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Accident, Arising Out of and in the Course of Employment

The popular definition of “accident” is “an event that is neither expected nor desired.” The phrase “in the course of employment” denotes the time when the injury occurs, whereas the phrase “out of employment” establishes the causal link between the injury and the employment.

Accident, Compulsory Public Liability Insurance

Accident is defined as “an accident involving a fortuitous, sudden, or unintentional occurrence while handling any hazardous substance resulting in continuous, intermittent, or repeated exposure to death, injury, or property damage, but does not include an accident caused solely by war or radioactivity.”

Accident, Sickness and Unemployment policies (ASU)

Creditor insurance that provides coverage in the event of an accident, illness, or unemployment.

See also Life, Accident, Sickness and Unemployment insurance (LASU).

Accidental bodily injury

An unintended, unexpected injury to the human body caused by an accident or by ordinary means that resulted in an unanticipated outcome.

For the purposes of a legal liability policy, reckless behaviour that results in an expected but unintended bodily injury is not accidental; the injury must be both unexpected and unintended from the insured’s perspective. Accidental injury usually happens at a specific time and place, but the concept of the slow accident has emerged, and conditions like deep vein thrombosis must be considered in light of policy definitions and court decisions. A person injured under a car when a jack slips has suffered an accidental injury under a personal accident policy, but back strain from an uneventful tyre change lacks fortuity and is thus not accidental.

Accidental damage

In the absence of a precise policy definition, the term will be interpreted as common English language usage. Accidental damage is typically defined as “unintended and unexpected damage caused by sudden and external means, subject to certain exceptions, such as electrical and mechanical derangement, inherent vice, and action of insects, moths, vermin, and the like.” ‘Visible damage not caused on purpose’ is a common phrase, subject to exclusions to put certain matters beyond doubt. ‘Damage’ includes accidental destruction but not necessarily ‘accidental loss,’ though where the loss is of an integral part of an item, such as couch covers, the resulting ‘impairment’ is likely to be regarded as ‘accidental damage.

Accidental damage cover

Coverage provided by a household or commercial policy that includes all of the benefits of a standard named peril policy as well as accidental damage coverage, such as spilling paint on a rug or laptop. A loss must be matched to a named peril under a named peril policy.

Accidental damage excess

An alternative term for excessive damage. It is the excess in the loss or damage section of comprehensive motor policies and applies only to claims involving the insured vehicle’s loss or damage. In the case of loss or damage caused by fire or theft, the excess is waived. All auto policies include an accidental damage excess for young and inexperienced drivers.

Accidental damage to property

A liability policy considers damage to be accidental if it is unexpected and unintended from the standpoint of the insured. Property refers to’material property’ rather than property or intellectual property rights. See accidental damage for first-party coverage.

Accidental Death

Short Definition: Insured’s death as a result of an accident.

Long Definition: As an insured event under personal accident insurance, it is defined as “death caused by violent, accidental, external, and visible means that shall solely and independently result in death occurring within 12 months.” The time limit is arbitrary, but the longer the period between the injury and subsequent death, the more likely an intervening cause will be. If the accidental death is caused by an accepted risk, the insurer makes no payment.

Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)

Short Description: Policy that pays out in the event of the insured’s death as a result of an accident or incapacitating bodily injury.

Long Description: Typically, this coverage is written in conjunction with group life insurance contracts. The accidental death portion provides double indemnity coverage if death is caused by an accident, and the dismemberment portion provides benefits for the loss of a specific body part (e.g., eye, hand, leg). For example, if a member of the group dies of natural causes, the group life contract may provide £100,000 in coverage. If the death was caused by an accident, the benefit is £200,000. If an accident causes the loss of an arm rather than death, the benefit could be £50,000. Some AD&D riders pay half the benefit amount if the insured loses a limb or vision in one eye.