Accident Insurance policies take many forms. For example, some accident insurance policies pay a specific amount if you lose a leg, an arm, an eye, a hand, etc. Others pay if your child injures him/herself while playing after school sports. Some accident insurance policies are sold to help you pay your deductible if you are injured in an accident. There are other forms of accident insurance as well. Generally, they all should be avoided. A comprehensive health insurance plan will pay for medical claims that result from accidents, so why be double covered?

The reason is because if you lose a hand or a leg and the medical claims are covered, your only significant risk is whether or not you can still function in your job. You should have disability insurance, not accident insurance (what if you get sick and cannot work -- your accident insurance is not going to help). You may want to read about the dangers of using this type of insurance when trying to come up with a balanced health insurance plan. Our consultants do not feel that you should buy accident insurance. There are few exceptions to this advice.

This document was last modified on July 27, 1999 by LMLeber

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