From My Desk
Date 29-May-2014
Subject Why you need an insurance against accidents and why it is so important?
Details You have a large life insurance cover with a term plan to safeguard your family's financial future. You also have a comprehensive health insurance plan to pay your hospital bills. Your car is insured against damage and theft, while your house is covered against natural and man-made calamities and burglary. Are you missing something? It is quite likely that you don't have personal accident insurance.
There are two important reasons why one should buy personal accident insurance. First, India is the accident capital of the world. Second reason for taking this cover, is that personal accident insurance is unique and provides a cover that no other policy does. A life insurance policy will give a lump sum to the nominee if the policyholder dies and a medical insurance policy will pay the hospital bills if he is injured. But what if a mishap leads to a disability and impairs the individual's earning capacity? Whether the disability is total or partial, temporary or permanent, the personal accident policy will come in handy. A personal accident cover is not only useful but also very cheap. A cover of Rs 10 lakh costs just about Rs 800 a year.
What it covers -> Accident insurance covers not just road mishaps. It can be any accident—slipping on the stairs, falling from a height, breaking an ankle during a football match, receiving burns while bursting firecrackers on Diwali, or getting electrocuted by a faulty appliance.
Rider or standalone policy -> Accident cover is available in many forms—as a rider or as an addon to your existing Insurance cover or as a standalone plan. However, most riders with life insurance policies provide only a basic accidental death and permanent disability protection. Ask Mohnish Gupta, a Delhi-based businessman, who lost his finger in an accident. His accidental death and dismemberment rider from the life insurance company did not pay him a penny. "The T&C of the policy said it would pay only if the whole hand was dismembered," he says
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