If you got injured and couldn’t work, would you need help to pay your medical bills? Learn how this type of supplemental plan can help.

1. What is accident insurance?
2. What does accident insurance cover?
3. Is accident insurance a type of health insurance?
4. Does accident insurance work well with certain types of health plans?
5. Does accident insurance have waiting periods?
6. Is accident insurance expensive?
7. Is accident insurance for me?

By nature, accidents are unexpected — they can happen at any time. When you were a kid and scraped your knee, someone was there to clean the wound and put a bandage on it.

But when you’re an adult, who’s self-employed or your family’s lone source of income, it’s a little more difficult. Having to miss work, with medical bills mounting, could be stressful.

That’s where accident insurance could be a useful tool. Here’s a detailed look at accident insurance, how it works and whether it might be for you.

An injury could bust your budget — but it doesn’t have to. Learn how accident insurance can help you pay medical and personal bills.

What is accident insurance?

Accident insurance is a type of supplemental insurance designed to help you pay for medical expenses if you or a family member gets hurt in an accident. Supplemental insurance isn’t meant to replace a traditional health insurance plan. Rather, you pay extra for it on a monthly basis, on top of a traditional health plan, and it supplements your coverage. (There is a monthly premium for supplemental insurance that is not included in what you’d pay for your primary health insurance.)

The benefit comes in the form of a lump-sum payment that you can use to pay for things like covered medical expenses (emergency treatment, hospital bills or rehabilitation) — or even personal expenses, like groceries, rent or childcare. (A hospital or provider would get the benefit if you assign the benefits to them.) Key features of accident insurance policies include:

• Depending on the plan, the benefit could be offered at different levels, like $2,500, $5,000 or $10,000. So you’d pay a monthly bill (premium) for your supplemental accident insurance, and if you were to get into an eligible accident, the benefit amount of the plan you chose would be paid to you.
• Accidental death and dismemberment benefits, which you may see shortened to AD&D, are included with many accident insurance plans. That means that there would be a benefit in the case of an accidental death, serious injury or dismemberment (i.e., losing a limb or limbs).

What does accident insurance cover?

Accident insurance can cover a wide range of injuries, from everyday mishaps to serious accidents. Those could include:

• Everyday injuries like broken bones, burns, cuts (lacerations) and concussions.
• Serious injuries, loss of limb/limbs (dismemberment) or even accidental death.
• Critical illness. In some states, you may be able to get covered for certain critical illness diagnoses, like heart attack, stroke or loss of vision (blindness).

Is accident insurance a type of health insurance?

No. You might get a traditional health insurance plan through an employer or buy one on the Health Insurance Marketplace. You might also shop for a plan through a private insurer.

While you can buy a stand-alone accident insurance plan, accident insurance isn’t a replacement for traditional health insurance. It’s a type of insurance that provides benefits in addition to your main health insurance plan.

Accident insurance plans can help you pay for covered services or expenses you have because of accidental injury. Most eligible expenses must happen within a certain number of days of that injury.

Did you know that accident insurance is one type of supplemental insurance you can get? Enter your zip code to see your options.

Does accident insurance work well with certain types of health plans?

Yes. Accident insurance works well with specific types of health insurance and supplemental insurance plans. Here are 3 options:

1. High Deductible Health Plan (HDHP). This type of health insurance plan has lower monthly bills (premiums) but higher deductibles. That’s the portion you pay out of pocket for covered services before your insurance company starts to pay. If you don’t have a solid enough savings plan or healthcare budget, higher out-of-pocket expenses could put a strain on your finances. The lump-sum benefits accident insurance provides can help cover these costs.

2. Critical illness insurance. If you don’t live in a state where critical illness is covered as part of an accident insurance plan, buying a critical illness insurance plan could be an option.

Critical illness insurance is another type of supplemental insurance. While it doesn’t replace a traditional health plan, it could provide a lump-sum payment upon diagnosis of a covered serious illness, like a heart attack or life-threatening cancer.

If you had to spend time in the hospital for an unexpected diagnosis, you’d have the benefits from your critical illness plan to help cover your medical expenses or health insurance deductible, too.

3. Hospital indemnity insurance. You might see this referred to as hospital insurance or hospitalization insurance. It’s another type of supplemental insurance, which isn’t meant to replace a traditional health plan.

It works well with accident insurance because it pays a benefit if you have to go to the hospital. It also could help if you have to pay out of pocket for other medical services that your traditional health plan might not cover. It could be an added financial buffer were you to have to spend an extended time in the hospital.

Does accident insurance have waiting periods?

It depends. With most accident insurance plans, benefits for most eligible expenses are available as soon as your policy starts.

But as noted above, some accident insurance plans may include benefits for critical illness or hospital stays for covered illnesses. These benefits have a 30-day waiting period in most states where they’re available.

Is accident insurance expensive?

Generally, accident insurance is considered budget friendly. Factors that may affect cost include:

• Your insurance provider
• Your plan type
• The number of people who are covered on your policy. For example, if you include a spouse and your children on your policy, your monthly insurance bill (premium) will increase.
• Age of the person or people covered. The older you are, the higher the chance you might have for accidents, like falls. So that may increase the price of your policy.
• Where you live. That could be because you live in a part of the country where natural disasters tend to happen more often.
• Your place of work. If you work in a dangerous field, like construction or window-washing on high-rises, that could increase your monthly bill.
• Pastimes. Yes, those count, too. If you’re an outdoor adventurer or thrill-seeker — maybe you like scaling mountains or skydiving — that could affect your monthly bill.

Is accident insurance for me?

It depends. If you’re young and healthy, it may not be an option you want right now — but that could change down the road. Most importantly, if you don’t think you have enough money saved to cover yourself or your family if you were injured and couldn’t work, it might be helpful to have the extra coverage. You can review accident insurance policies online right now, or call a licensed insurance agent at 1-844-211-7730 to talk through benefits.

For informational purposes only. This information is compiled by UnitedHealthcare, and/or one of its affiliates, and does not diagnose problems or recommend specific treatment. Services and medical technologies referenced herein may not be covered under your plan. Please consult directly with your primary care physician if you need medical advice.

Compliance code:
51931-X-0125