Top 5 insurance requirement considerations for sending employees overseas

Sending workers overseas represents a huge responsibility for employers, which is why proper planning and following the right insurance requirements can, quite literally, save lives.

While working abroad can be a very exciting opportunity for expats, employees will likely find themselves feeling vulnerable to a myriad of potential pitfalls when working in unfamiliar locations – and not least in terms of healthcare and safety risks. As such, safeguarding your employees overseas is imperative, not just as a legal and moral obligation but also as a social responsibility.

The need to follow the right insurance requirements when sending employees overseas is widely known. Despite this, a recent UK-based survey cited in the International Travel & Health Insurance Journal found that only 7.8 percent of business owners are aware of the insurance requirements for sending employees overseas. What’s more, the majority of respondents (67.3 percent) said they did not know the insurance requirements, while 24.9 percent said they weren’t entirely sure of the requirements.

To clear up some of the uncertainty around insurance requirements and sending your employees abroad, today we look at the following 5 important factors you should consider before you send your workers overseas.

1. Check up on regional insurance requirements

To ensure that your employees are protected from hefty medical bills abroad, health insurance coverage is essential. An important thing to consider here is whether there are any health insurance requirements in your employee’s destination country, as many countries are seeing increased implementation of health insurance regulations. For instance, the issue and renewal of employment visas in Abu Dhabi and Dubai is conditional upon proof at the time of application that the employer has in place appropriate health insurance for their employee.

2. Relying on local healthcare: Is it enough?

Relying on local healthcare systems can be a mixed bag, and really depends on the type of system the government provides. For example:

• The UK’s NHS system offers free, state funded health cover at virtually no cost for a vast majority of their healthcare services.
• Expats living in France are eligible to apply for the French national health insurance scheme – Couverture Maladie Universelle (CMU) – which covers around 80% of medical treatment costs.
• EEA citizens can also apply for the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which provides free or discounted access to public healthcare when visiting a country within the EEA.
• Some countries share reciprocal healthcare agreements with other countries. E.g., the Australian government has reciprocal healthcare agreements with 11 countries, meaning that Australian residents can access essential medical treatment when in these countries, and vice versa for residents of those countries visiting Australia.

It’s important to note here that even if your employee has the option of availing these local healthcare benefits, relying on these benefits alone in many cases may not be sufficient, especially for those on mid-to-long term secondments or expatriation. If that’s the case, we strongly advise securing international group health insurance, especially for businesses in multiple offices in different locations and employees who travel between them. This is even more essential for employees moving to countries with a poor quality of healthcare and are not eligible for care from local facilities.

3. Travel insurance or international insurance?

While travel insurance can be ideal for employees on short international assignments or visiting conferences, it likely won’t be the right type of plan for staff on mid-to-long term secondments or expatriation. This is because travel insurance often comes with much lower coverage limits than international health insurance, and is designed only to see the policyholder well enough to fly them back to their home country. On the other hand, international plans are designed for globally mobile expats and offer far more extensive medical coverage in both your employee’s home country and abroad. It’s also more customizable with options to add dental, maternity, vision and other wellness benefits at an extra premium.

4. Does your employer’s liability policy cover staff overseas?

In China, many businesses choose to secure additional employer’s liability insurance in excess of the compensation under the nation’s Work-related Injury Insurance regulation promulgated by the Social Security Administration Department of the State council. The important thing to note here is that many employers’ liability policies will not cover employees who work overseas for extended periods of time. Another thing to be aware of here is whether you’ll need to take out additional country-specific employer’s liability insurance to cover your workers in the event that they sustain any work-related injuries overseas.

5. Seek advice from an experienced broker

Virtually every corporate health insurance and business insurance plan out there is different, which is why it can be tough to find the appropriate cover for your business and your employees’ needs. As such, it pays to seek professional, impartial advice from insurance experts like Pacific Prime China. With extensive industry experience, we’ll do the research for you and provide you with market intelligence that puts you in the best position whenever you’re faced with a decision regarding your corporate coverage.

Got any more questions regarding group medical solutions and corporate insurance? Get in touch with the helpful advisors at Pacific Prime China today.

Disclaimer: Pacific Prime China solely represents, operates and manages locally regulated insurance products and services in the territory of PR China. Any references to Pacific Prime Global Company or Group, the international services, insurance products or otherwise stated written or verbally, is for introduction purposes about our overseas network only as each entity is fully independent.