How to Choose the Right Personal Accident Policy?

Personal accident insurance as compared to other insurance policies varies in its terms. In comparison to a basic life insurance, a personal accident insurance would not compensate for illness or death due to natural causes. Most personal accident policies would not cover people who could be argued to be ignorant and those who willfully expose themselves to danger. However, the amount of coverage would be higher than other general policies as its area of coverage is stricter.

Things to consider before picking a personal accident policy

Taking up the right personal accident plan is important if you have specific needs. This would entail you to examine several factors and compare different plans. Here’s a list of things you should note while making your choices:

• Coverage. How adequate is the policy for you and your family? You need to understand the scope of the coverage and what types of coverage the plan includes. For example, you may wish for a policy that gives you hospitalisation benefits and covers medical expenses. In addition, consider the compensation for temporary or permanent disability due to accidents. Some policies may cover your present medical expenses and some have the added advantage of even covering the cost of your post-accident medical bills.
• Exclusions. Exclusion clauses on personal accident covers are far too important to be carelessly read. Failure to understand these policies brings up unwanted disputes and rejected claims. Different insurance companies have different sets of exclusions. Generally, the policy exclusions list down several circumstances that your policy does not cover. For example, most personal accident insurance excludes coverage for diseases, self-inflicted injuries, dangerous sports and other illegal activities. If you understand the restrictions of each plan, it would be easier to make your decision.
• Benefits. In order to find the right personal accident plan, you need to know the amount of compensation the insurance company would pay you. Note that each type of injury may have different compensation amount attached to it. Benefit plans vary by insurance companies. Some companies offer 100% of the sum insured on certain injuries, while some may only offer 50%. Sum insured means the maximum amount an insurance company will pay in compensation in the event of an accident.
• Beneficiaries. In the event of your demise, the person you have nominated as beneficiary will receive the compensation from your insurance cover. It is advisable that you nominate someone and make sure they are aware of this. For this, you are required to fill in the nomination form. If there has been no nomination made, it would take a longer process for the company to compensate. This happens because there will be a need to obtain the grant of probate or letters of administration from the court to manage the policy money. Please note that if you are a Muslim policyholder, your policy money will be distributed in accordance to the Shariah law.

These are some of the important factors that you should consider prior to taking out a personal accident insurance cover. To learn more about this topic, check out some of our personal accident insurance articles.

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