Accidental Death & Dismemberment
Here are the basic eligibility criteria for Accidental Death & Dismemberment (AD&D) insurance:
- You must be an employee actively at work under age 70 (note that your benefits will automatically end on either June 30 following your 70th birthday or, if you’re a trustee, the end of the month in which you turn 70)
- You must participate in both Life Insurance and AD&D benefits
- Effective only while you’re working for an employer with the Alberta School Employee Benefit Plan (ASEBP) benefits or if you're enrolled in Early Retiree, MyRetiree Plan, Supplemental Package or School Trustee benefits at the time of your death or accident
- The accident must be the sole cause of death or specified injury for the benefit to be considered
- Available only to you, the covered member (note that some benefits are payable to your spouse and dependants)
Benefits paid under your AD&D policy are tax-free; however, any interest earned may be subject to income tax.
Note that the following is a comprehensive summary of the official, legally binding ASEBP insurance policies and plan documents, which are available through your employer or by contacting us.
What's covered?
Accidental Death Benefit
If you die as a result of an accident, your coverage offers two times your annual earnings to a maximum of $800,000, known as the Principal Sum.
Annual earnings include salary, administrative allowances, pay while on vacation, isolation pay, retroactive salary and compensation for an acting assignment longer than three months. It doesn’t include signing bonuses, overtime, car allowances, expense allowances or reimbursements, salary earned while teaching night or summer school classes, early retirement incentives or pay in lieu of vacation.
The Accidental Death benefit is payable to your designated beneficiary(ies) or your estate. You can change or update your beneficiary information at any time. See Managing Beneficiaries for details. This benefit is in addition to benefits paid under your ASEBP Life Insurance.
Coverage for Early Retirees, MyRetiree Plan, Supplemental Package Participants and School Trustees
If you have ASEBP Early Retirement benefits or are a MyRetiree Plan member under 65, your Principal Sum is two times your annual earnings at retirement to a maximum of $800,000. If you have Early Retirement Package 2, your coverage is different—please refer to Package 2 information in Early Retirement for details.
If you're enrolled in Supplemental Package benefits or are a school trustee, your Principal Sum is either $25,000 or $50,000 depending on what you chose when you enrolled in your ASEBP benefits. You can confirm your coverage on My ASEBP.
ASEBP Benefits for your Family
Your Life Insurance benefit provides your eligible dependants with temporary coverage options. You’re also covered for the following under your Accidental Death benefit:
Identification Travel Expenses
Reimbursement of transportation and accommodation expenses if a family member has to travel more than 150 kilometers to identify your body.
Maximum: $5,000
Bringing your Body Home
Cost of preparing your body for burial or cremation and shipping your body to your city of residence if death occurs while travelling.
Maximum: $15,000
Funeral Expenses
Cost of funeral expenses
Maximum: $7,500
Grief Counselling
Cost of up to six grief counselling sessions for your spouse or dependent children with a therapist or counselor registered in the province of practice.
Maximum: $2,000
Education, Training and Care for Family
On a case-by-case basis, your spouse or dependent children may be eligible for:
- Up to $5,000 per year for dependent children’s full-time post-secondary education expenses. Can be claimed for up to four years.
- Up to $15,000 for occupational training for your spouse. Can be claimed up to three years after your death.
- Up to $5,000 per year for daycare expenses for dependent children under the age of 13. Can be claimed for four years following your death. There are specific rules that define what qualifies as an eligible daycare. Please contact us if you have questions about if your child’s daycare would qualify.
Accidental Death Benefit Considerations
Please be aware of the following circumstances that may affect coverage:
Disappearance
If your body isn’t recovered within a year of the accident (e.g. if you're involved in a plane crash), it will be assumed that you've died and the Accidental Death benefit will be paid after that time.
Maximum: Principal Sum (two times your annual earnings to a maximum of $800,000, unless you're enrolled in Supplemental Package benefits or are a school trustee, then your Principal Sum is either $25,000 or $50,000 depending on what you chose when you enrolled in your ASEBP benefits)
Car Accidents
If you die in a car accident while wearing a seat belt, your beneficiary will receive the Principal Sum plus 10 per cent, to a maximum of an additional $25,000. Your beneficiary must be able to provide proof that you were properly wearing your seat belt and an accident report will be required.
Accidental Loss, Dismemberment or Permanent Disability
If an accident leads to dismemberment or loss of use of a body part or function, the following benefits (payable only to you as the policy holder) are available:
If you Become Totally Disabled
If you become totally disabled within one year of an accident and this disability continues for one year, you'll receive the Principal Sum minus any payments for the loss or loss of use of a body part previously paid to you (see chart below). If your disability prevents you from being able to work and you participate in ASEBP Extended Disability Benefits, you may be entitled to additional support—see Extended Disability Benefits for additional information.
