Meaning of Accidental Means
Accidental means refers to a condition for losses that are covered by an insurance policy. Such a loss must be the result of an accident and not the result of a non-accident. Accidental means saves insurers from paying claims for events that are not accidents.
According to the fine print of insurers, the term accident is defined as an event that occurs unintentionally, which is unexpected and unforeseen. The event may, further, have caused damage or harm, but is accidental. Both the incident and the injury must be unforeseen to consider them as accidental means in order for the insured to claim coverage.
Understanding Accidental Means
If you have to make a claim for bodily harm or death, it must have been the result of an external, violent, and accidental means. Here, accidental means consider the cause and effect of the event in addition to the result of the event.
Say, a construction worker was using a machine and died because of electrocution. If that work was not aware of the fault in the machinery and used it, then the cause of the event is considered as accidental means. If the worker was well aware that the machine is faulty and still used the machine, then the cause for the event will not be classified as accidental means and cannot make a claim.
