An Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit in travel health insurance is exactly what its name suggests: a benefit that provides coverage in case of your accidental death or dismemberment while traveling abroad. But what situations qualify for coverage? What scenarios are excluded?
Read on to discover exactly what an AD&D benefit covers and why you may need one.
The Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit in travel health insurance pays money to you or your beneficiary if you die, lose your sight, or lose a limb due to an accident while traveling abroad. There are stipulations, of course. We’ll get into those details below.
AD&D insurance provides reimbursement in situations where a covered accident causes your immediate death or dismemberment, or where an accident causes a covered injury that later results in your death or dismemberment. Examples of situations where your AD&D benefit could cover you include a car accident, boating accident, or injury from a fall.
Many travel health insurance policies, such as the Atlas Travel® plan from WorldTrips include an Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) benefit. You can find the benefit and its coverage limits on the policy documents for any policy you’re considering. You may also find it on the main webpage for the policy.
What Are Policy Documents?
The policy documents provide the full benefits and exclusions of an insurance plan and explain its claims process. You can typically find a link to these documents on the main webpage for the policy or on the quote form where you provide your trip information and learn how much your policy would cost.
(Note that you will receive these documents along with your other fulfillment documents after you purchase a policy as well.)
See a sample Description of Coverage for our Atlas Travel insurance policy.
PRO TIP: Consult the DOC for any policy you’re considering to see its specific and complete benefits.
To Recap: You will only be eligible for the AD&D benefit if your death or dismemberment (or the injury that causes your death or dismemberment) results directly from external and visible means.
You are not eligible if illness or disease contributes to your death or dismemberment.
Say you suffer an epileptic seizure while driving a rental car abroad. The seizure causes you to crash the car, resulting in severe internal and external injuries. Ten days later, you succumb to your injuries in the hospital.
In this scenario, you would not be covered by your accidental death and dismemberment insurance, despite dying as a result of your car crash injuries. Why? Because your epilepsy caused you to crash. Epilepsy is a seizure disorder, and health disorders count as an illness.
An illness is any sickness, disorder, pathology, abnormality, ailment, disease, or any other medical, physical, or health condition.
There are certain *situations and conditions that could result in your accidental death or dismemberment which would not be covered under your AD&D benefit. Examples of such situations include:
*Benefits and exclusions vary from policy to policy, so read all of your policy documents. Review the AD&D section thoroughly and make sure you understand all of the policy’s exclusions.
PRO TIP! If you have questions about the policy considering, contact the insurance company directly. They can help you understand the policy's exclusions and verify its benefits.
We know it’s uncomfortable to think about what would happen if you were to become seriously injured or even pass away during a trip abroad. But it’s important that you take a second to consider the potential consequences of traveling abroad while uninsured.
Who would pay for the resulting expenses in the case of your accidental death? Would you be able to afford the medical expenses resulting from your dismemberment or loss of sight?
We believe that all travelers should expect the best but prepare for the worst. That’s why our Atlas Travel insurance policy includes up to $25,000 for a covered death or loss of 2 limbs and up to $12,500 for the covered loss of one limb (for ages 18 through 69).
Atlas Travel offers AD&D coverage to individuals under age 18 and those over age 69 as well. You can see those benefit limits here.
The Accidental Death and Dismemberment benefit included in most travel health insurance policies does not cover the cost of returning your body or ashes to your home country for proper burial or cremation. Instead, you’ll want a policy that also includes a separate benefit called Repatriation of Remains.
The Repatriation of Remains benefit pays to transport your body by plane or ground transportation to your home country if your insurance covers the injury or illness that caused your death. This benefit also covers the cost of preparing your body for transport.
Repatriation can cost several thousand dollars, and your family may already have to prepare and pay for funeral arrangements in their time of grief. Your travel health insurance company can coordinate travel arrangements for your covered repatriation, as well as pay all eligible expenses, which may be of support to your family as they grieve.
Here’s a true customer story of Atlas Travel’s Repatriation of Remains benefit in action:
Thailand -> United Kingdom = $5,323
A 21-year-old British citizen teaching in Thailand was struck by traffic and died later that day. WorldTrips worked with his parents, the local hospital, and government officials to arrange for the care, preparation, and return of his remains to his home country.
The traveler’s Atlas Travel policy paid $5,323 to cover the cost of bringing his body home to his family so they could have a burial for their loved one.
Review the policy documents for any plan you’re considering to see if it includes AD&D coverage and a Repatriation of Remains benefit before you purchase.
Many travel health insurance policies, like Atlas Travel, include accidental death flight insurance, or flight accident AD&D, in the form of a benefit called Common Carrier Accidental Death.
Similar to the AD&D benefit, Common Carrier Accidental Death covers international travelers who experience an unintentional and unexpected accident or injury that causes their death. Death must occur within a certain number of days following the accident or injury and previous injuries or illnesses may not contribute to it.
Unlike AD&D, Common Carrier Accidental Death covers passengers who are aboard a commercial airline or cruise line.
PRO TIP: When comparing travel health insurance policies, look to see if the policies you’re considering offer both AD&D coverage and Common Carrier Accidental Death coverage.
It’s hard to think about how you or your family members would cope if you were to face an unexpected worst-case scenario while traveling abroad. Travel health insurance can’t protect you against accidents, but it can help protect you and your loved ones against some of the expenses that could result from your covered, accidental death or dismemberment during your trip.
That’s why our Atlas Travel health insurance plan includes important benefits like:
Travel health insurance can be easy to purchase and budget friendly. Atlas Travel policies start at $0.50* per day for travel outside the U.S. or $0.96 per day for travel including the U.S.
*Costs based on the Atlas Travel daily rate in August 2024 for a traveler in the youngest age group (14 days - 29 years) who is traveling outside the U.S. with the highest deductible ($5,000) and the lowest overall maximum coverage limit available to this age group ($50,000).
**Costs based on the Atlas Travel daily rate in August 2024 for a traveler in the youngest age group (14 days - 29 years) who is traveling to the U.S. with the highest deductible ($5,000) and the lowest overall maximum coverage limit available to this age group ($50,000).
Your plan cost will vary depending on:
In addition to choosing your overall coverage limit and deductible, you can select from several add-ons during the checkout process to further customize your policy to your needs and budget.
Pro Tip! Start an Atlas Travel quote to see what the price would be for your trip.
Atlas Travel pays eligible AD&D expenses according to your age group. For each age group, the benefit limit specifies:
The benefit also includes a lifetime maximum amount. This is the maximum amount Atlas Travel will pay toward your covered accidental death or dismemberment expenses during your lifetime.
Excludes expenses resulting from Common Carrier Accident
| Age Group | Benefit Limit |
| 14 Days — 17 Years Old |
Lifetime Maximum: $5,000 |
| 18 — 69 Years Old |
Lifetime Maximum: $25,000 |
| 70 — 74 Years Old |
Lifetime Maximum - $12,5000 |
| 75 Years Old or Older |
Lifetime Maximum - $6,250 |
$250,000 maximum benefit for any one family or group.
This benefit is not subject to the policy’s deductible or overall maximum limit.