Accident insurance: Is it really worth it?

Accident insurance can be  a great way to cover unexpected medical costs, especially before health insurance kicks in.

Why accident insurance adds value to any benefits mix

Accident insurance contributes to employee financial wellness. Medical costs, college debt, and other expenses are pushing stress levels higher. What’s more, two-thirds of all bankruptcies are related to medical bills. And workers are turning to their employers for help: 52 percent of employees report they would face financial hardship without their workplace benefits, while 67 percent say their benefits are important because they would not be able to afford them otherwise.1

Employees want accident insurance. Employees want supplemental health insurance benefits like accident insurance – in fact, offering these types of benefits would cause someone to want to work for the employer that offers them. In a recent survey, 55 percent of employees said they want supplemental health insurance benefits. Likewise, nearly as many stated that supplemental insurance offerings like accident coverage were viewed as a welcome addition to help pay for expenses not covered by their medical plan, as well as expand care possibilities.2

How Guardian accident insurance can go further

Guardian accident insurance can serve as a sensible way to help employees cover expenses that many medical plans may not. Accident insurance benefits are paid directly from Guardian to the covered employee – not to the doctors or the hospital. The money your employees receive can be used however they wish – for medical bills, childcare, mortgage payments, groceries, or any other expense, allowing them to concentrate on getting better instead of how they’re going to pay their bills. And with a price tag similar to a latte a day, the cost of accident insurance is one you can share with your employees if you choose.

Features that help Guardian accident insurance stand out:

The Rainy Day Fund: This feature helps pay for additional services when members exceed the maximum number of allowable treatments and visits. Members start each year with up to $500 in the fund (varies based on the plan design chosen by employer) and we use that money to pay claims that would otherwise be denied due to frequency limitations. Leftover amounts up to half of the initial fund amount are rolled over to the next year. Uses for the Rainy Day Fund include doctor follow-up visits, fractures, outpatient therapies, and many more.

Automatic Increase3: Add this option to give employees a 5 percent increase in benefit amounts each year for five years with no increase in employee premium. This option does not apply to disability, hospital confinement due to sickness, or the wellness benefit.

Organized sports benefit: Accident insurance benefits are increased by up to 25 percent if a covered dependent child (aged 18 years old or younger) is injured while participating in an organized sport. We also cover baseline concussion studies, which are required by many youth sports leagues.

Injury-Free Benefit rider: This unique rider rewards members who are accident-free for five years with a benefit payout of up to $500.  We pay the benefit even if there are Wellness and/or Concussion Baseline Study claims. No other carrier offers this type of planholder rider.

TravelAid services: These services provide employees and their dependents with a safety net for both personal and business travel. TravelAid is available around the clock and the world to ensure assistance when members need help the most – whether it’s a medical emergency or simply replacing travel documents.

Wellness rider. This rider, standard on all Guardian supplemental health insurance products, encourages employees to stay healthy by including a wellness benefit payment of $50 - $150 per year when they complete certain routine wellness procedures or screenings.4

Guardian covers employees in more than 40 ways

Guardian accident insurance covers services related to:

  • Common injuries such as burns, dislocations, fractures, concussions, eye injuries, lacerations, and brain trauma.
  • Services during treatment and recovery, such as ambulance, emergency room treatment, x-rays, hospitalization, surgery, chiropractic visits and more.
  • Outpatient therapies (occupational, physical, vocational, speech, respiratory, cognitive, behavioral)

Other optional riders for extra coverage

Tailor your employee benefits offering to meet the specific needs of your company, your employees, and their families with these additional options:

  • AD&D rider (accidental death & dismemberment), where additional benefit payments are available if there is an:
    • Accidental death
    • Dismemberment
    • Catastrophic loss
    • Accommodation to home or vehicle that is needed
  • Hospital confinement for sickness rider, which provides an additional benefit payment for each day the insured person is in a hospital due to sickness.
  • Disability rider, where an additional benefit payment is made if an employee or covered spouse becomes disabled and unable to work (weekly payments can be for 26 – 52 weeks).

