Compulsory and voluntary accident insurance allows you to provide material support to the person who is applying for the policy, as well as to his family and relatives in unforeseen circumstances. In some cases this may come in handy.
In accordance with the law, any legally capable citizen can conclude an insurance contract against illness or accident both in relation to himself and to his relatives. Also, such a procedure can be carried out by legal entities, for example, issuing policies for athletes, students or employees of their firms.
Voluntary accident insurance will be discussed in more detail below.
What it is?
Accident insurance is a voluntary policy that helps to get reimbursement if an unforeseen situation occurs.
Of course, life is full of surprises and surprises. No one knows what tomorrow will bring him. Danger can await a person at every turn. It is for this reason that it is advisable for everyone to purchase a policy against illness, accident and various kinds of incidents. However, who is insured for such a product? Is it possible to purchase a policy for a newborn?
Each company has its own principles of voluntary insurance against accidents and illnesses. Companies in practice offer protection to citizens from one year to seventy years. At the same time, insurers are always open to wishes, go forward, coordinate individual conditions for regular customers.
If in the West this practice is the norm, then in Russia this product is usually not purchased of their own accord. For what reason do citizens not want to become owners of such a profitable service? The fact is that many often do not know what risks it provides protection from.
Accidents
Accidents include:
- natural disasters;
- fractures and bruises;
- heatstroke;
- frostbite;
- severe burn;
- poisoning with drugs or household chemicals;
- Accident resulting in injury.
Regarding serious chronic diseases, such as stroke, it must be said that this is not included in the category of accidents.
People who find themselves in an unpleasant situation often have to recover over time in order to return to their usual way of life. The recovery process may require financial resources for medicines and treatment. It is at this point that accident insurance protection will help. It is very comfortable. Let us consider in detail what types of insurance insurers offer their customers.
Types of insurance
In the practical sphere, there are three main types of insurance. Before visiting the company’s office, you need to carefully read them and choose the type that is suitable in this case.
- Voluntary accident insurance. The client has complete freedom of choice, since he voluntarily turns to the company for the product.
With voluntary insurance, a person chooses such parameters as a set of risks, the amount of coverage and the insurance period.
The advantage of such a service is based on the fact that work with a client occurs on an individual basis, all conditions are negotiated. Protection can be acquired both for one person and for all family members. At the same time, it is not necessary to purchase insurance for everyone, since you can sign one contract in which all persons are indicated.
- Group. In most cases, group insurance is for employees of the organization. Now this practice is gaining popularity. In this case, its head acts as the policyholder, who takes care of his employees.
In addition, group agreements are bought by tourist groups who want to protect themselves for the rest period. Also, do not forget about athletes who can participate in competitions only if there is a policy. In practice, the insured is a trainer who compiles a list of wards who need to draw up such documents. Naturally, under a group agreement, students are also insured. In most cases, the policy is issued for each student.
- Mandatory. It may seem that no one has the right to force a citizen to insure against accident without fail. In fact, there are a number of professions in which the presence of such an agreement becomes a prerequisite for the fulfillment of labor obligations. As a rule, these are employees of the Ministry of Emergencies or law enforcement agencies, military personnel, etc. It turns out that those whose work is associated with high risks are required to purchase insurance coverage.
You will need to purchase a policy when buying a ticket or during a vacation in the Schengen countries. Travel companies in practice are intermediaries, arranging insurance for their customers when selling tickets.
Voluntary industrial accident insurance
Regarding compulsory insurance, it must be said that the Federal Law precisely stipulates those professions that must fulfill such a requirement. This is an important point.
Currently, 32 professions are highlighted, whose representatives are required to acquire voluntary protection against accidents. But, to be more precise, insurance is bought not by employees, but by an authorized employee of the respective fund.
Such a requirement is prescribed at the legislative level, it is enshrined in the Federal Law 152. But voluntary insurance against industrial accidents is also carried out.
When performing work duties, an unforeseen event is possible, and the employee as a result of it may be injured, having lost the ability to perform the work assigned to him.
If an insured event occurs at the production site, the duty of the manager is to immediately record the event in a special act. This document confirms that the employee's health was harmed precisely during the performance of his labor duties.
The functioning of such companies is controlled by the Social Insurance Fund, that is, the Social Insurance Fund.
Tariffs
The amount for insurance (the company's liability limit or the maximum stipulated payment by agreement) is the subject of the contract between the client and the company. It can vary significantly. In case of voluntary insurance against workers' accidents, the client can determine the size of the amount, sufficient for him, and at the same time affordable. The company sets a tariff and compiles a specific percentage of the insurance amount. The more risks are included in the policy, the greater will be the tariff in the end. This must be taken into account. They range from 0.12 (if only mortal risk is included) to 10% (when an extensive list of risks, including those associated with diseases) is included. Factors that determine the cost of a voluntary accident insurance policy:
- Lifestyle (persons involved in traumatic sports, higher tariff rate).
- Profession of the client (the more dangerous his activity, the greater the sum insured and the tariff).
- The age category of the insured person (higher rates will be for older people and children).
- Gender (the cost of insurance for men after forty years increases markedly).
- Health status (tariffs for those suffering from serious pathologies increase).
