Nearly 1,214 road accidents occur every day in India. An accident can occur at any time without any warning, and sometimes it can cause serious harm. Any such untoward incident can have a significant impact on your finances; not only can the treatment be expensive, but if you suffer from any form of disability, it can affect your earning potential.

An accident does not come knocking at the door. Misery never comes alone and often comes without any prior notice. No matter how unpleasant it may read but all happiness disappears in a fraction of seconds due to unfortunate incidents. One moment you are enjoying the good life and then out of nowhere, an accident takes place that can leave you with physical pain, emotional trauma, and financial burden. In worst cases, it can lead to permanent disability, life-threatening injury, or even death.

Personal accident insurance is useful to get financial assistance to you and your family in the event of an accident that leads to death, bodily injuries, temporary total disability, permanent total disability, and permanent partial disability. These reasons stress the importance of accident insurance plans and make them a must in today’s age when the number of accidents is increasing daily. Personal accident insurance can be broadly classified into two categories – Group Accident Insurance and Individual Accident Insurance.

Benefits of Individual PA Insurance Policy

An Individual Personal Accident Cover ensures financial stability for you and your loved ones in case of an accident. These policies are specially planned to provide financial aid to the family dealing with the consequences of a fatal accident. To protect yourself and your family from such a situation, it is paramount that you purchase a personal accident insurance policy since it provides the following benefits:

1. Unlike a health policy, with a personal accident policy, you are covered against any accidental death and your nominee gets 100 per cent of the chosen sum assured. In the case of Permanent Total Disablement also, you get 100 per cent of the sum insured payable. The policy provides coverage for Death, Permanent Total Disability, Permanent Partial Disability, and Temporary Total Disability.

2. Individual Personal Accident Policy provides cover for Accident Hospitalisation, transportation of mortal remains, Education Grant, and no claim bonus for timely renewal on every claim-free year.

3. There are no demands of medical tests and documentation in case of taking this policy that offers multiple benefits at low premiums. Needless to say, getting the claim on time is merely a matter of few phone calls.

4. Most insurance companies cover the ambulance expenses to carry the injured to the hospital from the accident spot.

5. An Individual Personal Accident Cover provides assistance all day, worldwide cover.

6. The entire family can be covered under one plan. Coverage is available for self, spouse, and dependent children.

7. Insurers also provide add-on covers like Medical expenses, Daily Allowance, Life Support benefits, Terrorism cover, Modification of residential accommodation/vehicle, Coverage for fractures and burns, Adventure sports cover, Unemployment cover, etc.

8. Usually, accident insurance plans are offered for one year. However, some companies allow multi-year plans from 1 to 5 years. Insurers also provide Long terms discounts and Group discounts on Personal Accident Policies.

9. Personal Accident is a Fixed Benefit Policy and can be purchased online or offline. The sum insured under accident insurance policies depends on your annual income. The coverage is expressed as a multiple of your annual income and the multiple depends on the insurance company.

Accidents have become very common and you need a financial cushion to deal with the financial implications of an accident. A lot of people ignore buying accident insurance, mainly because they don’t understand the importance of the cover. But you must think about the safety and security of your family and how can they sustain themselves financially if something untoward happens to you. If you get involved in an accident that leads to death or disability, it would have an impact on your income. If you have any liability like a home loan, it would be difficult for the family members to meet the expenses. Besides, you must also take care of the treatment cost. To avoid putting your family in such a financially distressed situation, you must invest in the best accident insurance.

The author is Managing Director, Shriram General Insurance

DISCLAIMER: Views expressed are the author’s own, and Outlook Money does not necessarily subscribe to them. Outlook Money shall not be responsible for any damage caused to any person/organisation directly or indirectly.