Personal Accident Insurance, also known as Accident insurance, provides an income if you are unable to work as the result of an accident. In Ireland it is estimated that one in six Irish workers will be unable to work for more than six months over their lifetime while according to the Office for National Statistics in the UK more than 2 million people are permanently unable to work due to accident or sickness. Available to almost all occupations. Personal Accident insurance is particularly popular with the construction industry as it provides an income after only one month’s inability to work as the result of an accident. The cover provided is 24 hour and not limited to work related accidents. All payments are tax free and the policy can be tailored to your exact needs. There are three distinct benefits to personal accident Insurance, namely:

A Monthly Tax Free Income - The monthly tax free amount is paid after one month and you choose the duration that the benefit is payable for, 12, 18 or 24 Months. This means that a policyholder will receive an income every month until they either return to work or the benefit period selected [12/18/24 months] has elapsed.

Hospital Cash cover provides a fixed amount, usually €100 for every night that you spend in hospital.

Capital Benefits are provided to the policyholder which provides a lump sum depending on the nature of your injury. For example, the loss of sight, a hand, foot etc result in a €100,000 lump sum while relatively minor incidents such as a broken leg result in a €1,000 along with the selected monthly benefit.

Although cover on a personal Accident policy provides cover for ‘Accidents Only’ a Sickness & Accident package can be arranged which provides all the benefits of a Personal Accident policy and also includes cover if you are unable to work as the result of illness.

This package is equally popular with both the construction and non construction sectors and is tailored to your needs.

Also known as Income Protection Insurance, Permanent Health Insurance is the most comprehensive product available on the market today. Unlike Personal Accident policies where payments are limited to a maximum of 2 years, payments from a permanent health insurance policy last until your selected retirement age or until you return to work.

Claims can potentially last for decades although the deferred period is longer – the normal deferred period is 13 weeks as opposed to one month with a personal accident policy. In the event of a claim the insurer effectively becomes your employer and the cover available protects your income if you are unable to work for longer than the deferred period as the result of any illness, injury, disability or accident.

Keystone Insurance is Irelands leading supplier of Personal Accident, Sickness & Accident and Permanent Health Insurance. For more information please visit www.keystone.ie