- Insurance history (customers who have already established themselves receive discounts from an insurance company).
- The number of people in the policy (rates are reduced for corporate, family programs).
- Insurance period (the client may be granted a discount on the contribution for each subsequent year of the contract);
- The number of risks (the more there are, the higher the cost of the policy, respectively).
- Principles of the company.
Insurance premiums can be paid both one-time and in installments (every year, every quarter and every month). When drawing up the contract, it is necessary to discuss all the details with the company representative in advance, carefully read the rules.
Terms and conditions of insurance
In order to issue a voluntary accident and illness insurance policy, the client will be required only a document proving his identity, as well as an oral or written statement. However, if you wish to conclude an agreement for an amount equal to several million rubles, or if you are in the high-risk category, the company may require additional securities. The client must be notified of any restrictions imposed by the insurer. This is an important nuance. Restrictions are placed on the amount and health status of clients (companies usually do not provide services to citizens suffering from serious illnesses and having disability groups I and II); age of the client (most often 18-65 years old).
The period of voluntary medical accident insurance may be different: during the performance of labor duties, during the transfer to work and back, around the clock, for a specially specified period of time (for example, during sports in the section). The contract as a whole can be concluded for a period from one day (for example, a person’s stay on the road) to several years.
Applicants with individual voluntary insurance most often make a policy for one year, in rarer cases - for a longer period.
In Russia, voluntary lifelong accident insurance is still rare. The time from which the policy takes effect is determined by agreement. Insurance most often works from the day following the day the contribution is paid. In accidents, the contribution ranges from 0.12-10%, which depends on the list of risks.
The policy can be issued with extensive round-the-clock coverage, which provides insurance worldwide, if you include a full list of risks in the document, including sports. This implies protection everywhere and always: at home and on the trip, in the country and in the car, on vacation and at work. If an accident caused several insurance events, for example, after an injury - hospitalization or surgery - payments are made in full. Such a practice is a conscious choice of a client who wants to protect himself and his family.
Another type of voluntary accident insurance is “from and to” registration, for example, only for the duration of a trip, training, events, etc. These policies are usually issued at the request of the sports section or other organization that wants to minimize its responsibility. They include a small list of risks that provide limited protection for the policy and have a low cost. An event that occurs outside the term and territory specified in the voluntary accident insurance contract is not compensated.
Duration of the contract and the beginning of the policy
The insurance contract shall enter into force on the day after the customer has paid the entire premium amount. Installment protection is “included” only after the company receives the first payment. If the money has not arrived within the period prescribed in the agreement, the policy will be invalid.
Where to apply for voluntary life insurance against accidents?
Where can I get it?
In order to make the right choice, you need to consider the various companies offering quality products and have proven their reliability over the years.
The top 3 voluntary accident and health insurance companies include the following:
- VTB Insurance. This is a large organization that was founded in 2000. Currently, an extensive list of insurance services is offered here. The company's partners are such well-known organizations as UniCredit Bank, VTB Bank, Loko-Bank, Mortgage Lending Agency, etc.
- SOGAZ. It is a leader in the insurance market, offering the population policies since 1993. Now the company provides customers with more than one hundred profitable programs, including accident insurance. The following major institutions entrust their protection to the company: Gazprom Group, Rosatom, Russian Railways OJSC, etc.
- Alpha Insurance. This is a universal type of company with a large package of services. The insurer offers customers to purchase protection both in the office and in partner stores. The services of this company are used by such large companies as Aeroflot, Coca Cola, Information Satellite Systems, Domodedovo Airport, etc.
What else does voluntary health insurance cover?
Procedure and terms of payment
Payments are determined by the amount of the contract and the insured event. As a rule, damage is determined according to a special table. It clearly indicates what percentage is paid of the sum insured. This table should be given to each insured during the process of registration of the contract. In relation to occupational disease, there is a special system of compensation payments, which is negotiated individually during the execution of the agreement and is written in it.
You can get compensation:
- With disability for a while. One of the most common options. In this case, the insurance company will strictly take into account the days of incapacity for work, making a percentage for each payment. But some firms set time limits, during which time compensation will be made when risk occurs. The term is usually no more than one hundred days.
- With disability. The amount of payment is determined directly from the disability group received by the client. For I, as a rule, they pay 100% of the amount, 75% for II, 50% for III.
- At the death of the client. Compensation is paid to the beneficiary by agreement, 100% of the insurance amount.
Payment under accident insurance contracts is made within the time periods specified in the agreement. Such a period in practice is not more than thirty days from the date of the decision to make payments. The exceptions are situations that are associated with the initiation of criminal proceedings in court and the appearance of doubts in the documentation.
Early termination of the contract
The contract of voluntary insurance of citizens against accidents ceases to be valid when the company has fully fulfilled its obligations, or at the end of the cooperation period. At the legislative level, termination of the agreement ahead of schedule is permitted if:
- the client himself, for reasons known to him, decided to refuse protection;
- the policy is declared invalid in court;
- absence of an insured event (for example, upon dismissal from a dangerous job);
- upon liquidation of the company itself;
- the paid period ended, and the person decided not to pay the next installment or didn’t pay the money in full.
This happens quite often.
We reviewed the rules for voluntary accident insurance.