What is accidental death benefit (ADB)?

Written by Gemma Bellamy

Accidental death benefit acts as short-term cover while you’re waiting for a decision on your life insurance application. This can reduce financial stress on you and your loved ones during that time.

At Beagle Street, we provide you with accidental death benefit automatically when we receive your life insurance application, at no extra cost. We think it’s important for you to have peace of mind that you have some protection in place while waiting for a decision on your application.

There are certain circumstances where we might not be able to give you an instant decision on your application. In a small number of cases we might ask extra questions to clarify information you’ve provided, or request further medical information.

We do our best to make a decision as soon as we’ve received your additional details, so you’re not kept waiting longer than necessary.

How accidental death benefit can help

Accidental death benefit keeps you covered while we’re making a decision on your life insurance application, lifting some of the financial burden on you and your loved ones.

The cover expires once the decision has been made. Our decision will be to either accept, postpone, or reject your application. You can also let us know if you no longer wish to proceed.

Features of Beagle Street’s accidental death benefit:

There is nothing for you to do, it starts automatically if we’re unable to give you an instant decision on your application.
This is a free benefit.
It covers against accidental death, but not death through a pre-existing medical condition or suicide.
We’ll pay out up to £100,000, or the amount of cover you applied for, whichever is lower.

What does accidental death benefit cover?

Accidental death benefit provides you with cover when a bodily injury is sustained and caused by accidental, violent, external and visible means, and is confirmed as the sole cause of your death.

What’s not covered by accidental death benefit?

Beagle Street’s accidental benefit would not cover the following instances:

Suicide, intentional and serious self-injury or an event where, in our reasonable opinion, you took your own life.
Taking part or attempting to take part in a dangerous sport or pastime.
Taking part or attempting to take part in an aerial flight other than as a fare-paying passenger on a licensed airline.
Committing, attempting or provoking an assault or criminal offence.
War (whether declared or not), riot or civil commotion.
Complications and/or effects where there is a known and understood risk of surgical/medical procedures/medications.
Taking alcohol or drugs (unless these drugs were prescribed by a registered doctor in the United Kingdom).
Being in control of a motor vehicle and acting in a dangerous or reckless manner, or drink or drug driving.
Where your application is to replace an existing policy with us, while you remain covered under the existing policy.
Accidents that happened before your application.

Accidental death benefit claim process

Accidental death benefit claims are slightly different to making a life insurance claim, as the policy technically hasn’t begun yet.

If you’re notifying us of a claim, please have the following information ready:

Applicant’s personal details.
Executors’ or administrators’ contact details.
Information relating to the accident.
Confirm if full death certificate has been received.

Our claims team will then review the claim and will contact you if they need any more information, such as medical consent forms or further information about the accident. If the claim is successful, we’ll make the payment directly to the executors or administrators of your estate.

We have bereavement-trained specialists to support you throughout the process of making a claim. If you have any questions about the process, please contact our UK-based help centre or read our guide on how to make a claim.

Why choose Beagle Street for your life insurance?

We’re a dedicated life insurance provider that cares about protecting you and your loved ones.

With terminal illness cover included in all our life insurance policies as standard, and critical illness cover and children’s critical illness cover available as simple add-ons, we’re also flexible and able to meet individual needs.

What’s more, we’re committed to sticking to the premiums we offer when you take out your policy, which means the amount you pay each month will never go up, even if there are changes to your health (unless you request changes to your policy).

We’ll guide you through the application process, so you can have confidence that your family will be protected.

Don’t just take our word for it - we’re proud that our customers have rated us ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot!

Ready to find out why? Our simple quick quote tool will let you know how much cover you can get, and how much it’s likely to cost you. There’s no commitment to take out a policy.

Get a quick quote