Importance of personal accident insurance in construction

The real estate industry in India is growing exponentially, and growing along with it are job opportunities in the construction sector. Construction projects require a large number of workers and rely on the physical well-being of the workforce. But jobs in this field come with their own set of risks. As an employer, the safety of the construction workers hired is your responsibility.

Why construction professionals need personal accident insurance?

As a person working in the construction business, you either work with or are constantly around heavy-duty materials like cement and metal equipment. Mishaps can occur if these are not handled correctly. Despite safety precautions, a construction site can be a dangerous place, and unfortunately, accidents can happen to anyone at any time.

Working in such high-risk places is inevitable for professionals in the construction industry, so you must take all necessary steps to safeguard yourself and your livelihood, and accident insurance is the best way to do so. On an individual level, personal accident cover is the perfect option for insuring construction workers. Or, if you are an employer seeking to safeguard your employees, you can opt for group personal accident insurance for your construction staff.

What is a personal accident cover?

A personal accident insurance policy provides financial aid in case of accidental death, permanent total or partial disablement, or temporary total disablement of the policyholder. Niva Bupa offers such plans with coverage from INR 5 lakh to up to INR 2 crore, with the option to choose an individual or family plan.

Under the policy's child education benefit, 5% of the sum insured or between INR 50,000 - INR 5 lakh is disbursed for each child's education in case of your accidental demise or permanent total disablement.

You can also enhance your personal accident insurance coverage by selecting add-ons. Some of these add-ons include temporary total disablement cover, accident hospitalisation limit, surgical operations, prosthetic implants, and physiotherapy charges.

Like all insurance policies, the personal accident cover is also subject to standard exclusions like suicide or self-injury, war or war-like situations, committing assault or any criminal offence, and death or disablement due to radiation and radioactive materials.

As an employer, if you go for the group accident cover plan, you can customise personal accident insurance for your employees based on your requirement, with the option to select add-ons for all group members or a select few.

How does personal accident insurance help?

No one expects an accident to happen to them, but in a business where professionals face a lot of risks, it is better to be safe than sorry.

In case of an employee's accidental death on a construction site, not only does the person lose his life, but his family too loses a breadwinner and their livelihood. Who, then, will provide for them and pay for their daily expenses? This is where a personal accident insurance policy would be extremely helpful. The insurance company, in this situation, disburses up to 100% of the sum insured to the nominee along with a sum for the education of the deceased person's children.

In case your employee meets with an accident that renders them with a permanent complete or partial disability, it would directly impact their ability to continue working in construction, which would have a negative effect on their livelihood, plus it would make you liable for their safety and well-being. With a personal accident cover, your employees remain financially protected while knowing that you, as an employer, take their safety into consideration.

Meeting with an accident that renders you with a permanent complete or partial disability would directly impact your capacity to continue working in construction, which would have a negative effect on your livelihood. With a personal accident cover, you can file a claim with the insurer as well as file a claim with your employer.

Even with a temporary total disability brought on by accident at the site, you may face a loss of income for a considerable amount of time. You may not be able to work until you recover completely. This would put a serious dent in your finances. However, purchasing an add-on with your personal accident insurance policy will go a long way in having some form of financial inflow while you recuperate.

Under the personal accident cover by Niva Bupa, if you have a temporary total disability, the sum insured is INR 10 lakh or INR 20 lakh, and 1% of this sum would be paid out weekly for a Nivaimum of 100 weeks. This amount would help ease some of the financial strain that might be faced under the circumstances.

So if you are in the construction business, choosing a personal accident insurance policy for yourself and your employees is the smart thing to do to safeguard against mishaps and serious accidents. If you and your family members work in high-risk careers, you can also opt for the family personal accident insurance from Niva Bupa and extend the coverage to your loved ones.