Health Insurance vs Personal Accident Insurance: Know the Difference

So, before you make a purchase it’s important to understand the difference between the two. Read on to know more about health insurance and personal accident insurance in detail.

Personal Accident Insurance vs. Health Insurance

Check out the below table to know the differences between Health Insurance and Personal Accident Insurance:

Parameter	Health Insurance	Personal Accident Insurance
Coverage	Covers various medical expenses	Covers injuries/illness specific to an accident
Nature of the Plan	Comprehensive cover	Add-on cover
Scope of Cover	Wider	Limited
Is an additional premium required?	Only for add-on covers	Yes, as this is an add-on cover
Option to buy add-on cover	Yes	No
Tax benefit cover	Yes	No (only on the base plan)
Pre-existing disease cover	After waiting period cover	N/A
Maternity cover	As an add-on cover	N/A
Collision cover	Hospitalization	Full coverage
Critical Illness cover	As an add-on cover	N/A
Waiting period	9 months to 4 years	N/A

Health Insurance

As the name suggests health insurance policies cover the overall medical expenses incurred by the policyholder. Medical coverage is provided for various illnesses including COVID-19 treatment, maternity expenses, cancer, daycare treatments, etc.

From routine illnesses to critical illnesses a wide-range of hospitalization expenses are covered except for some treatments that are beyond the scope of cover. You can choose from different health insurance options that are:

Individual Health Insurance Plans- Coverage is provided to one individual, i.e. the policyholder, who gets medical insurance cover against the premium paid.
Family Floater Health Insurance Plans- In family floater policy coverage is provided to an individual, where he/she can include his family members including spouse, children, and parents.
Senior Citizen Health Insurance Plans-Such plans are designed to offer medical cover to elderly people above the age of 60 years.
Coronavirus health insurance Plans- You can choose COVID specific health from any of the health insurers. Or you can buy Corona Kavachand Corona Rakshak health plans.
Critical Illness Insurance Plans- A critical illness policy covers major illnesses such as cancer, tumor, liver ailments, kidney failure, cardiovascular diseases, etc.
Top-Up Health Insurance Plans-You can buy top up health plans along with your current health plan and once its threshold limit is over, you can utilize this one over and above your base medical insurance coverage amount.

While purchasing a health insurance policy, the insurer would require some data including your medical history to assess the risk involved. Based on the type of policy (individual health plan, family floater, top-up plan, senior citizen health plan, and women-specific health plans) the policy premium is decided.

You can avail cashless hospitalization benefit at the network hospitals, which means that the insurance company settles the bill directly with the hospital and you don’t need to spend any money ( unless there is any sub-limit or deductible clause).

Not only this, even accidental medical expenses are covered under the basic health insurance plans. And after the COVID-19 pandemic, a health insurance policy has become more than inevitable. It helps the insured and their family members in availing the best medical treatment without draining their savings.

So, do you need Accident cover if you already have Health Insurance?

What is Personal Accident Cover in Health Insurance?

Personal accident insurance covers hospitalization expenses incurred on accidental treatment. These plans are designed specifically to help people pay for their medical emergencies arising after an accident. Therefore, under any circumstances, these policies should not be replaced by your regular medical insurance plans.

Under accidental insurance, the policyholder gets complete insurance protection against accidental injuries and wounds. Also, there are multiple add-on covers under accidental insurance that the policyholder can avail of.

Sum Insured

The sum insured in health insurance plans can range from Rs 3 lakh to Rs 1 Crore and even higher. While the limit for personal accident health insurance plans is up to Rs 50 lakh in most cases.

Premium

The premium for health insurance plans is usually on the higher side. Whereas, a personal accident insurance policy is cheaper than a health insurance policy as it offers limited coverage benefits/

In a Nutshell

As now you know the difference between the two, you can buy either of them as per your requirement. For more details, you can speak to our health insurance experts and find the best medical policy to insure yourself and your loved ones during these vulnerable times. If you need any more details you can write to us at care@policybazaar.com or call us at 1800-708-8787.