Accident Coverage: Helping Insureds Cope with the Unexpected
Many people think they’re most likely to get injured in a car accident or on the job. But home-related injuries cause nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits each year. Unintentional home injuries cost Americans at least $222 billion per year in medical expenses, with an additional $165 billion in medical costs from injuries that possibly occurred in the home. Are you financially prepared for the toll an accidental injury can take?
According to the nonprofit Home Safety Council, the top five causes of unintentional home injury by cost are falls, struck by/against, poisoning, cut/pierce, and overexertion. Falls alone cost an average of $100 million annually and cost five times more than the next highest cause of home injury.
Adults over age 70 and children ages 1-4 have the highest rates of nonfatal unintentional home injury. Both groups are particularly vulnerable to falls, which rank as the leading cause of nonfatal injuries in both age groups. In addition, falls are the leading cause of home injury death in older adults, accounting for 52.5 percent of all home injury deaths for adults age 65-74, 68.2 percent among adults age 75-84, and 78.4 percent of home injury deaths for adults age 85 and older.
Your medical insurance, whether individual or group, will help pay for treating non-occupational accidental injuries that occur in the home or elsewhere. But the typical medical policy could leave you with high out-of-pocket costs.
Accident insurance helps you cover the unforeseen costs of an accidental injury. Policies vary, but most cover ambulance service, emergency room visits, prescription drug expenses, physician and nursing expenses, x-rays, cost of repairing teeth injured in an accident, and more. Plans will pay up to the limits you select; you simply provide proof of the expense and the insurer will reimburse you.
Plans generally exclude coverage for injuries resulting from war, committing a felony or attempting suicide, and injuries occurring while engaging in a dangerous activity (including hang-gliding, water or snow skiing or snowboarding, handling explosives, etc.).
Most plans have very low deductibles—as low as $100—and pay up to $10,000, depending on the limits you select. Coverage is very inexpensive—of course, the higher limits you select, the more you will pay.
Be aware: Most plans pay on an “excess” basis—that is, they will pay your claim only after all other applicable insurance policies have paid. If your accidental injuries are covered by another plan, you must submit a claim to that plan first. However, if you have no or limited medical coverage, an accident insurance plan can provide the coverage you need for some of life’s misadventures.
For more information on accident insurance, please contact us.
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