Personal Accident Insurance provides financial support to individuals following accidental injury or death. When arranged by a business, it offers an additional layer of protection for directors, employees, or other insured persons, helping to provide reassurance and peace of mind.
Ratcliffes arranges Group Personal Accident Insurance for business clients, offering flexible cover structures that can be tailored to suit how people work and live.
What Is Group Personal Accident Insurance?
Group Personal Accident Insurance pays defined benefits if an insured person suffers accidental injury or death.
Cover is arranged by the business but is designed to benefit the individual. Benefits are payable following an insured event, subject to the policy wording and terms, rather than being linked to fault or legal liability.
The policy’s operative time defines when cover applies. Depending on the option selected at quotation stage, cover can apply:
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On a 24-hour basis, providing continuous protection
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For occupational accidents including commuting, extending cover to travel between home and work
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For occupational accidents only, arising directly from work activities
The scope of cover depends on the operative time selected and the terms of the policy.
Who the Cover Can Apply To
Group Personal Accident Insurance can be arranged for a wide range of people connected to a business, including:
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Directors and employees
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Clerical, supervisory, and manual workers
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Volunteers or committee members
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Consultants or named individuals
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Sole traders
Cover can be structured by category, allowing different benefit levels to apply to different groups within the same business.
Scope of Cover
Policies can be structured using either fixed benefit amounts or multiples of salary, depending on business needs.
Where selected, cover can include:
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Accidental death
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Capital benefits for serious injury
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Permanent total disablement, including loss of limbs, sight, speech, or hearing
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Permanent disablement based on loss of use of limbs or body parts
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Temporary total disablement following an accident
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Temporary partial disablement following an accident
Benefit levels, payment periods, and deferment periods are selected during quotation. Premiums adjust based on the structure and options chosen.
Cover Outside Work Activities
One of the key strengths of Group Personal Accident Insurance is flexibility.
Where selected, cover can extend beyond work-related activities to include accidents occurring outside work. This can provide individuals with peace of mind if they are injured during everyday activities, leisure time, or casual pursuits, subject to policy terms.
This broader approach allows businesses to offer meaningful protection that reflects real life, not just the working day.
How This Fits with Other Business Insurance
Group Personal Accident Insurance is designed to complement, not replace, other business insurance.
Employers’ Liability Insurance protects the business if it is legally liable for injury or illness suffered by employees at work.
Group Personal Accident Insurance is different. It pays predefined benefits following an accident, regardless of fault or liability, and can apply both inside and outside work.
Example:
If an employee slips at home and is unable to work for several weeks, Employers’ Liability would not usually respond. Group Personal Accident Insurance, if arranged with appropriate cover, may pay a temporary disablement benefit to support the individual during recovery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who receives the benefit under a Group Personal Accident policy?
Benefits are designed to be paid following accidental injury or death of the insured individual, or to their estate in the event of death, subject to policy terms. The business arranges the policy, but the protection is focused on people rather than compensating the business.
Can cover apply outside normal working hours?
Yes, depending on the operative time selected at quotation stage. Policies can be arranged on a 24-hour basis, or limited to occupational accidents only, with an option to include commuting. The operative time selected defines when cover applies.
Can different groups have different benefit levels?
Yes. Cover can be structured by category, allowing different benefit levels to be applied to different groups of insured persons within the same business.
How is this different from Employers’ Liability Insurance?
Employers’ Liability responds only when a business is legally liable for an injury at work. Group Personal Accident Insurance pays defined benefits following accidental injury or death, regardless of fault, and can apply outside work if selected.
Why do businesses choose Group Personal Accident Insurance?
Many businesses use this cover to provide reassurance to their people, support wellbeing, and offer a tangible benefit that sits alongside traditional business insurance.
Working with Ratcliffes
Ratcliffes works closely with business clients to arrange Group Personal Accident Insurance that reflects how people work and live.
Our role is advisory. We help you understand the available options, confirm suitability, and arrange cover that aligns with your business and your people.