Live abroad or have staff abroad?
Moving around the world is easy nowadays, we’re all used to it. We don’t swoon in amazement when someone we know goes abroad on holiday, in fact lots of people go abroad on holiday several times a year.
Of course people don’t just holiday abroad, they travel abroad for their work or even live abroad for their job. Most of us are pretty well up to speed on the need for some form of insurance to cover the costs if we need medical treatment whilst we are abroad, and most people are aware that different parts of the world have different health systems, and so their insurance needs to be tailored accordingly. What’s possibly not as well known are the implications of living abroad for your work, with respect to your health cover.
Whilst there are excellent reciprocal arrangements for European citizens traveling within Europe, via the EHIC card, the cover isn’t perfect. Many costs are covered, but not all the costs, and certainly things like the substantial expense of a medical repatriation are not covered. In other parts of the world, there is no such arrangement. So, wherever you travel, you really do need comprehensive health insurance.
If you do spend long periods, out of the country you should make it priority to ensure you have the required cover for you and your family and for people working abroad, it’s their employer that has responsibility for keeping them healthy whilst working away
Any UK company employing staff who travel abroad, either for a short visit or maybe even living in a foreign country, has a duty of care to cover the health needs of their staff. Of course, not only is this important, it also makes sound financial sense; there’s no point in having a member of staff representing your company abroad if they can’t do their job because they’re ill. On top of these reasons, there are several countries, such as many Gulf States where it is mandatory to have private health insurance.
Not only does a corporate international private medical insurance policy ensure a company is protecting its staff, it can often provide many additional benefits. For instance, providing health screening and vaccinations as well as routine maternity costs cover. It’s easy to see why these benefits are an advantage if you have employees overseas for long periods of time.
International private medical insurance is a specialist area that many insurance providers will actively avoid because if its complexity. But guess what, Nugent Santé have a specialist team to deal with international cover. The team are there to help tailor cover to meet your needs, so why not give them a call to discuss how they could help keep your employees healthy, happy and working hard whilst abroad?
You can find out more about the Private Medical Insurance Nugent Santé offer here or by contacting them for a no obligation discussion.
