Motor Insurance Personal Accident Cover

Accidents don’t inform and happen. They can take place anytime, anywhere, and with anyone. Not only do they cause physical damage and losses, but also bring severe financial stress and create an emotional havoc. All we can do is try our best to stay cautious and protected.

Motor insurance safeguards you and your vehicle against unfortunate situations. It financially covers the damages resulting from natural calamities, accidents, losses incurred due to burglary, theft, riots, strikes, and also protects you against any third-party legal liabilities owing to damages or financial losses caused to them.

You can also customise your insurance policy with various add-ons to expand the scope of coverage. One of the most important add-ons is the Personal Accident Cover.
 

What is a Personal Accident Cover?

A personal accident cover provides you with protection against accidental disability or death due to an accident. Accidents may disable you personally as well as financially, and a personal accident cover will make sure that you and your family are covered financially during these stressful times.

In case of death, the personal accident cover policy will provide the cover amount to your nominee mentioned in the policy.
 

So Why is a Personal Accident Cover Essential?

A Personal Accident Cover provides a stable financial backup in case the policyholder suffers heavy accidental injuries. Hence, buying this plan to secure your future against an unfortunate event is highly important.

It gives a death benefit (a fixed amount is given to the nominee of policyholder in case of their death), and provides coverage for partial and permanent disabilities.

The following table gives you a brief outlook on what is covered and to what extent.

How Do You Purchase A Personal Accident Cover?

A Personal Accident Cover comes as an add-on, and you can purchase it by paying an extra amount, along with the premium.
 

What are the Types of Personal Accident Cover?

There are mainly three types of PA cover, and each cover includes an extra premium that needs to be paid.

• PA Cover for Owner-Driver

  It offers you, the owner-driver, protection against disability or death caused due to an accident. PA cover for Owner-driver can be either purchased as an add-on or as a separate standalone policy.

 Benefits

• It provides support against accidental disabilities that have happened to the owner-driver of the vehicle.
• In case of the death of the owner-driver, the PA cover will provide financial compensation to their family.

 Is This Cover Mandatory?

• Yes, the Indian government has mandated a Personal Accident Cover for Owner-Drivers for all vehicle owners. This ensures that you are covered against accidental injuries/losses.
• Initially, the personal accident cover came in-built with a comprehensive policy. Due to this, people who owned multiple vehicles, had to purchase a ‘PA cover for owner-driver’ with each policy that they bought, to cover each vehicle.
• However, after receiving a lot of feedback, IRDAI issued a circular on 1st January, 2019, which stated that the Personal Accident Cover will be unbundled henceforth, allowing the vehicle owners to buy PA cover once for all the vehicles they own.

 The Coverage Will Be Subject To

• You, the owner-driver, should be the registered owner of the vehicle insured herein.
• You should be the insured person in the policy.
• You should hold an effective driving licence, in accordance with the provisions of Rule 3 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, at the time of the accident.

• PA Cover For Passengers

  You can also secure all the other passengers in your vehicle along with you. You can buy this add-on and safely cover your family members and friends.

• PA Cover For Paid Driver

  If you have this add-on in your policy, the insurer will pay compensation to your paid driver in case of any disability or death. Thus, with this cover, you can ensure your driver is protected, too.

Things Not Covered In A PA Cover

• Intentional Self Injury - If the disability or death is caused to the policyholder either intentionally or by intentional negligence, then in such cases the insurer will not be providing any coverage.

• Death or disabilities due to war - Death or disability caused due to participation in civil war or foreign armed conflicts will not be covered by the insurance company.

• Death or disability caused due to intoxication - No death or disability will be covered by the insurance company if the same was caused while the owner-driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

• Death or disability caused due to participation in adventurous sports - Any disability or death caused due to active participation in adventurous sports will not be covered by the insurance company.

• Pre-existing illness - If any disability or death happens due to an existing illness, it will not be covered by the insurance company.

• Death or disability during childbirth or pregnancy - If any death or disability is caused during the time of childbirth or pregnancy, it will not be covered by the insurance company.

• Death or disability caused outside the geographical limit - The insurer will not be providing the coverage in case the death or disability is caused due to an accident outside the geographical limit.
   

The premium for Personal Accident Cover

The personal accident cover is a mandatory add-on that you need to purchase with your policy if you do not have an already existing policy. The cover amount for the compulsory PA cover is 15 Lakhs and the premium rate is fixed at ₹750 per year.

The traffic conditions are getting worse with every passing day. With bad traffic and hurrying vehicles, it has become way too stressful to maintain peace of mind and drive. All we want is for you to stay protected, and a Personal Accident Cover, under Motor Insurance , is that protection. It is vital because it comes to your rescue at the most critical moment, and provides you with the maximum financial aid, in all cases.
 

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have multiple cars, do I have to purchase multiple PA covers for these cars?

No, you just need to purchase one PA cover policy with a 15 Lakhs cover, even if you have multiple cars. You need not purchase a PA cover with all the insurance policies for your various cars, provided that all the vehicles are in your own name.

What is the maximum cover amount under a PA cover?

The maximum coverage under a compulsory PA cover policy is 15 Lakhs.

Why is PA Cover given as an optional add-on when it is mandatory?

Earlier, the PA cover was bundled with vehicle insurance. So, every time you purchased insurance for your vehicle, you had to take a PA cover - even if you already had an existing PA cover. The IRDAI received feedback on this and hence, decided to unbundle the PA cover from the vehicle insurance policy, so that vehicle owners who already have a PA cover need not buy the same again.