Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D)
Accidental death and dismemberment insurance pays a stated benefit when an accident causes death, or the loss of a limb, sight, or hearing. It is not a substitute for life insurance, because it pays only on accidental causes and only within a defined window after the accident.
Definition maintained by the InsurTool Editorial Team. Last reviewed .
Core Takeaways
- Pays on accidental causes only, from a fixed schedule of losses rather than an assessed loss.
- The death must usually occur within 90 or 180 days of the accident.
- Common schedule: 100% of the face amount for death or loss of two limbs, 50% for one.
- Cheap because it is narrow. It does not respond to the causes that account for most deaths.
What is AD&D Insurance?
In plain English: AD&D is a schedule of outcomes attached to a cash amount. Lose two limbs in an accident and the policy pays the full face amount. Lose one and it pays half. Die in an accident within the survival window and it pays the face amount. Die of a heart attack and it pays nothing at all.
That last sentence is the whole reason the product is inexpensive, and the whole reason it should not be mistaken for life insurance.
The Schedule of Losses
| Loss | Typical payout |
|---|---|
| Accidental death | 100% of face amount |
| Loss of both hands, both feet, or one of each | 100% |
| Loss of sight in both eyes | 100% |
| Loss of hearing in both ears | 100% |
| Loss of one hand, foot, or limb | 50% |
| Loss of sight in one eye | 50% |
| Loss of hearing in one ear | 25% |
| Loss of thumb and index finger on the same hand | 25% |
The schedule is the contract. Two policies with the same face amount can pay very differently for the same injury, which is why the schedule and the survival period are the two things to read first.
How It Is Sold
As a group employee benefit. The most common route. Employers frequently provide a base amount at no cost, with the option to buy additional coverage at group rates. The payroll deduction is small, which is why take-up is high and scrutiny is low.
As a rider on a life policy. Attached to a whole or term life policy, usually for a modest additional premium, and paying on top of the life benefit if the death is accidental.
As a stand-alone policy. Sold directly or through agents, often to people in physically demanding occupations or to travellers who want cover for a specific trip or year.
Where It Adds Value
- Common carrier travel. Many policies pay a multiple of the face amount for death on a scheduled airline, train, or bus, which is a genuinely low-probability, high-consequence event and exactly what insurance is for.
- Occupational exposure. Someone in a role with real accident frequency may find the schedule pays for injuries that a health plan handles poorly, such as loss of a hand.
- Cheap addition to a benefit package. Where an employer provides it free, there is nothing to decide.
Where It Misleads
It is often mistaken for life insurance. The name contains “death”, the premium is low, and the benefit is large. But the leading causes of death in working-age adults are disease, not accident, and an AD&D policy is silent on all of them. A household whose only cover is AD&D is insured against a minority of the ways a household can lose a breadwinner.
The survival period is a real gate. Deaths that follow an accident at a distance — complications, infections, a subsequent cardiac event — can fall outside a 90-day window, and the claim turns on medical causation rather than on the fact of the loss.
The schedule invites disputes about what counts. “Loss of a limb” is defined in the policy, and definitions vary on how much of the limb must be lost and whether loss of use without physical severance qualifies. These are the terms the claim will be decided on.
The sensible position is that AD&D is a supplement: worth taking when it is free or nearly free, worth adding for a specific travel or occupational exposure, and never a replacement for life insurance sized to the household’s actual needs.
Common questions about accidental death and dismemberment (ad&d)
How is the payout calculated?+
From a schedule of losses applied to the face amount. A common structure pays 100% for accidental death, for the loss of two limbs, or for loss of sight in both eyes, and 50% for the loss of one limb or sight in one eye. Some policies pay a higher multiple, such as two or three times the face amount, for death in a common-carrier accident.
What is the survival period?+
A defined window — commonly 90 or 180 days — within which the death must occur after the accident. A person who is injured in a fall and dies of complications eight months later may fall outside the window, which is one of the most common reasons an AD&D claim is declined.
What is excluded?+
Typically suicide, death from disease or natural causes, war and acts of war, and some hazardous activities named in the policy such as skydiving, mountaineering, or aviation other than as a fare-paying passenger. Exclusions vary, and the schedule of losses is where the detail lives.
Why is it cheaper than life insurance?+
Because it pays in far fewer circumstances. Ordinary life insurance pays whenever the insured dies, whatever the cause. AD&D pays only when the cause is accidental and the death falls inside the survival period, which excludes the large majority of deaths — chronic disease and natural causes account for most of them.
Is it worth having?+
As a supplement, sometimes. It is often provided free or cheaply as an employer benefit, and where that is the case the question is whether the payroll deduction is buying anything meaningful. As a primary source of family protection it is not a substitute for life insurance, because it is silent on the cause of death that is most likely.
What is return of premium?+
An optional feature that refunds premiums paid if no claim is made over a stated term. It sounds like a free option, and it is not: the premiums for a return-of-premium policy are substantially higher than for the same cover without it, so the refund is a return of your own money, less the cost of the feature.
About this definition
Written and checked against the primary sources linked on this page by the InsurTool Editorial Team. Definitions describe how these terms are used in the United States; policy wording differs between insurers, and state law changes the meaning of some terms. Your own policy document is the authority for your coverage.
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