration.

What makes personal accident cover an inevitable investment?

Now that we know what is a personal accident insurance, we should also understand why it is recommended that you invest in this policy.

Accidental insurance is something that falls in a sort of grey or unclear area in that it is neither covered in health insurance, nor under life insurance policies. Even vehicle insurance policies offer accidental coverage only related to road accidents. If an accident occurs owing to any other reason, one cannot make a claim as per policy norms. Now, if an accident results in partial or complete disability, or worse, death it can jeopardise your financial future as well as that of your loved ones, especially if you are your family’s primary bread winner. While the policy holder’s nominee can encash a life insurance policy in the unfortunate event of the policy holder’s death, your life insurance policy cannot be enchased if the accident results in your partial or complete disability, which can also affect your source of income. However, a personal accident insurance policy can come in handy in all these situations and the policy holder and his dependants would be eligible for various compensations and sums assured that can protect their financial future.

Who should opt for a personal accident policy?

While speaking of what is IPA insurance policy we should also shed light on who the ideal candidate of this kind of policy is? If you are the only working member in your family, the sole breadwinner responsible for the family’s financial welfare, then you are the ideal candidate for this kind of policy. You could be the only child of your retired parents living on a meagre income or a family man with a home-maker spouse, a pregnant spouse, and/or school or college-going children. If you identify with any of these scenarios, it becomes your moral, ethical and financial responsibility to invest in a personal accident insurance policy.

Final words:

A personal accident insurance policy can safeguard the financial future of the dependant members of a family, especially if something terrible happens to the family’s breadwinner in an accident, rendering the policy holder and his dependants helpless. It preserves the financial well-being even in case of the unfortunate death of the policy holder in various kinds of accidents.