3 Basic Types of Accident Insurance

Aside from getting all the help you can in identifying and securing your best possible primary health insurance policy, it often makes sense to also investigate the benefits of acquiring one or more secondary health insurance policies as well.

​One of the most popular and most useful of all supplementary health insurance types is accident insurance. But accident insurance itself comes in several varieties, including these three:

1. Death & Dismemberment
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance is one of the key types of accident insurance. It consists of an arrangement whereby premiums are paid to provide a benefit in the event of the death or dismemberment of the the insured due to any covered accident type.

These policies are relatively inexpensive, and the benefits they provide apply on top of any life insurance benefit your loved ones may receive in the event of your passing. This doubling up of death benefits is known as "double indemnity" in insurance talk.

However, realize that deaths caused by suicide, war, illness, or old age are not covered, and insurers may have other exclusions as well. There is also a ceiling on the total benefit you can receive for dismemberment injuries - and you receive more compensation for more "catastrophic dismemberment" than for "basic dismemberment".

2. General Accident Insurance
Not all accident insurance policies are limited to events involving the dismemberment or death of the policy holder. There are policies that give you a lump sum of cash, or sometimes a set number of payments or payments for a set number of years, in the event of a covered accident.

You can also add riders to such policies, like for ambulance service and hospital stays due to a covered accident. This type of insurance can cover everything from a sprained ankle to permanent paralysis - it just depends on your policy's stipulations and on what the cause of the injury was.

You'll want to have an experienced insurance agent help you understand exactly how much of a benefit you would get for the various types of accidents and injuries. Be sure you understand the exclusions and the process for filing a claim and receiving payments before you sign up!

3. Disability Insurance
Another common type of insurance that is basically a form of accident insurance is disability insurance, which is often provided in the workplace by employers. But if you're self-employed, you may wish to purchase a policy on your own.

The standard here is that if an accidental on-the-job injury prevents you from continuing to work, then it is normally covered. You would receive benefit payments month by month or week by week, depending on your policy, for a set period of time or for as long as the disability continues.

Many policies replace a set percentage of your lost income, such as 60%. Thus, you would still need regular health insurance and, perhaps, other insurance types or new sources of income to manage with a long term or permanent disability. But, if it's a relatively short lived issue, then disability insurance could get you through it without your having to eat up you savings or take out a loan to tide you over.

There are other types of accident insurance as well, but these three are among the most common. To learn more about other supplementary health insurance, contact Summerlin Benefits Consulting today!