Having personal accident cover a must for claims in self fall cases

CMunusamy, a rice shop owner from Maduranthakam, was riding with his wife on the pillion in the city’s outskirts when the bike skid and they fell. The 39-yearold and his wife suffered multiple fractures and were hospitalised for almost a week. He could have saved at least 1 lakh from his out-of-pocket hospital expense had he spent an extra Rs 800 to Rs 1,000 on a personal cover with his vehicle insurance.

To claim insurance for such single-vehicle crashes, you need a Personal Accident (PA) cover with the Third Party Accident (TPA) cover.

According to Tamil Nadu Motor Vehicle Rules, TPAs are mandatory and in case a person with an insured vehicle is in an accident involving a third party, the insurance company is liable to pay for the third party’s treatment or compensate for damage caused to their vehicle. But what if no third person was involved and the accident was solely the mistake of a vehicle owner? In such accidents, vehicle owners do not get compensations unless they have a PA along with a valid TPA, say legal experts.