Personal Accident

Accidental death pays the full sum insured for this benefit to the nominee.

Permanent total disablement — loss of both eyes, both limbs, or one of each, and in most wordings any condition permanently preventing you from any occupation — also pays the full sum insured.

Permanent partial disablement pays a percentage set out in a table in the policy. Loss of one eye or one limb typically pays a substantial fraction; loss of a finger, a toe or hearing in one ear pays a smaller stated share.

The scale is fixed in advance and is not negotiable at claim stage, which makes this one of the few benefits where the amount payable is knowable before anything happens.

Payment is made in addition to any medical expenses claim arising from the same accident. The two do not offset each other.

Wordings define it narrowly: a sudden, unforeseen, involuntary event caused by external, visible and violent means.

Each element does work. 'Sudden' excludes gradual deterioration. 'External' excludes something arising inside the body. 'Violent' is a legal term of art meaning force was involved, not that anything dramatic occurred.

The practical consequence is that illness is never a personal accident claim, however catastrophic. A heart attack, a stroke or an infection is a medical expenses claim, and if it results in death it is generally not payable under this benefit.

Most wordings also impose a time limit between the accident and the death or disablement — commonly twelve months — for the claim to be connected to the event.

Suicide and self-inflicted injury.

Accidents while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.

Unlawful acts, and injuries sustained while committing or resisting arrest.

War, invasion, civil war and nuclear risk.

Adventure sports and hazardous activities, unless the relevant add-on was purchased.

Flying other than as a fare-paying passenger on a licensed commercial aircraft.

Pre-existing physical defects, and conditions arising from illness rather than injury.

The honest position is that for most travellers this benefit is secondary. If you already hold adequate term life cover and a personal accident policy at home, both usually operate worldwide and already address this risk, often at far higher sums insured than a travel policy carries.

Check that first. Duplicating cover you already have is a poor use of premium, and travel policy sums insured for accident are typically modest.

It matters more where you have no other life or accident cover, where you are the sole earner for dependants, or where the trip involves higher-risk travel.

Nominate correctly and keep the nomination current. A death claim paid to an outdated nominee is a genuine and avoidable problem for a family.

Tell your nominee the policy exists and where to find it. A benefit nobody knows about is never claimed.

Notify the insurer as soon as possible; wordings commonly require intimation within days rather than weeks.

For death: the death certificate, a post-mortem report where one was conducted, the police report or FIR, and the nominee's identity and bank details.

For disablement: the treating doctor's report, a disability certificate from a competent medical authority, and hospital records covering the treatment.

Where the accident happened abroad, obtain the local documentation before returning. A foreign police report or medical certificate is far harder to obtain once you have left the country, and translations may be required.

Expect a longer assessment than a medical claim. Insurers investigate accident claims more closely, particularly where the sum is large or the circumstances are unwitnessed.