Personal accident insurance - Standalone or add-on rider, which is better?

Accidents have become quite common whether they occur on roads or anywhere else. Severe accidents might result in death or disabilities and cause a financial loss. These financial losses might prove to be a financial strain on you and your family which is why a personal accident insurance cover is advised. You can opt for a standalone cover or choose a personal accident rider with various insurance plans. Have you wondered which alternative is a better choice?

Before discussing on the better alternative, let’s first understand what personal accident insurance is all about –

What is personal accident insurance?

A personal accident insurance policy is a policy which covers the risk of accidental death and disablement. The policy pays a benefit if you die or become disabled in an accident.

Buying personal accident cover

There are two options of buying a cover for personal accident insurance. These are as follows –

1. Through riders and add-ons

Health insurance plans and motor insurance plans allow personal accident add-ons which can be chosen with the basic policy by paying an additional premium

2. As a standalone plan

There are independent personal accident insurance plans available in the market too. You can buy an independent plan to opt for the cover.

Which option is better?

A standalone personal accident cover is always the better alternative because it provides various benefits. These benefits include the following –

– Wider coverage

Coverage under riders is limited compared to standalone personal accident plans. While riders might cover only accidental deaths and permanent total or partial disablements, standalone plans cover the following –

– Accidental death

– Permanent total disablement

– Permanent partial disablement

– Temporary total disablement

– Dismemberment

Moreover, standalone plans also provide additional coverage benefits like coverage for ambulance costs, funeral expenses, education fund for dependent children, loss of job, etc. Such coverage features are absent in riders.

– Scope of customisation

Independent plans also have the option of choosing add-ons for a more comprehensive scope of coverage. You can choose the required extensions in the policy and make your plan customised. Riders don’t allow any scope of customisation. When you choose a personal accident rider, you get the coverage which is promised in the rider, nothing more and nothing less.

– Level of sum insured

Personal accident sum insured under riders is, usually, restricted. However, in case of standalone policies, the sum insured depends on your income and you get the flexibility to choose a higher amount.

Standalone policies have these three distinct advantages over riders. But when you consider rider premiums, standalone policies are dearer. Since the coverage provided is wider in standalone plans, their premiums are higher than that of riders.

Which one to choose

Choosing the best alternative for personal accident cover depends on you. If you want a comprehensive scope of coverage with the flexibility of choosing your sum insured and additional coverage features, standalone policies are best. However, if you think that the restricted coverage under riders would be enough to fulfil your coverage requirements you can save on the premium and choose riders. So assess your requirements and then make a choice.