Maximum: Principal Sum (two times your annual earnings to a maximum of $800,000, unless you're enrolled in Supplemental Package benefits or are a school trustee, then your Principal Sum is either $25,000 or $50,000 depending on what you chose when you enrolled in your ASEBP benefits)
Benefits Paid for Loss, Loss of Use of Body Part or Function
How loss is defined for these benefits:
- Hands or feet: complete severance at or above the wrist or ankle joint, but below the elbow or knee joint
- Arms or legs: complete severance at or above the elbow or knee joint
- Thumbs and fingers: complete severance at or above the first bone of the digit
- Toes: complete severance at or above the first bone of the digit
- Eyes: irrecoverable loss of the entire sight of the eye
- Speech: total and irrecoverable loss of speech
- Hearing: total and irrecoverable loss of hearing
Exposure
If you suffer a loss of a body part as a result of exposure to the elements from your accident (e.g. losing fingers to frost bite), the loss will be treated the same as if it was lost in an accident. The loss must occur within one year of the accident.
Maximum: refer to chart below for applicable maximum
Multiple Injuries
Only the largest applicable amount is paid for multiple injuries to the same limb resulting from a single accident. If you sustain more than one loss as the result of a single accident, you will only be paid for the greatest of these losses.
Principal Sum
The Principal Sum referred to in the chart below means two times your annual earnings to a maximum of $800,000, unless you are a substitute teacher, casual staff member, part-time employee or school trustee, then your Principal Sum is either $25,000 or $50,000 depending on what you chose when you enrolled in your ASEBP benefits.
Body Part / Function | Benefit Amount |
---|---|
Quadriplegia (complete paralysis of both upper and lower limbs) |
Two times Principal Sum (Paid 12 months after date of accident) |
Paraplegia (complete paralysis of both lower limbs) |
Two times Principal Sum (Paid 12 months after date of accident) |
Hemiplegia (complete paralysis of upper and lower limbs of one side of body) |
Two times Principal Sum (Paid 12 months after date of accident) |
Total disability | Principal Sum (Paid 12 months after date of accident) |
Both hands | Principal Sum |
Both feet | Principal Sum |
Entire sight of both eyes | Principal Sum |
One hand and one foot | Principal Sum |
One hand and entire sight of one eye | Principal Sum |
One foot and entire sight of one eye | Principal Sum |
Speech and hearing | Principal Sum |
One arm | 3/4 of Principal Sum |
One leg | 3/4 of Principal Sum |
One hand | 2/3 of Principal Sum |
One foot | 2/3 of Principal Sum |
Entire sight of one eye | 2/3 of Principal Sum |
Speech or hearing | 2/3 of Principal Sum |
All toes of one foot | 1/4 of Principal Sum |
All four fingers of one hand | 1/3 of Principal Sum |
Thumb and index finger of one hand | 1/3 of Principal Sum |
Hearing in one ear | 1/3 of Principal Sum |
You're also covered for the following benefits:
Family Transportation
Reimbursement of transportation and accommodation expenses of immediate family—spouse, children, your parents and siblings as well as your spouse’s parents and siblings—who have to travel more than 150 kilometers to visit you in hospital. This benefit covers the cost of one trip only. If a personal vehicle is used for travel, kilometres will be reimbursed at a rate of $0.35/km.
Maximum: $15,000
Eyeglasses, Contact Lenses and Hearing Aids
If your injury results in the need for glasses, contact lenses or hearing aids—which you didn’t need before your accident—the cost will be covered. Claims are accepted up to one year after your accident.
Maximum: $1,000
Home Alteration and Vehicle Modification
Reimbursement of modifications made to your home or vehicle to make them wheelchair accessible. Claims are accepted up to three years after your accident. Modifications are only covered if you have lost or lost the use of both feet, legs or are/become quadriplegic, paraplegic or hemiplegic.
Maximum: $20,000
Employment Rehabilitation
If you cannot return to your previous job and require special training in order to be qualified for another occupation the cost will be covered. Claims are accepted up to three years after your accident.
Maximum: $15,000
What's not covered?
Benefits are not payable if death, loss of use or dismemberment is a result of:
- Suicide or an attempt of suicide
- Intentional self-inflicted injury
- Operating an aircraft without a current and valid pilot’s license or being a passenger in an aircraft operated by someone who does not hold a current and valid pilot’s license
- An act of war, whether it’s declared or not
- Active duty in any military or peacekeeping force
Additional Information
Payments from Other Insurance Sources
Depending on the nature of your death, other benefits and sources of compensation may be available to your spouse or dependent children. For example, if you die in a car accident, your spouse and/or dependants may be entitled to additional benefits through your car insurance policy.
If you are eligible for any additional benefits from another insurance policy, please notify us as the amount paid for some benefits may change if the same benefit is also offered through another policy.
Serious Injury or Death
If you pass away or you're involved in an accident that leaves you seriously injured, find out what your beneficiary should do.
Spending Accounts
Your Spending Accounts are cancelled on the date of your death and no further credits are allocated after that date. Your dependants or beneficiaries will have 60 days to submit eligible expenses you or they incurred before your death (ASEBP can help if your My ASEBP password is unknown to your dependants or beneficiaries). After that time, any unused credits will be forfeited back to your employer.