Term life insurance vs. Accidental Death and Dismemberment insurance

What is term life insurance?

Term life insurance may pay out a benefit to your designated loved ones if you pass away during the term you are covered for. The benefit will generally be paid out whether you died in an accident or from an illness or other cause, although there are some causes of death such as suicide and certain high-risk activities that the average life insurance policy might not cover.

Unlike whole life insurance, which lasts your whole life as long as you keep paying premiums, term life insurance typically expires after a period of 10, 20, or 30 years. Because of this, if you buy term life insurance while you are young and healthy, you could often get a relatively high amount of coverage for a price that’s may be more affordable than the average whole life policy.

Since people who have dependent children are also likely to be younger and in good health, insurance experts often recommend term life insurance to them.

Many term life insurance policies could eventually be converted into whole life insurance policies that are designed to last your lifetime, including those from TruStage™.

What about Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance?

How is Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance different from term life insurance? AD&D insurance pays a death benefit to loved ones, but only if you die from a covered accident like a car crash. If you die from a natural illness like a virus, AD&D insurance typically will not pay your loved ones a benefit.

A feature of AD&D is that if you lose a limb in a covered accident, AD&D insurance will usually pay you a “living benefit” to assist you with recovery. The amount of your living benefit would depend on the nature of your injury. For example, if you purchased an AD&D policy with a death benefit of $100,000, your living benefit for a lost leg could be 50 percent, or $50,000. If you suffer a catastrophic injury such as quadriplegia, you could receive up to 100 percent of the death payout.

Why do some insurance agents recommend that you buy AD&D insurance?

When people first purchase insurance to help protect their loved ones, it is often because they have young children. People who have young children are more likely to be under the age of 45.

For this reason, if a young, healthy person may want to consider some kind of insurance to help protect their loved ones, AD&D insurance could be an affordable option. This is because the cost of AD&D insurance is typically less than that of term life insurance.

What to consider when choosing AD&D insurance or term life insurance

While the low cost of AD&D Insurance may be attractive, it’s important to remember that AD&D does not cover many kinds of natural illness.

So, if you were to die from a serious illness such as cancer, heart disease, or any contagious virus like HIV, SARS or COVID-19, and you only have an AD&D policy, your loved ones probably would not receive a death benefit. That extends to a living benefit as well. If you sustained a permanent disability from a serious illness such as diabetes, you would not receive any kind of living benefit from AD&D insurance.  The bottom line: AD&D covers accidents, not illness.

Therefore, if you buy an affordable term life insurance plan while you are younger and in good health, you could help protect your loved ones for a long period in a wider range of circumstances.

The best of both worlds

When it comes to term life and AD&D insurance, it’s important to remember that both kinds of insurance are valuable, but they’re not interchangeable. While AD&D offers the reassurance of a living benefit for injury caused by a a covered accident, it will not provide a benefit to loved ones if you die of a natural illness.

Many insurance agents consider a combination of term life insurance with an AD&D rider to be the best of both worlds for help protecting your family. An AD&D rider may offer some or all the benefits of AD&D insurance on top of term life insurance. Many insurers offer such a rider in exchange for higher premiums and a one-time fee.

If you choose to, you may also be able to purchase separate term life insurance and AD&D policies. If your employer or credit union provides you with an AD&D policy, consider adding on a term or whole life policy to help broaden your coverage.