Sophisticated insurance plans offer robust coverage and focus on compliance.
By Janice Ogilvie.
For many industries, global travel for work is no longer a rarity. And employees who travel for work without proper insurance coverage leave themselves and their employers vulnerable to paying high out-of pocket costs if they fall ill or are involved in an accident.
This also presents a legal risk to employers that have a duty of care to a globally mobile workforce.
Over the past 20 years, the definition of a global traveller has broadly expanded from expatriates to include inpatriates, third-country nationals, rotational workers, key local nationals, business travellers and contractors.
And there has been an increase in short-term assignments of two years or less, in all industries and regions.
Insurance plans
To address these complexities, the global insurance market has designed sophisticated international private medical insurance (IPMI) plans for employees working outside of their home country for more than 180 days per year and for those on business trips.
These plans offer robust worldwide coverage that includes high risk countries and occupations, alongside a strong focus on global compliance to ensure there are no issues obtaining work visas.
These plans also do not require membership to a government health-care scheme if one is not available. This is important as employees who have moved to a new country may lose government-provided care in their home country, while simultaneously not being eligible for a similar scheme in their new host country.
And, given that dependants often remain in their home country, the plans will cover trailing dependants wherever they reside.
Read the rest of the article in Canadian HR Reporter’s September 2019 issue.