How Is AD&D Different From Life Insurance? 
Well , actually , they are both life insurance . Accidental death and dismemberment coverage will pay only when the cause of death is by accident . -LRB- The dismemberment clause means that money is payable if a certain number of limbs are disabled . -RRB- What you and I typically call life insurance is a policy that will pay a benefit whether the cause of death is accident or illness . Wouldnt it make sense that people buy life insurance and not AD&D ? After all , nobody knows how theyre going to die . True , but AD&D has a role to play . Sometimes , people are unfortunately not insurable for typical life insurance . They simply have too many serious uncontrolled medical conditions . So they should buy accident-only coverage . I mean , car accidents , plane crashes , falls off roofs , etc. can happen to anybody . But here things get tricky . What happens if somebody has a heart attack while their plane is tragically falling from the sky ? Dilemmas such as these are why medical examiners and forensic specialists earn their pay . 