|
Personal Accident Insurance
Andrew Regan
Personal accident plans usually
provide cover for a range of injuries arising from
accidents, including permanent disablement. This could
include, but is not limited to, quadriplegia,
paraplegia, total and permanent loss of use of one or
two limbs and complete and irreversible loss of sight
in one or both eyes. Some plans will also provide
cover for fractures, dislocations and even burns.
Furthermore, if you have to spend
time in hospital after an accident, some plans will
also provide cash benefits for hospitalisation as
well. If an accident resulted in one of the above
injuries, the cash payments could be used towards the
cost of replacing your lost income through to the cost
of a holiday to aid in your recuperation.
Most accident plans will also
include an accidental death benefit providing a
generous cash lump sum to your estate in the event of
death caused by an accident, while plans only offering
accidental death benefits are also available.
The amount paid can vary and often
plans will have different levels of cover. Some plans
even pay out differently depending on the
circumstances of the accident (i.e. accidental death
as a result of a road traffic accident). Cash payments
with this cover can help your family with the often
unexpected financial burdens brought about from such
things as a loss of income, funeral expenses and even
to cover the potential impact on your loved ones'
incomes during bereavement.
Innovation has played a part in the
personal accident market with insurers targeting
specific groups of people with different versions of
personal accident plans. For example, as slips and
trips are more common amongst individuals aged 60+,
one insurer has offered affordable cover for fractures
and dislocations as a result of accidents, with
multipliers if injury is caused as a result of a
personal assault. If you fit into this age group and
took out this cover, you could find the cash payment
particularly useful if your accident resulted in a hip
fracture that may severely restrict mobility. What's
more, with hip fractures generally having long waiting
lists in the NHS, the same insurer even offers a
choice of a cash payment or immediate private hospital
treatment for the injury - the choice is yours.
Children can also usually be
covered on personal accident plans but often they only
receive a portion of the adult benefit (i.e. 50% of
adult benefit). Some personal accident plans also
provide telephone helplines for you to call upon
should you need support during such a difficult time.
And, the standalone plans are relatively low-cost
starting from around £5 a month for a single policy.
There is no denying the fact that
anyone can be a victim of a personal accident and the
financial after effects could, in turn, be great. But
luckily, there are low-cost personal accident plans
available to provide you with real peace of mind -
whether you choose a comprehensive personal accident
plan or an accidental death cover plan.
Andrew Regan is an online,
freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby
player and enjoys travelling. |
Be MoneyWise
