Life insurance is an excellent safety net that you can buy for your loved ones. Nobody wants to think about something tragic happening, but you never know what’s going to happen tomorrow. If you were to pass away, your loved ones could be left with a mountain of debt and other final expenses.
When you’re looking to get life insurance coverage, it can be a confusing process. There are dozens of different factors to consider and various kinds of plans. It’s important that you have the insurance coverage that your family will need. Check out our post on understanding life insurance policies, to further help you in this process!
With a fatal accident happening every four minutes insurance companies have created the accidental death benefit life insurance rider and policy. In this blog post I’ll explain what I mean by “rider” and by “policy”, and provide information on accidental death benefit life insurance.
Having an accidental death benefit covers you in the event that you die as a result of an accident. For example, a death resulting from a plane crash, a bus accident, or a car accident would all be considered accidental. Or for example if you were crossing the street and you got hit by a car, or perhaps you fall off a ladder at home or at work, which results in death – both examples would also be considered accidental death. While policies and companies may differ, typically if you die within 90 days of the accident, the death would be considered due to the accident and the insurance claim would be paid. If you are searching for other types of insurance such as Life Insurance quotes over 50, we have information for you as well.
If you have a traditional life insurance policy, you are covered if you die due to disease or due to an accident. Most policies allow you to get an accidental death benefit rider, which for example would double your coverage if your death was caused by an accident. For example a life insurance policy with a death benefit of $250,000 would result in a $500,000 death benefit if the cause of death was accidental and if you had the rider on the policy.
You can also purchase a life insurance policy that is strictly an accidental death benefit life insurance policy. This type of policy would only cover you if the cause of your death was accidental, and are considerably cheaper than regular policies that cover you for both illness and accident.
There are several reasons why someone would buy an accidental death benefit policy.
If you have been declined for a traditional life insurance policy you can still qualify for an accidental policy. Accidental death benefit policies are “instant issue”. That means there are no health questions, and you can get a policy right away.
It’s important that everyone has the insurance coverage that your family needs. If you’ve been turned down for life insurance protection in the past, one of these accidental death plans could be one option to buy the safety net for your family. Regardless of your health or past experiences with life insurance, there are several options for coverage.
Recently, I got a call from a woman who was concerned that her husband was flying overseas on a business trip and was concerned what would happen in the event of a plane crash. Rather than getting a traditional policy that might take a month to get, the couple opted to get an accidental death benefit policy which I was able to get them over the phone in about 15 minutes.
An accidental death policy is significantly cheaper than a traditional life insurance policy. The reason for this is that while a traditional policy covers you for death due to illness or accident, an accidental policy only covers you if you die due to an accident. If you are getting a traditional policy, you can typically add a rider for accidental death that would increase your death benefit if you died due to an accident.
These plans can be a great way to get additional coverage, but you shouldn’t rely on these plans alone. If you were to pass away because of some other reason other than an accident, then you won’t get a payout from the plan. It’s important that you family has the protection that they need, regardless of what happens to you.
If you’re looking to get an accidental death benefit life insurance plan because you’ve been declined for a traditional plan, don’t assume that this is your only option. There are several options that you can choose from. One choice is to buy a no medical exam life insurance plan.
These no medical exam plans will allow you to buy life insurance coverage without being required to take a medical exam. A no exam plan can be a great way to get insurance coverage for anyone that’s been declined in the past. Your health should not keep you from getting a quality life insurance plan.
There are dozens of companies that specialize in working with high-risk applicants that have pre-existing conditions or health complications. These companies have more experience working with high-risk applicants and they are going to give you much better rates for your insurance coverage. Because there are so many different AAA life insurance companies on the market, it’s important that you find the best company for your coverage.
Additionally, there are also guaranteed issued life insurance plans, which as you can guess, anyone can buy one of these plans, regardless of health or any pre-existing conditions. These plans are only going to look at your age and ask two or three medical questions. After that, they are going to approve your coverage.
It is not uncommon for you to see the terms “life insurance” and “accidental death and dismemberment”, also known as “AD&D” grouped together as though they are interchangeable or always linked together. However, there is a difference between the two, and you should understand what that is in order to make sure you get the best coverage possible.
So, let’s discuss.
Life insurance, or rather, standard life insurance, consists of a policy that is either permanent life insurance or term life insurance, with a death benefit paid to the beneficiaries upon the insurance holder’s death. On the other hand, Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance consists of policies that only pay out a death benefit when the cause of death is not due to illness or what is generally considered natural causes.
As stated above, “accidental death and dismemberment” pretty much constitutes anything that does not fall under illness or a natural kind of death that typically happens due to old age. This means anything from traffic accidents, exposure to a dangerous substance, heavy machinery/equipment accidents, drowning and falls to homicide and even suicide.
A general life insurance policy will cover these kinds of things as well (usually), but the AD&D policy will, again, cover only these accidents and “untimely” deaths.
Everyone’s life insurance needs are different, so there is no one response to this question that suits every person who asks it. That said, there are a surprising number of benefits to having AD&D life insurance that do not necessarily come with other kinds of life insurance policies. The most notable is the cost. Because they only cover “accidental” deaths, AD&D policies are typically a lot cheaper than regular life insurance. This is very convenient for some people, especially those who do not anticipate having dependents later in life.
