Every year, the development of the insurance market in Russia is gaining momentum. This is not surprising, because insurance is almost the only way to financially support yourself and your loved ones in case of an unforeseen situation. One of the most popular types of such support is accident insurance.
History tour
This type of insurance has rather deep roots, but if you don’t get too deep in history, we can say that its appearance is connected with the requirement of the Visby Sea Law, recorded in 1541 in the UK. It says that the owner of a seagoing vessel, hiring a team, is obliged to insure the life and health of the captain from possible accidents.
Already in the 17th century, a special scale for volunteer soldiers was developed in Holland, according to which various monetary compensation was due to them, depending on the degree of injury received. In the 18th and 19th centuries, accident insurance was also widespread in Germany and England, where the so-called mutual assistance unions began to be created.
This type of insurance came to Russia at the dawn of the 20th century, with the adoption in 1903 of a law guaranteeing workers in the mining industry and employees of various factories, as well as members of their families, compensation in case of loss of working ability or death at work. For a long time accident insurance was part of life insurance and only over time, after almost a hundred years, became independent.
Basic concepts
There are several types of accident insurance, but all of them can be divided into two broad categories: compulsory (guaranteed by law) insurance of certain categories of citizens and voluntary - consisting in drawing up a contract on mutually beneficial conditions. In the first case, payments under the contract are made by the Accident Insurance Fund, and in the second case, the insurance company assumes financial risks. In any case, the object of insurance is the property interests of citizens associated with disability, injury or death due to an accident.
An accident can be recognized as a situation where the external impact on the body of the insured was sudden and unforeseen. The key factor here is surprise, since if a person was aware of the onset of unpleasant consequences and did not prevent them, then most often the insurance payment will be refused. For example, if you were skiing, tripped over a stone and broke your leg, it would be an accident, and when you were badly burned after spending several hours on the beach, this is your problem, since you were aware of the likely consequences and could stop at any moment destructive action.
Scope of Responsibility
Since the conditions of insurance are clearly specified in the contract, the scope of liability does not fall simply on injury due to unforeseen external influences, namely an insurance accident, that is, only what is stipulated by the contract. The whole variety of consequences of such circumstances can be divided into 3 large categories:
- temporary disability;
- partial or complete disability;
- death.
All these consequences constitute the insurance liability and can be included in the contract together, separately (for example, payments are made only upon receipt of a disability) or in various combinations.
Compulsory insurance in the Russian Federation
For some categories of citizens of the Russian Federation, depending on the sphere of employment, social insurance is provided for accident, regulated by Federal Law No. 125 of July 24, 1998. This type of insurance is limited to cases of ill health associated with injuries and injuries directly at work or outside the enterprise, but during working hours (as well as on the way to the place of work and home). A feature of this type of insurance is that payments on it are made exclusively by the employer.
More recently, compulsory insurance could include health insurance for passengers using the services of all types of water, air and land transport. For some time now such insurance has been replaced by the need for carrier liability insurance.
Special insurance for the military
This type of compulsory insurance protects citizens whose professional activities are initially associated with a risk to life. These include employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, military personnel, rescuers, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the judicial and tax system, and others. Financial coverage of risks for this type of insurance is provided at the expense of the federal budget.
So, what guarantees military personnel accident insurance (Federal Law No. 52 of 03/28/1998):
- minor injury - 5 salaries;
- in case of severe injury (injury, mutilation) - 10 salaries;
- getting injuries (injuries) resulting in disability III gr. - 25 salaries;
- with the appointment of disability II gr. - 50 salaries;
- disability I gr. - 75 monthly salaries;
- receipt of an injury leading to the death of the insured guarantees the receipt of 25 monthly salaries to each beneficiary.
We will insure in addition
If you are used to taking care of yourself and your loved ones on your own, a voluntary accident insurance contract is suitable for you. The main feature of such an agreement is that you yourself can choose the list of risks that you want to insure, as well as the amount and duration of insurance.
