Some policies also carry disability provisions, which will pay insured individuals should they be unable to work because of extended illness or permanent physical disability. Accident insurance covers sudden and unexpected injuries, while sickness insurance applies to illness or disease. There are policies that cover accidents only, while normal health insurance covers accidents as well as illness. Some policies are designed only to provide extra income during hospitalization. Many of these are known as mail-order policies, because they are sold to individuals who answer mailed solicitations or reply to ads in newspapers and magazines or on television.
Health insurance covers a variety of costs.
Some policies cover a stay in the hospital and services offered by the hospital. Surgical expense coverage provides benefits for surgery resulting from illness or accident. Beyond this, a policy may cover what are called regular medical expenses, including doctor's fees, home nursing, diagnostic tests, and ambulance service. Some policies also cover prescription drugs. Major medical, or catastrophic coverage, was introduced in 1949.