Let’s look at an example. Say Jane is a 45-year-old mother of one who knows her child will be out of the house and living independently within 15 years. She is a nonsmoker and is currently is decent overall health. Because of this, she feels it is extremely unlikely she will die of illness or “natural causes” within that time period. So, she applies for AD&D insurance policy and is offered rates as low as $8.87 per month. Had she applied for regular life insurance, her rates would have been, at best (she would have to get preferred plus rates), between $12 and $30 for this kind of coverage.
You should also keep in mind that an AD&D policy goes into effect immediately, and anyone can qualify for it. So, an AD&D a viable alternative if and when you are unable to get a traditional life insurance policy for whatever reason (and there are many things that do keep people from getting approved). This way, at least some forms of death are covered. After all, you never know what could happen!
One of the most company reasons that people don’t buy life insurance coverage is because they assume that a plan is going to be too expensive. In most cases, this couldn’t be further from the truth. Life insurance can be an affordable purchase for the future of your family members. There are several changes that you can make to ensure that you’re getting the lowest premiums available.
The first thing that you should do is eliminate any tobacco that you currently use. If you use tobacco, you’re at a much great risk for several health complications, which means that you’re going to be a higher risk to the insurance company. If you want to get affordable insurance coverage, the best way to do that is to kick the bad habit once and for all. Smokers are going to pay twice as much for insurance coverage, which can cost you hundreds of extra dollars.
The next thing that you should do start getting regular exercise and stick to a healthy diet. Both of these are a great way to improve your overall health. It can help you lose weight, lower your cholesterol, lower your blood pressure, and reduce your risk of being diagnosed with health complications. Lacing up your running shoes is a great way to lower your life insurance premiums.
The best way to ensure that you’re getting the lowest insurance premiums is to work with an independent insurance broker. Unlike a traditional insurance agent, independent agents work with dozens of highly rated companies across the nation, which means that they can bring all of the lowest premiums directly to you.
Our independent insurance agents have years of experience working with various kinds of applicants. We can help find the best life insurance coverage for you, either accidental death benefit or a traditional life insurance policy. We know that finding the best life insurance coverage can be a long and difficult process, but it doesn’t have to be.
Life insurance is one of the best investments that you’ll ever make for the future of your family. Because there are so many different options and additional riders, there are countless options, which can be overwhelming. Luckily, our agents are here to help walk you through the process and connect you with the best plan to meet your needs.
If something tragic were to happen to you, and you didn’t have life insurance coverage, your family could be left with a massive mountain of debt, which would make the situation a thousand times worse.
Hello. This is Liran Hirschkorn, from ChooseTerm.com. Today, I want to talk
to you about accidental death benefit life insurance. What exactly is it?
What does it cover, and how do you get a policy?
The first thing is accidental death benefit life insurance would cover you
in case of dying as a result of an accident. Typically, if you died 90 days
from the event, from an accident happening to you, you would be considered
covered: Plane crash, car crash, as a pedestrian getting hit by a car, or
falling off your roof. Anything that was an accident that led to death,
within 90 days, typically, would cover you.
You might be concerned about flying overseas and being on a plane or might
be concerned about a specific event and thinking about this type of
coverage. How do you get this coverage? You can get it in one of two ways.
Typically, as part of a term life policy, or a permanent life insurance
policy, you can get accidental death benefit rider on top of your policy.
What does this mean? If for example, you are getting a $250,000 policy that
would cover you both for accidents and for illness. Typically, a regular
traditional life insurance policy covers you for both accidents and
illnesses. If you had a policy like that but wanted increased coverage for
accidents, you can get an accidental death benefit rider, and oftentimes,
you can get up to double your coverage for accidents. For example, if you
have a $250,000 policy and you had the accidental death benefit rider that
you paid an additional fee for it every single month, an additional
premium, your coverage would be $500,000 total, if you died resulting in an
accident.
The other way to get this type of policy is actually without any medical
exam, and just to get specifically a policy that covers you for accidents.
There are companies out there that specialize specifically in accidental
death benefit, and your policy would only cover you in case of death due to
an accident. These policies are significantly cheaper than traditional
policies because you are limited to coverage only in case of accidents. The
nice thing about them is that if you have been denied for a regular policy,
you can still get an accidental death benefit policy, so that you still
have something in place in case you did die in an accident. They are
cheaper, anybody can get approved, and they are also typically instant-
issue.
Recently, I had a customer, client, that was flying overseas and their wife
was very concerned; what if something happens? What if there is a plane
crash? They wanted to get a policy right away. They would not be able to
get a traditional term life policy that requires a medical right away,
within a matter of a day or two, but the accidental policy they were able
to get the same day that they called me, and I was able to get them their
policy emailed to them and they had it right away. They felt secure knowing
that if something were to happen, they were covered.
Accidental death benefits, individual policies, are nice to have if you
have been declined, if you need coverage right away for flying, if you are
fling, or going overseas and you want to make sure you have something in
place, or if you just want additional coverage for accidents. You do not
really need, or you might already have a traditional regular life insurance
policy, you do not want to go through a medical exam again, you can just
get an accidental death benefit life insurance policy, or again, you can
get this as a rider to a traditional policy.
I hope this was helpful. If you need more information you can visit our
website, ChooseTerm.com. My name is Liran Hirschkorn, and I can answer any
questions you have about life insurance or compare quotes for you. Thank
you.