April 3, 2013
When budgets are tight, people look to a variety of methods to save money on their monthly bills. If you’re a healthy individual you may have opted to change your health insurance policy to one with a larger deductible. While this can save you money most of the time, there is a chance you’ll be hit with a large, one-time bill if you get into an accident. An accident only medical plan can eliminate that risk.
A high-deductible insurance policy will save you money every month by charging lower premiums. In case of a long-term illness, an unexpected hospitalization or other sudden medical expenses, this policy can cover the overwhelming bills hospitals charge. The problem is with the deductible. If your policy begins covering you after the first $5,000 of medical expenses, this gap in your coverage can leave you short of cash at inopportune times. An accident only medical insurance plan will cover that gap.
One of the great advantages of these supplemental insurance policies is their affordability. For a nominal fee, you can avoid the danger of losing thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses at one time. A small monthly premium can easily fit into most budgets, while a surprise hospital bill for an accident often cannot. When the cost of one quick trip to the emergency room can run into thousands of dollars, there are few people who can pay this out-of-pocket without feeling the pinch.
Accident insurance plans are among the most intelligent insurance policies for healthy people. By their nature, accidents happen without planning or foresight. You can trip and break a wrist, fall off a bicycle and sprain your ankle or get hit with a fly ball at a baseball game. Each of these accidents might cost thousands of dollars after a short trip to the emergency room and none of them are covered on your high-deductible hospital insurance plan. An accident only medical plan, though, covers all of them.
If you have children, accident insurance plans are a smart addition to your family coverage. Children’s accidents, whether from sports injuries or simple playground accidents, can account for a major portion of a family’s medical bills each year. Children break bones, require stitches and have other accidents at a surprisingly common rate, and a normal family budget just isn’t prepared to pay these bills on a regular basis. These accident only plans are the perfect supplement in these instances.
Accident-Only medical plans are not ideal for everyone. If you have no medical coverage at all, this won’t substitute for major medical insurance. The coverage is limited, although you have the ability to choose your coverage, from a minor amount that covers one trip to the emergency room to enough to cover a weekend stay in the hospital. These plans won’t cover regular doctor visits, illness, chronic medical problems or medical emergencies such as a heart attack. They simply cover you in case of a physical accident in which you need emergency medical care.
Individuals and families should never cancel major medical insurance policies to change to an accident only plan. These insurance plans are meant to be supplemental policies only. However, if you’ve chosen to raise the deductible on your main insurance policy and are in danger of one accidental injury cleaning out your family’s bank account, an accident only insurance plan can be the smartest insurance purchase you can choose.
