Accident insurance An accident can affect anyone, no matter how careful you are. With accident insurance, you receive compensation if you ar...
Accident insurance
An accident can affect anyone, no matter how careful you are. With accident insurance, you receive compensation if you are injured due to an unforeseen event and need to seek medical attention. The accident insurance is grateful to have because the costs that arise in connection with an unexpected bodily injury can quickly skyrocket.Events covered by accident insurance
In order for your accident insurance to apply and give you the right to receive compensation paid out by the insurance company, the damage must be sudden and unpredictable. The insurance terms and conditions that you find on each insurance company's website usually state clearly what types of claims are covered and who do not. As a policyholder, you must be able to prove when the damage has occurred, for example by sending in receipts from the emergency department. You cannot receive compensation for an accident that occurred before you took out the insurance, even though you still have this day but from the event.
Before you take out insurance, you should compare accident insurance with each other to find one that provides the broadest protection. It is therefore not possible to determine the number of claims and events that are always covered, but it is common for the following events to usually be included as approved claims in the insurance terms and conditions:
A tick bites you and you get Borrelia or TBE
You stay in the sun and get sunstroke
You rise obliquely and sprain your foot or twist your knee out of joint
You have a heart attack and have no underlying diseases
You get a cerebral hemorrhage and have no underlying diseases
You fall and break a bone in your body
You lose your hearing suddenly and without explanation
This is just a selection of events that can be covered by insurance. Check with the insurance companies you are interested in what kind of damages are covered in their accident insurance.
Injuries that are not usually accidents
To clarify how accident insurance works, it can be easier to understand what kind of damages the insurance does not normally cover. For example, you do not receive compensation for bodily injuries caused by one-sided movements or wear and tear. You will also not receive compensation if you are injured after rehabilitation or medical treatment if the original accident was not an accident. If the doctor you see can state that the injury is not due to an accident but to an underlying illness, you will not receive any compensation either.
Costs and compensation covered by accident insurance
As a policyholder, you can receive compensation from your insurance company for several different costs. You do not necessarily have to have spent the money yourself to be entitled to compensation. Again, insurance companies may have different terms, but the most common is that you can receive compensation for the actual expenses you have to seek medical care and to receive rehabilitation when needed. You will also receive compensation for seeing a dentist if you have injured your mouth or jaw.
If the injury you suffered is permanent, it is called medical disability. This means that your physical ability to function will be chronically impaired as a result of the accident you experienced. If you have a medical disability, the insurance companies can either pay a lump sum or a monthly sum as compensation for the damage. You, therefore, do not need to have made expenses with the amounts you later receive compensation for.
Likewise, an accident in certain sad situations can result in a financial disability, if your ability to work becomes so impaired that your future income will not look the same because you have been injured. It is also something you can get compensation for. Furthermore, many accident insurances also pay compensation if you get ugly scars and if you or another policyholder dies as a result of the accident. In the latter case, the beneficiary of the insurance receives the payment. It is usually a cohabitant, partner or another family member.
Place of residence of the insured when the accident occurs
Where you are when the accident occurs has an impact on what the validity of the insurance looks like. If you stay within the US borders, the insurance is almost always in force, but if you travel abroad, there may be other rules. For example, some insurance companies do not reimburse dental damage or rehabilitation costs if you have injured yourself when you are abroad. If you know that you travel a lot and often stay outside the US borders, you, therefore, need to find out what applies to the accident insurance you are looking at.
You may have to pay a slightly larger premium if you want to be protected no matter where in the world you are, but if something should happen it can often be worth the extra pennies.
Combined sickness and accident insurance
Accident insurance means financial security if you experience something suddenly, but if you suffer from an illness that is not considered an accident, it does not provide compensation. That is why many people choose to combine accident insurance with health insurance. If you have combined insurance, you are also entitled to financial compensation if you are on sick leave for a longer period and thus lose income. You can also get a lump sum paid out if you are diagnosed with certain diseases and compensation for care costs.
Accident and health insurance is normally adapted for adults. If you have children that you want to insure, there are instead special child insurances. They usually apply either until the child reaches the age of majority or until they are around 25 years old.
Accident insurance through trade unions, jobs or associations
Some companies, sports clubs or unions ensure their members and employees against accidents. If you know that you have accident insurance through an association or through your job, you need to check that it also applies to your free time and not just when you participate in an activity or work. If the accident insurance you have through them does not cover what you do in your free time, you also have no protection in case something happens in your everyday life. Also keep in mind that your protection will disappear if you lose your job, change the sports club or leave the union.
Students are usually insured by their university when they are in school. Such accident insurance also covers travel to and from school, but it is not valid during the students' free time. As a student, you, therefore, need to make sure that you have insurance that covers costs for injuries that occur outside the school world.
The price of an accident insurance
When you are going to buy accident insurance, you usually have to choose which are the highest compensation amounts that can be paid out. The higher the maximum compensation amount you choose to have, the higher the premium you also pay. If you combine health insurance with accident insurance, you usually also have to fill in a health declaration. If you have or have had certain illnesses, the premium may either be increased or you will be denied insurance. Regardless of which insurance you want, remember to not only compare the prices but also the content of the insurance coverage.
To request compensation from the insurance company
In order to receive compensation from your accident insurance, you first need to report the damage to the insurance company. If you have several accident insurances, you must make a report to all companies separately. You can report injuries and accidents within ten years after they occurred. However, this only applies to injuries that occurred after 1 January 2015. For injuries that occurred earlier than that, the injury must have been reported within three years from the time of the accident.
If you have several accident insurances, you can receive compensation from several insurance companies if you have double insurance cover. Keep in mind that the expenses you have had, for example for medical care, can only be reimbursed once. If, on the other hand, you get disfiguring scars or become medically disabled, you can receive compensation from several insurance companies.
In the event of a financial or medical disability, the insurance companies can make different assessments about how impaired your abilities are. If one insurance company makes a lower assessment than another and offers a lower compensation, you can negotiate with them to see if they can change the decision they made so that you get higher compensation. If you want to make an assessment of how much compensation you can receive for a certain disability, you can turn to the Traffic Injuries Board to find tables of various injuries. It is still up to the insurance company to assess how much disability you have and what the compensation will be.
Frequently asked questions about accident insurance
I have home insurance, is accident insurance included in it?
No. You need to take out separate accident insurance even though you have home insurance.
Can I take out accident insurance for my pet?
Yes, at some insurance companies you can buy accident insurance for your pet. It is then separate insurance and does not have the same terms as accident insurance for people.
Where do I turn if I am not satisfied with the insurance company's assessment?
If for any reason you are not satisfied with the assessment made by the insurance company and the compensation they offer, you can start by contacting your administrator to appeal the decision. You do this by requesting a reconsideration. If the insurance company tries your case again but you are still not satisfied, you can either contact the General Complaints Board, the Traffic Injuries Board, the Personal Insurance Board or the Liability Insurance's personal injury board.
