Accidental Death Benefits are paid only if the cause of death is deemed to be an accident.

Sometimes a regular life insurance or health insurance contract will offer an Accidental Death rider. The rider is appended to the contract for a relatively inexpensive additional premium and will pay a specified death benefit if the insured’s cause of death results from an accident.

There are several exclusions to the definition of accident, and usually these are things like dangerous activities (sky diving, cave diving), acts of violence and war, and accidents resulting from driving under the influence or other examples where the insured has willfully put themselves in danger, or committed a crime, will usually not be covered.

Due to the amount of exclusions and the narrow chances of these policies paying out, a regular term life policy is sometimes a better deal for the insured. Some people still like the idea of getting twice as much coverage in the event of an unforeseen accident.

When added as riders on a life policy, these are sometimes called double-indemnity clauses.

In fact, actual accidents are more rarely the cause of premature death than things like illness and disease.

What is Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance?
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