Support this benefit with an active enrollment strategy

When your company decides to offer accident insurance, our approach to enrollment can help you design an experience that educates and engages employees, so they can make more informed benefit decisions.

Learn more about our active enrollment approach.

Disclaimer

1

Report: Benefits Optimization, 2020 

2

Research brief: “What employees want,” 2019 

3

Optional riders and /or features may incur additional costs. 

4

Not available in all states.

Child organized sport benefit: The child must be insured by the plan on date the accident occurred. The child must be 18 years of age or younger.

TravelAid is provided by Integrated Behavioral Health, Inc., and its contractors. The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian) does not provide any part of these services. Guardian is not responsible or liable for care or advice given by any provider or resource under the program. This information is for illustrative purposes only. It is not a contract. Only the Administration Agreement can provide the actual terms, services, limitations and exclusions. Guardian and IBH reserve the right to discontinue TravelAid at any time without notice. TravelAid services may not be available in all states.

“The Rainy Day Fund does not apply to benefits without frequency limitations, or Wellness claims. Covered benefits include: air ambulance, ambulance, blood/plasma/platelets, chiropractic visits, diagnostic exam (major), doctor follow-up visits, emergency dental work, epidural anesthesia pain management, eye injury, family care, fractures, gunshot wound, hospital confinement, hospital ICU confinement, joint replacement, knee cartilage, lodging, outpatient therapies, rehabilitation unit confinement, ruptured disc with surgical repair, surgery (cranial, open abdominal, thoracic, hernia), surgery (exploratory and arthroscopic), transportation, and x-ray.”

Guardian's Accident Insurance is underwritten and issued by The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, NY. Products are not available in all states. Policy limitations and exclusions apply. Optional riders and/or features may incur additional costs. Plan documents are the final arbiter of coverage. This policy provides Accident insurance only. It does not provide basic hospital, basic medical or major medical insurance as defined by the New York State Department of Financial Services. IMPORTANT NOTICE –THIS POLICY DOES NOT PROVIDE COVERAGE FOR SICKNESS. Policy Form # GP-1-AC-BEN-12, et al.

SUMMARY OF PLAN LIMITATIONS AND EXCLUSIONS

This plan will not pay benefits for any injury caused by or related to:

Declared or undeclared war, act of war, or armed aggression; taking part in a riot or civil disorder; or commission of, or attempt to commit a felony; Intentionally self-inflicted injury, while sane or insane; suicide or attempted suicide, while sane or insane

The covered person being legally intoxicated

Travel or flight in any kind of aircraft, including any aircraft owned by or for the employer except as a fare-paying passenger on a common carrier

Participation in any kind of sporting activity for compensation or profit, including coaching or officiating

Riding in or driving any motor-driven vehicle in a race, stunt show or speed test

Participation in hang gliding, bungee jumping, sail gliding, parasailing, parachuting, ballooning, parachuting, and/or skydiving

Job related or on the job injuries (If coverage is off job only)

Injuries to a dependent child received during the birth

An accident that occurred before the covered person is covered by this plan

Sickness, disease, mental infirmity or medical or surgical treatment

Employees must be legally working in the United States in order to be eligible for coverage. Underwriting must approve coverage for employees on temporary assignment: (a) exceeding one year ; or (b) in an area under travel warning by the U.S. Department of State, subject to state specific variations.

A pre-existing condition includes any condition for which an employee, in the specified time period prior to coverage in this plan, consults with a physician, receives treatment, or takes prescribed drugs. Please refer to the plan documents for specific time periods. State variations may apply. This applies to the Disability or Hospital Confinement Sickness riders only.

This proposal summarizes the major features of the Guardian Accident benefit plan. It is not intended to be a complete representation of the proposed plan. For full plan features, including exclusions and limitations, please refer to your policy.

GUARDIAN® is a registered service mark of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America®  ©Copyright 2021 The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, New York, N.Y.

[This advertising content is not currently intended for anyone in the state of New Mexico.]

2021-122801 20230630