Globally, India tops the list in the number of fatal road accidents, and most of these involve two-wheelers. Despite the Indian Government's efforts to prevent road accidents, many Indian ends up dead, seriously injured, or handicapped because of two-wheeler road accidents.
Careful riders who never break traffic rules are also not spared from mishaps, thanks to the carelessness of those who make it a habit to ply the roads at high speed. Unfortunately, such an accident can leave your two-wheeler in need of expensive repairs and could land you in hospital with multiple injuries. How will you pay for it all now that you are in the hospital?
There is only one way of covering all such expenses, third-party bike insurance. It covers the losses to the third party from your bike. Comprehensive bike insurance will cover the costs of repairing the damage to your bike, and personal accidents will cover your hospital bills as you try to get back on your feet again.
Read about personal accident bike insurance cover and explain why you must add it to your two-wheeler insurance policy.
How does Personal Accident Cover In Two-wheeler Insurance?
If your bike meets with an accident or accidentally injures or damages a third party or his/her property, your comprehensive bike insurance policy will shield you from the losses. But what happens when you are injured in an accident. Will comprehensive bike insurance compensate you for the time you have to spend away from work? In such cases, you cannot claim an insurance cover from someone else's 3rd party bike insurance or against your comprehensive bike insurance. The only thing that can help in such situations is a personal accident cover.
Suppose you, the bike's rider or owner, meet with an accident resulting in severe injury or death. A personal accident cover will compensate you or your family. Although a personal accident cover cannot remove your pain, it can take stock of your financial liability resulting from your inability to work and bear unforeseen expenses due to physical disability.
What does a Personal Accident Cover In Bike Insurance Policy do?
While third-party bike insurance can help cover losses from your bike to a third party, comprehensive bike insurance covers the loss arising from damage to your motorcycle and third-party losses. How will the rider be compensated for injuries to himself?
Most bike insurance companies offer a personal accident cover with third-party bike insurance or comprehensive bike insurance. It compensates for the death or injuries of the owner or rider of the bike.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has set the maximum limit for personal accident cover at INR 15 lakhs. The bike owner receives compensation from the personal accident cover as follows:
Coverage
The general guidelines concerning the personal accident cover are as follows:
- The personal accident cover offers many insurance covers to the two-wheeler rider. Among all, only the death by accident benefit is mandatory. Therefore, the bike owner must compulsorily opt for the accidental death benefit.
- The two-wheeler insurance policy's schedule states the insured sum, and the insurance provider will only pay the insured sum. However, if the bike owner includes other covers and claims a sum above the limit, the insurance company will reimburse only one benefit, generally the most significant one.
- The bike owner can claim against the bike insurance policy more than once. But the insurance company is liable to pay only to the extent of the death benefit as the schedule of the two-wheeler insurance policy indicates.
- The benefits will only be over and above the other payable benefits in the temporary total disablement benefit.
Accidental Death Benefit
- If the bike owner dies due to a road accident, his/her family members will receive a bike insurance claim amount up to 100% of the insured sum.
- Suppose the bike owner with a bike insurance policy meets with an accident that becomes the cause of his death or permanent total disability. His nominee files a claim for the same. In that case, he will receive the total benefit of the personal accident cover.
Check the table for easy understanding.
| Benefits | Percentage of Sum Insured |
| Death by an accident involving the insured vehicle | 100 |
| Blinded by the road accident (both eyes) | 100 |
| Lost both the limbs in the road accident | 100 |
| Lost a vision and a limb in the road accident | 100 |
| Permanent total disability by road accident | 100 |
Under the death and permanent total disability claim, the children (maximum two children) and the insured's spouse receive an education benefit of INR 50,000 or 1% of the basic insured amount. If the insured suffers a permanent total disability, he will receive an adaptation benefit to modify his home or a vehicle to suit his present condition. The insurance company may pay him 1% of the insured sum or INR 25,000.
Permanent Partial Disability
Suppose the bike rider or owner suffers serious injury in an accident involving the bike and has a permanent partial disability. The insured will then receive only a percentage of the insured sum depending on his disability in such a situation.
What doesn't a Personal Accident Cover in Bike Insurance Reimburse?
There are some significant exclusions under the personal accident cover that bikers should know and claim accordingly to avoid rejections. They are as follows:
Date of the Accident
Internal injuries from road mishaps sometimes take weeks or months to show up. For this reason, some bike insurance companies entertain claims up to a year after the accident. However, depending on the bike insurance companies' policies, if the biker submits the claim after the lapse of the specific period, the insurance provider may reject the claim.
Nature of the Accident
The mishap should not be deliberate, and the resulting injury should not result from a suicide attempt, natural death, mental disorder, pregnancy, or childbirth. A bike insurance company may reject the claim if the damage is the consequence of a criminal act or sustained while participating in adventure sports.
Employment
Military personnel who receive accidental injuries in discharging their duties or war-related injuries cannot claim this benefit.
Intoxication
If the biker was under any form of intoxication other than prescription drugs or hallucinogens he takes as per the prescription, the claim becomes invalid.
Read more - Is Personal Accidental Cover Mandatory for a Two Wheeler?
Accidents as per Personal Accident Cover
You must read the fine lines in the terms and conditions of the personal accident cover to know the untoward incidents that personal accident cover considers accidents. Here is a generic list for you:
- A road mishap resulting in death or injury to the bike owner where no one can take responsibility for it
- When a bike accidentally skids off the road.
Conclusion
The personal accident cover is an additional but necessary expense, and it will give you the much-needed assistance when you cannot work and need to spend on expensive treatment.
Read more - Advantages of Personal Accident Cover With Two-wheeler Insurance