At your choice, you can issue a policy for several days (if, for example, you are planning to relax in the mountains) or choose an insurance option that covers absolutely all your risks around the clock for several years - it all depends on how much you can afford.
The entire voluntary insurance market can be divided into 2 groups - individual and collective. What are the differences?
Every man for himself
Individual accident insurance assumes the conclusion of an agreement with an individual, and its action in this case extends both to the insured and to members of his family (in case of death of the insured). It can be full or partial.
In the first case, the guarantee of the contract extends to all spheres of the life of the insured (both private and professional) for the entire duration of the contract. With partial insurance, you can choose a specific period of your life: during a vacation or business trip, for the period of sports and so on.
Also, accident insurance may be included as an additional in a package providing a more complete list of services.
Collective insurance
Collective accident insurance has also become quite popular today. Many large companies offer this option today in addition to the social package. A feature of this type of insurance is that in this case the insurer is the employer, and the beneficiary is the insured person or members of his family.
In previous years, collective insurance in the Russian Federation gained quite wide popularity due to the peculiarities of tax legislation, which guaranteed the possibility of returning insurance premiums and preferential taxation of insurance payments. To date, the tax regime in this area has been greatly tightened, which has made collective insurance less attractive for the employer.
What could be an insured event
Since payments under the accident insurance contract are fully or partially made after the occurrence of a certain event, it is worthwhile to dwell separately on what is an insured event. Events recognized in the contract and occurring during the period of its validity that entail the death of the insured person or a partial or complete loss of their ability to work are recognized as such.
These include:
- injuries (injuries) resulting from an accident;
- unintentional poisoning by chemical substances, poisonous plants, drugs, poor-quality food (except for toxicological infections - dysentery, salmonellosis, etc.);
- sudden illness with polio, tick-borne encephalitis;
- ectopic pregnancy or birth pathology, which led to the removal of the internal organs of the genital area (ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes);
- dislocations, fractures, burns, injuries and ruptures of internal organs that occurred by accident, as well as cases of organ removal as a result of erroneous medical manipulations;
- cases of unintentional ingestion of foreign objects into the respiratory tract, anaphylactic shock, drowning;
- hypothermia, which entailed severe consequences (except death from a cold);
- death of the insured from the reasons listed above that occurred during the term of the contract.
Why do not give insurance
There is also a list of events, the occurrence of which cannot be regarded as an insured event:
- if injuries (injuries) were received by the insured during the commission of unlawful acts by him;
- when injuries were intentionally inflicted by the insured on his own;
- poisoning or injury was the result of an attempted suicide;
- if injuries, injuries and injuries were received as a result of driving any vehicle in a state of narcotic, toxic or alcohol intoxication, as well as in the case of transferring control to another person in this condition;
- when adverse effects on the body occurred as a result of preventive, diagnostic or therapeutic measures carried out at the initiative of the insured and not related to the treatment of a disease resulting from the occurrence of an insurance event;
- death as a result of the above reasons.
How much is it
One of the most important topics of concern to citizens who want to further protect their life and health is the question of how much accident insurance costs. Rates here directly depend on the list of insured events entered into the contract and the identity of the insured. The range is quite wide - from 0.10%, if only the risk of death is insured, to 12-15% for policies with a wide spectrum of action.
The amount of the insurance premium may be affected by:
- gender and age of the insured - it is believed that men have a higher risk of injury, and citizens of more advanced age are generally reluctant to insure;
- lifestyle - do you like extreme types of recreation or go in for sports associated with increased invasiveness;
- profession - the more dangerous it is, the higher the tariff;
- the state of health of the client - if you suffer from serious diseases, the tariff increases many times;
- the number of risks to be insured - the more, the more expensive;
- insurance period and the number of insured persons - family policies are usually cheaper than individual ones;
- other factors depending on the policy of the insurance company.
The frequency of payments is also specified in the contract - contributions can be made once, annually, monthly or every quarter. Insurance companies today offer a fairly wide selection of plans and rates, so finding the right one is easy.