Is Accidental Death Insurance The Same As Life Insurance? 
Acccidental death policies -LRB- also known as AD&D or Accidental Death and Dismemberment -RRB- are a partial type of coverage that only pays out a death benefit under certain conditions . For example , if the insured dies in a car accident , the policy would payout the proceeds to the beneficiary . However , if the insured dies of an illness -LRB- e.g. a heart attack -RRB- , no proceeds will be paid to the beneficiary . This type of coverage can be extremely cheap , however , the risk of dying by accident is very nominal compared to the risk of dying by illness , especially as you get older . Traditional life insurance policies provide full coverage -LRB- paying out death benefit proceeds whether death occurs by illness or injury -RRB- . Full coverage policies feature higher premiums than AD&D policies , but are very affordable and the ability for the policy to pay proceeds in the event of death by illness is an essential benefit to have . 