Safety at every stepPrivate accident insurance

Accidents happen fast and they can happen anywhere. Some persons affected are so seriously injured that their life fundamentally changes. For example, if they are no longer able to pursue their usual leisure activities and perhaps even their profession.

The statutory protection rarely helps
Nobody likes to think of a possible calamity that would overturn the previous life planning. But without private accident insurance you are poorly protected in an emergency. Note that the statutory accident insurance only applies to events that occur during work or school. However, more than 75 percent of all accidents occur in the private sector.

Most accidents happen during outside of working hours. In this case the statutory accident insurance does not pay. Self-employed persons and persons who are economically inactive (including housewives and househusbands) even bear one hundred percent of their accident risk themselves. Even during their working hours, they are not covered by statutory accident insurance.

In addition, people who are not gainfully employed are generally not able to take out private disability insurance. This also applies to older employed persons who bring along existing health limitations. In these cases, accident insurance is the only alternative. With just a few questions concerning the medical exam, it protects against the financial risks of an accident.

Accident cover from birth
Payments made by other insurers (such as liability, life, health or pension insurance) are not credited to private accident insurance benefits. Thus the benefits of private accident insurance are always paid out in addition.
You can take out private accident insurance for your children right from their birth. Thus all age groups have the opportunity of being insured against the financial consequences of accidents.

One-off payment and accident pension
Private accident insurance protects against the often life-threatening consequences. The core element here is the disablement benefit: If health limitations remain as a result of an accident, you will receive the agreed capital sum.

In this manner you can compensate for loss of income, convert your home so that it is suitable for the disability or finance occupational retraining. In most cases, a monthly pension is also agreed in the event of permanent damage to health. The amount of these benefits depends on the degree of disablement.

Daily allowance, convalescence allowance, death benefit
Especially if you are self-employed, an accident often means a loss of income. As a self-employed person, you should therefore agree on a daily sickness allowance, in addition to your accident insurance. The daily allowance is paid for the duration of the incapacity to work for up to one year after the accident.

Convalescence can also be agreed. The convalescence allowance is provided for as long as the daily hospital benefit is paid – a maximum of one hundred days. If the accident results in death within one year, there is a claim for the insured death benefit. In this manner the surviving dependents at least experience financial alleviation.

You determine your insurance needs on the basis of your private and professional situation. Rule of thumb – the sum insured in the private accident insurance should be at least three times your annual income.

To ensure that the benefits of your accident insurance also correspond to the steadily rising cost of living, you can design the insurance to be “dynamic”: Sums insured and contributions are regularly adjusted here – by a fixed percentage or commensurate with the development of contributions in the statutory pension insurance.

Multiple benefits if there are serious consequences of accidents
Many insurers offer so-called multiple benefits models. Here, more is paid out at higher degrees of disablement. For example, if you have an accident-related disablement of 80 percent, depending on the agreement you will receive 200 to 300 percent of the full disablement benefit.
These multiple benefits models are based on the assumption that the higher the degree of disablement, the higher the financial requirements of the person concerned will be.

Approximately nine million people in Germany suffer accidental injury each year. A million people meet with accidents that are so serious they must be treated in a hospital. Approximately 24 percent of accidents occur at work, 30 percent at home, 23 percent in sports and play and 18 percent in traffic.

Typical “home accidents” are: Falling off a ladder, injury working in the garden or falling down the stairs. Injuries caused by fires in apartments also happen frequently.

Unfortunately, sports activities do involve a certain risk of accident. Some new trend sports are popular precisely because they offer a dangerous thrill. Frequent victims of sports accidents are beginners, who overestimate their ability and physical condition.

Varied leisure activities pose a particular threat to younger, agile people. For this group, an injury with permanent damage always means a significant loss in quality of life. Moreover accidents are the main cause of disability among people under the age of 30.

In addition to accident insurance, private disability insurance also protects against the financial consequences of long-term physical harm.

Different benefits
Each type of insurance covers different risks. Private accident insurance already pays for a low degree of disablement. In this case it helps bear the subsequent financial costs of the accident.

However, accidents only account for approximately ten percent of all cases of permanent disability. Disability insurance therefore also pays for long-term illnesses that were not caused by an accident. This however only if you are no longer able to work in your profession. Many professions can still be pursued with a chronic health limitation.

Less stringent medical exam
A comprehensive medical exam is always necessary before taking out private disability insurance. In the case of pre-existing conditions or professions with high health risks, you must expect above-average contributions or even a rejection.
On the other hand, a medical exam is either not required, or only a less stringent medical exam is required before taking out accident insurance.