Accidents happen

Last updated on 12th December, 2017 at 05:12 pm

South Africa’s poor road safety record means that countless families are left without breadwinners every year (Arrive Alive reports approximately 17 000 road deaths per year in SA). It’s critical that we are all prepared for this risk – we examine the options.

There are two ways to ensure you are well covered for the result of a road accident, whether it causes death, disability or serious injury: full risk cover, which includes accidents as one of the many risks covered, or stand-alone accident cover. Understanding how accidents are provided for in risk cover is extremely important. For instance, accidents are covered by a standard basket of risk products. So any individual with comprehensive life, disability and life impairment policies will be covered for death, injury or disability caused by an accident. If, for one reason or another, you are not able to take out full risk cover, then stand-alone accident cover is a good option. Accident cover fits broadly into the three main types of risk, so it is sold as accidental death cover, accidental injury cover and accidental disability cover. There are four main reasons why accident cover is sold in isolation to a fuller risk cover offering:

1. You have been declined for full life or disability cover.

The reason may be ill health, and then accident cover can be an effective way to ensure that you still have some risk cover available in the event of an accident.

2. You are unable to afford premiums for full life or disability cover.

Once a needs assessment has been completed there is the issue of cost, and often the decision to opt for accident cover is based on a limited budget.

3. A desire to avoid the underwriting process.

If you do not wish to undergo the underwriting process, for whatever reason (fear of needles ranks quite highly), then accident cover is a good option, as it does not require a medical examination.

4. A belief that you don’t need cover for disease.

Young, healthy people do at times prefer to leave taking out fuller cover packages, which include dread disease, until later in life. Considering that accident rates are high among the youth, ensuring adequate cover for this risk through accident cover is a good option.   Accident cover – whether as a stand-alone policy or as part of an overall risk basket – is aimed at ensuring that an individual’s financial needs, and those of their families, are taken care of when they are no longer able to work, either on a permanent or temporary basis. Accidental injury benefits offer cost effective cover for certain serious injuries of a temporary nature which require long recovery periods. In South Africa there is a particular lack of adequate provision for temporary loss of income because many people believe they can ‘make a plan’ by borrowing from families or employers. But the fact is that this loss of income can be huge and can be extremely hard to recover from, sometimes impossible.

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