Getting Personal Accident Insurance? Check out what your policy may not cover

Getting a personal accident insurance cover is important at a certain point of time in life for all. The personal accident insurance plan provides financial protection to the insured against uncertainties caused due to accidents. These accidents include accidental bodily injuries, disability (both partial or total) resulting from an accident, or accidental death.

According to industry reports, accidents in India are rising at an alarming rate. Even though it is important to get a personal accident cover, experts suggest one should know a policy inside out before opting for it. All policies come with their own set of limitations. For instance, a personal accident policy does not extend its coverage for a type of accident that you might get yourself into. Hence, policyholders should know what all will be covered and what will be left out from the policy cover, while opting for a policy.

Here are some major exclusions of a Personal Accident insurance cover;

• Remember the date of the accident plays an important role, especially while making a claim. Most insurers allow policyholders to make a claim for disability up to a certain period from the date of the accident, as internal injuries arising out of an accident, surface slowly, and can even take weeks and months. Insurance companies usually accept a claim if the disability has occurred within 12 months of the accident.
• Among major exclusions, self-injuries, natural death, suicide, childbirth or pregnancy, non-allopathic treatments, the influence of intoxicants, and pre-existing disability leading to accidents are not included by this policy.
• Additionally, policyholders committing a criminal act or participating in the naval, military, air force, or being involved in war activities, are also not covered by the insurers.
• Insurers say, among exclusion from this policy, pre-existing injuries, or self-harm are commonly misunderstood. For instance, if the policyholder has inflicted or tried to inflict himself, it will be considered as an act of self-injury. This will not fall under the policy and will not be covered by the policy. Note that, any activity signifying intend to harm and damage the self is not covered.
• If the policyholder is participating in criminal activities including riots, civil commotion, or non-compliance, even attempted suicide or suicide, will not be covered under the policy.
• Voluntary intoxication resulting in an accident is also excluded from a personal accident policy. However, there is a catch – if the policyholder is under medicinal intoxication, he/she will be eligible to file a claim if he/she can produce a prescription.
• If you get into an adventure sports activity, such as paragliding, mountaineering, hang gliding, skydiving, bungee jumping, scuba diving, trekking or parasailing, which have nowadays become increasingly popular among vacationers, resulting to accidents from these activities will not be covered under this policy.

Source: Financial Express