The big moment in personal accident insurance isn't the bone fracture – it's permanent disability. This is where it's decided whether the policy is a financial plaster or a genuine safety net. The mechanics are a table, and the logic behind it can be learned – that's exactly what this article gives you.
- The payout is a percentage matched to the degree of disability – set out in the policy's tables, established once recovery has concluded.
- A progressive structure pays a higher multiplier for severe disability – between two similar quotes, this is often the real difference.
- How small percentages are handled (an entry threshold, or a payout from the first percentage point) is the detail that matters most day to day.
How is the percentage arrived at?
At the end of the healing process – once the condition has stabilised – the insurer's medical expert establishes, based on the documentation and, where necessary, a personal examination, whether any disability remains, and to what degree. The policy's tables set out the degrees for each body part and function; the final percentage is matched against this system, and the insurer pays the corresponding share of the sum insured. The process takes time – the payout typically doesn't arrive in the first weeks, but after the condition has stabilised: the path to establishing it is covered in a separate article.
Linear or progressive?
The linear structure is simple: it pays out in proportion to the sum insured. The progressive structure is smarter: it pays a higher multiplier for more severe disability – because the costs of adapting your life to a severe disability don't rise proportionally, they rise steeply: accessibility adaptations, equipment, a changed way of life, converting the home and the car. Between two quotes with the same base amount, the actual payout for a SEVERE disability can differ several times over because of the progressive scale – which is why, in our comparison table, we compare not just the base amount but also the payout due in a severe case.
Small percentages and thresholds
Products handle low, single-digit-percentage disability differently: on some, a proportional payout is due from the smallest established degree of disability; on others, there's an entry threshold, below which nothing is paid. Neither approach is a "con", but it's worth knowing about: in everyday life, smaller but still permanent injuries – reduced finger or joint function – are the more common ones. So before signing, three questions: what's the amount, is it progressive, and what happens at small percentages?
Why is this the most valuable element?
Because it's the only one that's measured against the cost of a lasting change to your life. The fracture benefit covers weeks, the daily hospital cash covers time spent as an inpatient – the permanent disability amount, on the other hand, cushions an adjustment that plays out over years or decades. This is the element where it's least worth cutting corners when sizing the amount: the sizing logic.
What can you do to get a fair assessment?
The practical steps are simple: keep every medical document, from the first treatment to the last check-up, attend the examinations, and describe your symptoms accurately. A well-documented recovery path is the basis of a fair assessment – the details are in the document checklist and the article on establishing the degree of disability.
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