Merritt Personal Lines Manual: Blanket Health Insurance

Blanket health insurance is primarily an accident-only policy issued to an organization to protect certain groups of people during a particular activity or situation. Blanket policies are commonly provided for schools to cover activities such as athletics, volunteer fire departments or summer camps for small children.

For example, a high school student who is a member of the school's basketball team is probably covered by a blanket health insurance plan. So, if he is injured while engaged in a school activity, expenses will be covered by the blanket health insurance plan. This would also apply to other students involved in various school activities such as cheerleaders, members of other athletic teams, etc. The coverage is designed only to provide protection against injuries incurred while participating in the particular activity.

The policy is issued to the organization and the covered members may receive a certificate of insurance. There may be a premium charged to the individuals. Often, the organization pays the premium -- which is modest since benefits are only provided for certain individuals under certain circumstances.