Life Insurance vs Accidental Insurance: Why one should buy both - Experts explain

Life insurance plan is among the top priority of an Indian investor because it helps an investor to plan for his or her family even when they are not around them. Another benefit of the Life insurance plan is the sum assured and return if the investor survived the period of investment. However, there is one more insurance plan that an investor must think of — accidental insurance plan. But, there are very few takers for it among Indian investors. They believe if they die, they have already taken life insurance while if they get hospitalised after getting injured (maybe critically) they have health or medical plan for that, so there is no need for them to buy an accidental insurance plan, which is completely incorrect. It works for both health and life insurance as it is a combination of both and allows the family members of the policyholder to claim death benefits as they would be claiming in life insurance.

Speaking on the benefits of accidental insurance Kartik Jhaveri, Director at Transcent Consultants told Zee Business Online, "Generally, an Indian investor believes if they have taken life insurance and health insurance, an investment in accidental insurance is a wastage. Though, it's not correct. Like health insurance, if you come across an accident, you can claim hospitalisation benefits under an accidental insurance claim because the long-term hospitalisation may not be enough to cover the hospitalisation benefits one would be getting under a health insurance plan." 

Comparing accidental insurance plan with life insurance plan Kartik Jhaveri of Transcent Consultants said, "When a life insurance policyholder dies in between the period of investment, his or her family member can claim the death claim under his or her life insurance. Similarly, if the deceased has taken an accidental insurance plan, his or her family members can claim accidental death claim that would be an additional help to the policy holder's family post his or her sudden death."

So, it is advisable for the investors to buy both a life insurance policy and an accidental insurance policy.