Insurance: What is life accident insurance?

Verified 07 July 2021 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The Accident Insurance (GAV) is an insurance policy that protects you in the event of a life-threatening accident. It occurs when the person responsible for the accident is not identified or if it is you or one of your relatives. The risks covered by the guarantee vary from one insurer to another. They can sometimes already be covered by other insurance (health insurance, supplementary health insurance, insurance of the credit card...).

The guarantee can cover you alone, as an insured, but it can also cover your children and the person with whom you are insured live as a couple.

The Accident Insurance covers personal injury related to the following events:

  • Domestic accidents (burning, falling, DIY, gardening, intoxication...)
  • Accidents occurring in the context of leisure activities (sport, travel...)
  • Natural disasters (storm, avalanche, earthquake...) or technological (store collapse, for example)
  • Medical accidents (abnormal and unpredictable consequences of medical procedures)
  • Assaults or Attacks

The warranty does not cover personal injury related to road accidents and to occupational accidents. Compensation for these accidents is covered by specialized insurance.

Insurers sometimes include clauses in the contract that exclude certain specifically named risks (e.g. accidents related to the practice of certain dangerous sports).

Compensation is intended to compensate you for your physical harm and its consequences on your professional, personal, material and family life.

In the event of the death of the insured, the moral and economic damage suffered by the beneficiaries shall be taken into account.

The basic contract provides that compensation may be awarded where the victim is permanently incapacitated by a minimum 30%.

The guarantee covers accidents in the the European Union and Switzerland.

Accidents occurring in the rest of the world are covered when the length of stay in the foreigner country is less than 3 months.

The insurer is obliged to offer you or your beneficiaries an offer of compensation at the latest within 5 months after the declaration of the accident or death.

He must pay the amount of the compensation no later than 1 month after your agreement or the agreement of your beneficiaries.

Compensation paid under the life injury guarantee is capped, meaning that the amount of compensation paid cannot exceed a ceiling.

It's the insurance company that sets the cap, but they can't set it below €1 000 000.