Accident insurance, together with life insurance are two basic types of individual insurance traditionally covered by insurance law. In this kind of insurance, the insurer for a certain insurance premium, assumes the obligation to pay the insured sum to the insured individual or other beneficiary if, during the insurance contract, the insured person or other beneficiary sustains injury or even death as a result of the accident covered by the insurance contract, as well as to reimburse the costs of medical treatment and income loss as a result of temporary work disability, if foreseen by the contract. The basic rule in accident insurance is that, in case of the accident covered by the contract, the insured person will receive the insured sum agreed in the contract, and not the reimbursement of the incurred expenses or losses. Only in rare cases this type of insurance has the elements of property insurance – only in cases when the insured is entitled, in addition to the insured sum, to reimbursement of medical expenses and income loss. Today, the insurance of the individuals against accidents is widely used. It is a specific type of services offered by insurance companies. From the original accident insurance contracts signed on voluntary bases, we have come long way to have a large number of mandatory accident insurances, which is mostly the result of the growing number of occupations with the risk of accidents. It is obvious that beneficiaries of this type of insurance have realized that for a relatively small amount of premium, they will receive protection if they suffer from unexpected accidents that may result in physical injuries, even fatalities.
The IFRS 17 contractual service margin: a life insurance perspective
