Personal accident insurance policy offers protection to the insured against injuries, death, or disability due to accidents. Driving a vehicle can pose a lot of potential risks, either due to a mishap or someone else's mistake. Personal accident cover will compensate the insured and their loved ones in the event of an unforeseen road accident. And it is particularly useful for people who spend a considerable amount of time travelling for work.
The compulsory personal accident cover is for anyone who owns a car. Since it is a mandatory statutory requirement, if you own a car, you must also have a personal accident cover. Otherwise, to opt for a personal accident cover in car insurance you must be 18 years of age or older. And the maximum coverage age for the policy is 70 years.
Here is a quick look at the features of an individual personal accident policy.
Feature on offer | Details |
Accidental death of insured | Covered |
Disability of the insured due to an accident | Covered |
Burns due to an accident | Covered |
Broken bones | Covered |
Sum insured | Rs. 15 Lakhs |
There are a lot of uncertainties while driving on the road. Someone might be dodging an animal and swerve and cause an accident, while someone else might just be unmindful or distracted, resulting in an accident. There is hardly any that a person can have on such occurrences. However, a PA cover for owner driver is a sensible way to protect yourself. Here are the benefits of PA cover in car insurance.
1. Offers financial support to the insured if they meet with an accident, resulting in disability.
2. Offers financial support to the insured for medical expenses such as treatment, hospital bills, and medications.
3. PA cover offers financial support to the nominees of the policy or the surviving members of the family if the insured loses their life during an accident.
There are two different types of PA cover in insurance, and they are:
Owner driver personal accident cover is set at a maximum sum insured of Rs. 15 lakhs. And in accidental cases, the compensation will be paid out to the insured or the nominees of the policy. Here is the compensation structure of a PA cover for owner driver.
Type of injury | Compensation |
Loss of eyesight in one eye or loss of one limb | 50% |
Loss of eyesight in both eyes or loss of both limbs | 100% |
Permanent disability due to the accident | 100% |
Death of the insured | 100% |
The original Motor Vehicle Act of 1988 did not mention compulsory PA cover for owner driver. However, the PA co ver mandate was later added as an amendment. And it was added with the intent of providing compensation to the family of the deceased or offering compensation in case of disability or injuries.
Yet another amendment in January 2019 tweaked the rules for getting compulsory personal accident cover a bit. For either of the following conditions, you can choose to skip the compulsory personal accident cover.
1. If you already have an existing life insurance policy with a coverage of Rs. 15 lakhs or more.
2. If you already have purchased owner driver PA cover for any of your other existing vehicles.
If neither of the above conditions are met, you can opt for car insurance personal accident cover and receive coverage of Rs. 15 lakhs.
Personal accident cover in car insurance offers the following inclusions and exclusions.
No, there is no need to buy PA cover more than once. Prior to January 2019, personal accident insurance cover was bundled with a car insurance policy.
Earlier, if you owned two cars and bought two car insurance policies, you would end up buying PA cover twice. This resulted in car owners having more than one personal accident insurance policy and it came at a cost.
However, that is not the case anymore. Personal accident policy is now unbundled from a car insurance policy. If you already have coverage, you can skip the policy.
1. A trusted name in the insurance industry with more than 1.6 crore happy customers.
2. Get access to unparalleled 24/7 customer support.
3. More than 16 years of experience in catering to customers and curating plans for everyone.
4. Get access to the best accidental insurance policy.
5. Seamless settlement of claims and utmost transparency.
6. Association with a brand that has won several awards for customer experience, world-class service, for smooth claims, and even the best private insurance company.
To file a claim for personal accident insurance cover, you must:
1. possess a valid driving license.
2. must not be driving under the influence of any intoxicating substances or alcohol.
3. must have a valid insurance policy.
To claim your personal accident policy, you will need to submit the following documents. These documents will pave the way for a smooth claims process.
1. Duly filled out claims form
2. Death certificate of the owner-driver
3. Certificate of disability from a doctor
4. Driving licence of the owner-driver
5. Registration certificate of the car
6. Hospital investigation report
7. Hospital discharge summary
8. FIR
9. Post-mortem report
10. Bills for medicines
11. KYC form and KYC documents
The best accidental insurance plan offers you access to both cashless and reimbursement as the mode of payment, as provided by HDFC ERGO. You must follow these steps for claiming personal accident policy.
1. Inform HDFC ERGO about the hospitalisation within 48 hours.
2. Share the details of the personal accident insurance policy at the insurance desk of the hospital.
3. Fill out the pre-authorisation form at the hospital.
4. Informing HDFC ERGO about the form will expedite the process.
5. Usually, within two hours the application will be reviewed, and you will receive information via SMS and email.
6. You can check the status of your personal accident cover claim online.
1. Reimbursement can be availed if you visit any hospital that is not part of HDFC ERGOs network hospitals.
2. You must inform HDFC within 2 days of emergency admission about the hospitalisation.
3. Submit all the documents for pa cover for owner driver within 15 days from discharge.
4. Once all the documents are reviewed, HDFC will inform you about the approval or rejection of the claim.
5. On approval, the amount will be transferred to the account details submitted by you via NEFT.
6. On rejection, you will receive an email and SMS about the claim rejection.
HDFC ERGO personal accident insurance policy with comprehensive insurance offers the maximum coverage and a super smooth claim process, that requires minimal effort from your end.
The plan protects the owner-driver in the event of accidents that can lead to disability, demise, or injuries.
Yes, you can opt for an online personal accident policy with your car insurance by paying a small premium. The bundled plan will provide all the coverage that you need.