Most people don't think about accident insurance until they're looking at a hospital bill from an injury they didn't see coming. Accident medical expense plans pay the total cost of covered accident expenses — up to the maximum you choose. Size it to match your deductible, and a covered accident costs you nothing out-of-pocket. And the premium never increases — it's locked at the age you buy it.
A licensed Arizona broker sizes the benefit to your deductible and compares carriers — free.
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How Accident Insurance Works
Accident insurance is a cash benefit product — it pays you, not your provider. Here's exactly how it works, what it covers, and what it doesn't.
An accident medical expense plan pays benefits for the medical costs that result directly from a covered accidental injury. Unlike major medical insurance — which pays providers after you've met your deductible — accident insurance pays cash benefits directly to you, triggered by the event, with no coordination required with your health plan.
The key product type to understand is the accident medical expense plan — distinct from the simpler "accident indemnity" plans that pay fixed dollar amounts per event type (e.g., $500 for a fracture, $300 for an ER visit). Accident medical expense plans pay the actual total cost of covered accident-related medical expenses, up to your chosen plan maximum. This is why they're so effective as deductible insurance: if your deductible is $7,500 and you purchase an accident medical expense plan with a $7,500 maximum, a covered accident that produces $7,500 in bills is covered entirely by the accident plan — your major medical deductible is satisfied, you've paid nothing out-of-pocket, and all subsequent care for the rest of the year is at 100% coverage under your major medical plan.
Benefits are typically available for a defined period following the accident — commonly 52 weeks from the date of injury — covering all accident-related medical treatment within that window. Emergency room visits, ambulance transport, surgery, hospitalization, physician follow-up, physical therapy, and durable medical equipment are all commonly covered categories.
What accident plans don't cover: sickness, illness, pre-existing conditions, or any medical event not directly caused by an accidental injury. This is why accident insurance is paired with hospital indemnity — which handles the illness-driven hospitalization scenario that accident plans can't address.
Your major medical plan is designed to protect you from catastrophic costs — but it requires you to pay your deductible first. An accident plan bridges that gap for the most statistically likely cause of a large claim. By purchasing an accident plan with a maximum equal to your deductible, you've effectively pre-paid the worst-case scenario of hitting your deductible due to injury — at $20–45/month rather than $5,000–$10,000 when the event occurs.
Not covered: Sickness, illness, pre-existing conditions, intentional self-injury, injuries while committing a crime, or non-accident-related medical expenses. Accident plans are triggered by accidental bodily injury only — pair with hospital indemnity for sickness coverage.
How to Size Your Benefit
The benefit maximum you choose is the most important decision you make when purchasing accident insurance. Here's the framework a broker uses.
Your accident plan maximum should be sized relative to your major medical out-of-pocket deductible. If you have a $7,500 individual deductible, you want an accident plan maximum of at least $7,500. A broker pulls your deductible from your current plan documents before recommending any benefit level.
The goal is $0 out-of-pocket on a covered accident. If your accident medical expense plan maximum equals your deductible, a covered accident that hits the full maximum satisfies your deductible entirely — major medical covers everything else at 100% for the remainder of the year. The math is straightforward: maximum = deductible = $0 out-of-pocket.
Higher maximums mean higher premiums — but the premium difference between a $5,000 and $10,000 maximum at issue age is typically modest (often $5–15/month). A broker models the premium at each benefit level and shows you the cost-per-dollar-of-protection at each tier. The inflection point is usually clear: the additional protection cost at higher benefit levels is low relative to the out-of-pocket exposure being covered.
Issue-Age Pricing — The Inflation Protection Story
The base accident medical expense plan is issued at a premium that is fixed permanently at your age of purchase. Unlike virtually every other insurance product, it does not re-price as you age. No age banding. The rate you pay at 35 is the rate you pay at 55.
