Managers, company directors and technical staff should definitely be aware that company medical benefits insurance packages may lack a very important extension called medical evacuation.
If we cannot be admitted and recovered into an hospital due to a lack of medical personnel or surgeons specialised to treat our case, we run the risk of having to pay the very high costs of emergency air transport either out of our own pocket or to be paid by the company.
In many countries domestic insurance cover may not offer as comprehensive a level of protection as taylored international private medical insurance.
In this article we try to answer to the main questions that managers and company executives ask to have a better understanding of their medical insurances,
In case international emergency transport is exluded, it is absolutely urgent, better then never, to run for cover.
At general level, medical insurance for managers and company owner, extended to family members, is nowadays an indispensable solution also for those requiring urgent medical care and top medical assistance.
However, before buying medical insurance, it would be better to draw attention to a little-known or underestimated insurance extension that, if missing, can literally lead to annoying and dangerous misunderstandings with the insurer and our workers, as we are going to see here below.
“Why is it so important to check carefully whether emergency transport costs are included in our medical insurance?”
For a very simple reason: emergency air-ambulance expenses cost a fortune. Let’s take a practical example.
Our medical insurance covers for surgical and operating theater expenses up to EUR 500,000.
If, for whatever unfortunate reason, we have a heart attack, a stroke or suffer a serious accident in a country completely lacking in specialised clinics, doctors and emergency care unit, and we need to be transported urgently to another country to receive immediate medical care, it is obvious that being insured for such a large sum may have no sense, since we cannot spend it on the spot!
This is why the inclusion of air-emergency transport costs is really important: it is the insurance company that organises an flight to the most specialised clinic at its own expense with a contracted transport company.
I would really like to emphasise the following: there is no reason to buy high and expensive medical reimbursement insurance coverage when the medical evacuation expenses are not covered.
In case of emergency, being medical evacuation excluded by our medical insurance plan, we have to bear out of our own pocket all flight transportation expenses: unfortunately emergency air-medical flights cost a fortune.
We want to highlight that these emergency transport expenses might be excluded by general standard employees benefits package: if we are a manager and we, or our workers, are planning to travel abroad several weeks a year, it could be absolutely better to verify if we are really covered or otherwise go in search for proper taylored coverage provided by international insurance company able to serve world-wide.
“I am a company executive: are evacuation expenses insured by the travel insurance I usually buy before going holiday with my family?”
Travel insurance and evacuation expenses are not the same thing and we absolutely should not confuse them if we want to avout bad surprise in case on indemnification.
The insurance cover we nomally purchase online or through packages is limited to the period we are travelling and is restricted to the reimbursement of flight and baggage loss or repatriation of mortal remains.
Medical evacuation is a real transportation service provided by a air company, with which the insurer has an agreement, used to deliver the insured to life-saving care that may not be found at the traveler’s location.
“My company has recently purchased an employee benefits program for white collars: in case of accident or illness during a business trip are evacuation expenses already incuded in the package?”
It should be very important to verify if they are or not cause this makes an enormous difference!
At very general level, group medical insurances provide a fair balance of several coverages that managers and employees can benefit in their country of residence, such as routine check-ups at public and private clinics, a large sum in the event of accident or death to be given to children, supplementary pension, disability.
But, if we are abroad and have a stroke during a business conference, we get an infarction at the swimming pool of the hotel, or we acquire an unknown virus at the airport far away from our home country, unfortunately the insurance company with which we have a general benefit insurance plan cannot send us a flight fully equipped with doctors and medical staff to bring us back home safe.
This is the main reason why we warmly suggest to our client to verify together if medical expenses are really cover and up to a high limit of indemnification.
“Let’s say that evacuation expenses are not covered and my employees get seriously injured during a business trip and cannot be transported home receiving proper medical care: as company director which risk may I face?”
let’s take a practical case.
If our technical staff or our sales managers during a business trip are seriously injured or sick , if it is found out that the company has not complied with health and safety regulations while travelling, the company director can be held personally liable with his own personal assets.
The subject matter is very complex: international law provides for specific duty of care obligations on managers. If these obligations are not fulfilled, the employer and its managers risk going before a judge and pay in full compensation for all damages.
To answer the question, purchasing medical insurance with the inclusion of medical evacuation is certainly a good way of proving that the managers have done everything possible to ensure the safety of employees travelling, including covering the costs of emergency transport from country to country.
The subject is very complex, and we will devote an in-depth article to it in the coming weeks.
In conclusion: who to rely on to get covered by taylored international insurance solutions
In this article we have seen that if we experience a serious medical emergency in an area where there are no medical facilities at all, the medical transportation benefit offers coverage for transportation services, by ground or by air to the nearest available medical facility.
In the different case we have been already admitted into an hospital after being rescued -but the clinic cannot provide proper medical assistance, quality of care, equipment or expertise to treat our emergency case-emergency evacuation extension pays the professional air-ground phisical transferring to the nearest appropriate medical facility and receive medication and care.
In case of emergency, it is absolutely fundamental have proper insurance cover for emergeny evacuation.
But it is even more important, before buying random insurance, to examin in details your specific case with insurance professionals with long experience in this specific field.
They will guide you through the intricate windings of several products, terms and conditions, technical glossary and find the righ solution taylored for your business, ensuring constant lines of communication from the first meeting to the claim settling.
