Employee Benefits | Accident Insurance |
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Employee Benefits | Accident Insurance |
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Ask anyone who has Major Medical coverage what their insurance is, and they will say, "Health insurance". Injuries incurred by accidents are not usually fully covered by your HEALTH insurance. Health insurance pays for visits to the doctor, medications, some hospital stays, tests, and perhaps a few other things. But since health planning focuses on illnesses and general body well being, it usually only helps with occasional injuries resulting from accidents. Major Medical insurance provides important coverage for unexpected accidents, but an extended hospital stay or hospitalization requiring specialized care may exceed the benefits provided by Major Medical insurance. Accident insurance plans usually pay for ambulance services, hospital fees, and surgical procedures which are not fully covered by Major Medical plans. Accident insurance is not Major Medical insurance. It is supplemental insurance. Of course, if you don't have Major Medical insurance, you can still have an accident policy to take care of injuries which require special care and treatment and/or hospitalization. The short answer to that question is: anyone who cannot afford to pay for treatment of injuries (including rides in ambulances, consulting physician fees, rehabilitation, etc.). The long answer is that, the more people you are responsible for, the more likely you will find yourself paying for an accident that you can NOT afford. A large family is more prone to accidents than a small family. Of course, there are high risk activities and occupations, and avoiding these activities and occupations makes you less likely to suffer some accidents. Insurance companies recognize that fact, and unfortunately they do refuse to cover people in high risk activities and occupations. So, accident insurance is not universally available or implemented. You may have accident insurance which excludes injuries you suffered while throwing yourself out of a perfectly good airplane. Generally speaking, if you can take care of the bumps and bruises, that is good. You don't need to pay anyone else to do that for you. But when you have to deal with a broken arm, a sevred finger, or a severely bruised rib, the last thing you want to worry about is how to pay for it. Sprained and broken ankles, injured eyes, and severely burned skin are no laughing matter. |
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