Are Car Accident Injuries Covered in Health Insurance?

Like emergencies, accidents do not happen announced and with the road conditions and the way people drive, these have become very common. Preventing an accident is not easy as most of the times it happens due to the fault of others but protecting yourself from the expenses involved is a good idea.

To pay for the repairs of the vehicle, a comprehensive car insurance is a must, but an insurance policy is needed to pay for the injury to the owner. The question that arises is are car accident injuries covered in Health Insurance? Usually, people have a health insurance policy, but are not sure of what it covers.

Health Insurance and Personal Accidents: What is covered?

Many people understand the importance of a health insurance policy but are not clear if it covers accident injuries. The answer to this question is, yes. Health insurance does cover accidental injuries. There are some things which are covered but there are many which are not covered as well, and thus, having a clear understanding at the time of buying the policy is essential. Let us talk about what all is covered:

Ambulance Costs: This is a coverage that will be given if an ambulance is needed to bring the insured to the hospital for treatment. Mostly, health insurance policies have a cap on the ambulance costs and this should be known. However, this is a cost which will be paid for in part, if not full.

Hospitalisation: If the insured meets with an accident and needs to be hospitalised, expenses like room rent, doctor's fees, operation charges if any, surgeon's fee etc are all covered. All these expenses are covered in a regular health insurance policy and thus, apply for hospitalisation due to accidents.

Post Hospitalisation Expenses: Once discharged, there are many expenses which have to be incurred to ensure the patient recovers completely. Most insurance policy cover these expenses for a fixed number of days after discharge. The medical expenses which happen after hospitalisation are also exorbitant and it is a great relief if they are paid for.

Health Insurance and Personal Accidents: Types of car accident injuries and its coverage features

Health insurance covers accidental injuries from the first day of the inception of the policy. There is no waiting period like some other clauses. Though injuries and hospitalisation are covered, there are some coverage which is not available. Let us talk about exclusions in terms of an accident now:

• Disability: A regular Health insurance policy does not cover any disability. There will be no payment for special benefits which a personal accident policy will give but the treatment in a hospital will be paid for.
• Deaths: If a person is hospitalised after accident, the treatment cost is covered but there are no special benefits if it causes death. If the death happens immediately after the accident, there is nothing that the health plan will pay.
• OPD Expenses: Most health insurance policies only cover in patient hospitalisation expenses and thus, in case there are minor injuries due to the accident they might not be covered. Some health policies have a restriction on the amount on OPD and thus, this is valid in case of car accident injuries.

Stand-alone Personal Accidental Plans

Usually when buying health insurance policies, people think of critical illness or hospitalisation and thus, do not think if any car accident injuries are covered. The health insurance policy will cover injuries due to accidents, but the above exclusions are valid too. For those who need coverage against accidental disability and accidental deaths, they should take a personal accident rider or preferably a stand-alone personal accident policy. Not all health plans offer this rider and if they do also, there is a limit and the coverage is not as extensive as in a Personal Accident Policy. Disability and death can have a major financial implication on the family and thus, this coverage is needed for everyone. As these benefits are not available in a health insurance policy, one must have a Personal accident policy which will be provided by the same insurer as the health policy.

There are many policies available today and thus, one must compare and buy the best. A comparison can be done online on an insurance aggregator website. Though, no one wishes to fall sick or meet with an accident, but these are things which are beyond our control. So, to ensure you and your family are covered and protected from any financial emergency you must have a health insurance and a personal accident policy. Though the basic treatment costs will be met by the former, but it is the latter which provides the needed coverage.