| Age at Purchase | Illustrative Monthly Premium | Premium at Age 45 | Premium at Age 55 | Total Saved vs. Buying at 45 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy at Age 30 | ~$22/mo | Still ~$22/mo | Still ~$22/mo | Save ~$3,600 over 25 yrs |
| Buy at Age 35 | ~$27/mo | Still ~$27/mo | Still ~$27/mo | Save ~$2,400 over 20 yrs |
| Buy at Age 40 | ~$32/mo | Still ~$32/mo | Still ~$32/mo | Save ~$1,200 over 15 yrs |
| Buy at Age 45 | ~$37/mo | ~$37/mo (starting point) | Still ~$37/mo | — |
| Buy at Age 50 | ~$44/mo | N/A — not yet purchased | Still ~$44/mo | Pay ~$1,680 more over 15 yrs |
The table above illustrates the practical effect of a genuinely fixed premium. Unlike critical illness or hospital indemnity plans — which may use age bands — the base accident medical expense plan has no age banding whatsoever on the base benefit. The premium is set at issue and does not step up at any age interval. A 30-year-old who purchases an accident plan today pays the same premium at 40, 50, and 60 as they do today, for identical coverage.
This is meaningfully different from how most insurance products work. Your ACA plan re-prices annually. Medicare Supplement rates increase every year. Group plan renewals reflect the aging of the covered population. Accident insurance — on the base plan — simply doesn't do any of that. The carrier made a pricing decision at the moment of issue and is contractually bound to that premium for the life of the policy.
The distinction between base plan and riders matters here. If you add optional riders — such as a sickness hospitalization benefit, or a cancer/heart attack/stroke benefit layered onto an accident plan — those riders may carry age-banded rates that step up at intervals. The base accident medical expense benefit itself, however, remains truly fixed. A broker separates base plan costs from rider costs so you understand exactly what is and isn't age-rated on any policy you're considering.
The implication for financial planning is clear: every year you delay purchasing an accident plan is a year of locking in at a higher rate — and those higher rates persist for the entire remaining life of the policy. A 35-year-old who buys today locks in a rate roughly $10–15/month lower than waiting until 45. That difference compounds over decades and represents real money — but the more immediate benefit is simply that accidents don't announce themselves in advance.
The base accident medical expense plan carries no age banding. However, optional riders added to accident plans — such as a sickness hospitalization benefit, or a combined cancer/heart attack/stroke benefit — are typically age-banded, meaning the rider premium steps up at defined age intervals (e.g., every 5 years). When a broker designs a supplemental strategy that includes riders on an accident plan, they model the base plan cost separately from any rider costs so you have a clear picture of which portion of your premium is fixed and which may increase over time.
Who Benefits Most
Hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing at Snowbowl, off-road riding — Arizona's outdoor recreation culture creates real accident exposure. Active individuals who regularly engage in activities with injury risk have higher-than-average statistical probability of an accident claim and typically find accident coverage an easy financial justification.
Kids generate a disproportionate share of accident claims — sports injuries, playground falls, bicycle accidents, broken bones. A family accident plan covers all household members and provides the same deductible-insuring benefit for the whole family at a fraction of the individual equivalent cost.
Construction, electrical, plumbing, landscaping, manufacturing — professions with physical injury risk have higher accident claim frequency than office workers. A $30/month accident plan is a rational business expense for anyone whose livelihood involves physical risk.
The higher your major medical deductible, the more valuable accident insurance becomes. A $500 deductible plan leaves limited gap for accident insurance to fill. A $7,500 deductible plan creates exactly the kind of out-of-pocket exposure that a well-sized accident plan eliminates entirely.
Without employer-sponsored coverage, self-employed Arizonans typically carry higher-deductible ACA plans to manage monthly premium costs. That deductible exposure is the exact gap accident insurance is designed to fill — and the premium is a legitimate business deduction in most cases. Consult your tax advisor.
Motor vehicle accidents are among the most common accident insurance claim triggers. Arizonans who spend significant time driving — especially in Phoenix metro traffic — have meaningful statistical exposure. Accident coverage triggered by a car accident covers all medical expenses related to that accident, up to the plan maximum.
Accident insurance is available to seniors and is a natural complement to Medicare coverage. Medicare has cost-sharing requirements — deductibles, coinsurance, and gaps — that an accident plan can help fill. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalizations for adults 65 and older, making accident coverage a practical fit for active Arizona retirees. Issue ages vary by carrier; a broker confirms eligibility for your age and coverage situation.
Common Questions
A licensed Arizona broker compares accident medical expense plans, sizes the benefit to your specific major medical deductible, and confirms you have $0 out-of-pocket protection on a covered accident — free.
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