Accident Insurance Can Help Clients Keep Summer Carefree

Those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer – or so the song by the late, great Nat King Cole goes. From road trips and beach days to barbeques and fireworks, there's no shortage of fun during the summer months.

However, as much as summer can be synonymous with joy, this busy, active time presents a greater risk for accidents and injuries.

Close to 20% of adults and more than 17% of children visit emergency rooms every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Additionally, about 31% of all emergency department visits happen in the summer months, significantly higher than any other season.

These injuries hurt not just physically, but also financially. Depending on your health insurance, an emergency room visit could produce a hefty amount of out-of-pocket expenses, which can create financial stress and derail other fun summer plans. Therefore, the summer season is a great time to check in with your clients on their benefit plans and highlight how accident insurance can serve as a useful financial safety net.

The Role of Accident Insurance

Most accident coverage provides benefits for emergency room visits, hospitalization, diagnostic exams, X-rays, physical therapy and follow-up visits. For individuals or families that like to stay busy with sports and other recreational leagues, some insurers include benefits for organized sporting events. It is worth noting that accident coverage can also celebrate policyholders' proactive self-care with a wellness benefit that can pay for a routine medical exam as a way to encourage early detection and prevention.

After a serious injury, no one wants to worry about medical bills or the impact of missing a paycheck. Since accident coverage isn't health insurance, policyholders receive cash benefits directly in the event of a covered injury that can be used any way they see fit — including medical expenses like deductibles or copayments or living expenses like utility bills or groceries.

Agents and brokers can position accident coverage as a way for clients to strengthen their benefits packages and make it more customizable to employees. Offering accident coverage alongside other supplemental benefits can be an affordable and easy way to give employees more control since they want the ability to choose the right benefits that best meet their individual needs.

At the end of the day, a benefits package is intended to help protect employees' finances, reduce stress and prepare them for the unexpected. The summer months are an ideal time to showcase to clients how accident coverage can brighten up their overall benefits package and allow employees to live a little more stress-free this summer.

— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Wendy Herndon is second vice president of product solutions at Aflac. She manages product portfolio strategy, development and implementation.