DKV Accidentes — accident benefits: at home, at work and on the road

What this policy is

DKV Accidentes pays out in cash when a person has had an accident. It does not treat — health insurance is there for that — it compensates the consequences: lost income, inability to work, the need for care from others. An accident does not pick its place. It is equally likely at home, at work and on the road, which is why the policy is put together around the life a person actually leads.

What is always included

Three basic benefits are there in any configuration. Death by accident — the capital sum chosen when the policy was taken out. Simultaneous death of both spouses in a road accident — a separate payment. The cover sounds grim, but it is about the children: this is precisely the situation where a family loses both parents at once. Permanent disability, total or partial. The capital is paid in full, or the share of it calculated by the degree of loss.

What can be added

Severe disability — a separate capital sum for the case where a person cannot manage daily life without help from others. Temporary incapacity — a payment for each day the person cannot work. There is one limit: no more than one calendar year running from the date of the accident. Hospitalisation — a payment for each day in hospital. Additional capital for a road accident — on top of the main sum, on death or total permanent disability. Death from myocardial infarction at work. There is a strict condition here, and it needs to be understood before signing: the benefit is paid only if the case is officially recognised as an occupational accident, and only if there were no cardiovascular conditions before the policy was taken out. Medical assistance following an accident — payment for treating the consequences.

The policy is built around a way of life

The modality is chosen according to where a person spends the day. 24 hours — covers everything: work, travel, leisure, home. The fullest option and the most straightforward. Occupational — accidents at work only. It makes sense if non-occupational risks are already covered by another policy. Non-occupational — the other way round, outside work only. Usually taken by those whose workplace already provides compulsory cover under the collective agreement. Road accidents — with a choice of whether it concerns a private car or a company one. There are also three special versions. Educational centres — for students, covering the daily journey to the place of study. Mujer 24h — the women's version, which adds an annual gynaecological check-up and the cost of cosmetic surgery if it becomes necessary after an accident. For companies — set up to match exactly the cover that the sector's collective agreement requires. Special risks. Skiing, horse riding, hunting, sailing, motorcycling — all of these can be added to the cover for an additional premium. Without that, an accident during such an activity is left without a payment.

Limits — read before signing

There are several rules better learned in advance than at the moment of claiming. A claim must be reported within seven days of the date of the accident. It is a short window, and it is not a formality: missing it is legitimate grounds for refusal. The sums for death by accident and for death from a heart attack at work are not added together. One of them is paid, not both. If the injury affects an organ that was already damaged, the payment covers only the worsening, not the condition as a whole. For left-handed people, the disability percentages set out for the right arm apply to the left and vice versa — but this only works if left-handedness was stated in the declaration when the policy was taken out.

Services included

Medical telephone lines around the clock: general, paediatric with Sant Joan de Déu Hospital, childhood obesity, pregnancy, sports, dietary and psycho-emotional. Second medical opinion in the case of serious illness. Reduced prices on laser eye surgery, plastic surgery and aesthetic medicine, audiology, gait analysis, pelvic floor recovery, assisted reproduction, orthopaedics, quitting smoking, sleep apnoea treatment and childminding.

What it goes with

The policy sits well alongside three other DKV products. Renta covers loss of income through illness, not only through injury. Vida covers the risk of death from any cause, not only from an accident. Health insurance pays for the treatment itself, whereas Accidentes pays out in cash for the consequences.