Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance:
Who Needs This?
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance or AD&D for short is a type of life insurance policy similar to Term that is often used for those in a high risk physical job-but only a small subset of people benefits from this type of policy.
Let me explain,
These types of policies are great because they are even more affordable then a term life policy…BUT… they have many more death restrictions to get your payout .
Here’s more…
What does AD&D cover?
To keep things simple; these types of policies are typically “add-on” policies to a life insurance policy. If you are someone that works in a high risk environment and at high risk for death or loss of limb/sight/hearing. These policies will pay out all or some of the policy benefit for such a situation.
What does AD&D NOT cover?
These polices often DO NOT cover:
- Long term illness or cancer diagnosis
- Suicide
- High risk actives such as scuba diving or mount climbing.
- Complications of a surgery
- Infections
- Drug Overdose
- Military Injury
- DUI with injuries
Why would I want AD&D?
Maybe a term life insurance policy is too expensive. Maybe you have significant health problems and getting a typical insurance policy just isn’t feasible but you work in a high risk environment and want some financial protection if you are killed/injured.
These AD&D policies are more affordable, often do not require medical exam but also DO NOT typically offer as much in coverage as a Term policy would.
Often these are added on as “riders” to a traditional term policy when someone works in a high risk environment.
Also the nice thing about AD&D is that it covers dismemberment…not just death. If you are unable to work due to accident these policies will often pay out some if not all of the benefit.
Final key points
- AD&D is great is you work in a high risk environment and want added financial protection.
- Honestly, we usually recommend a traditional Term Life policy instead, because these AD&D policies are so restrictive on type of death they will pay out- only accidents not chronic illnesses or cancer.
- Often these are best used as “riders” on traditional policies.
- These can be very affordable and easy to obtain, often without much underwriting or exams.