Travel Insurance

Travel insurance for companies can be of different lengths:

• short-term insurance for a single trip of up to 45 days;
• annual short-term insurance, for employees who frequently go on short-term business trips of no more than 45 days;
• Long-term insurance, for missions longer than 45 days but not exceeding 365 days;
• annual open insurance, or an insurance contract covering a certain number of travel days in accordance with the company's travel plan. The contract does not specify specific insured persons and dates. Normally, the company must inform the insurance company before each planned mission, but in some cases it may be possible to provide summary information on all missions at the end of the year.

Standard travel insurance usually covers the following risks:

• medical assistance, covering expenses such as emergency medical treatment, hospitalisation, emergency surgery or manipulation, purchase of medicines, transport to the home country, visit of a relative to the sick person, purchase or exchange of new tickets if the illness prevents you from returning at the planned time;
• dental treatment in acute cases;
• accident, if this results in death or disability of the insured person;
• medical transport and repatriation in case of illness or death.

In the event of an accident during the trip and in need of specialist advice on how to proceed, insurance companies usually provide 24/7 customer support.

In addition to the standard travel insurance cover, you can also include a variety of additional risks to suit your needs, such as:

• Replacement of the insured with another colleague if the insured employee is unable to continue the business trip for various reasons;
• changes to the trip if for various reasons the trip has to be cancelled or interrupted and new or replacement transport tickets have to be purchased, as well as the cost of booking accommodation;
• missed transit, if the trip consists of several connecting transit journeys and the flight is delayed or temporarily cancelled, causing the insured person to miss their next journey;
• baggage insurance in case of delay, damage or loss due to the fault of the carrier, covering the purchase of necessities and clothing;
• document insurance in case of theft or loss of travel documents such as passport or identity card - travel insurance covers the cost of having new documents made abroad;
• theft of personal belongings if mobile phone, laptop, camera, etc. are stolen;
• civil and legal liability in the event of damage to the property, health or life of a third party, or inadvertent failure to comply with national rules of conduct, thereby causing damage to a third party;
• translation costs for interpreting services related to document insurance or legal liability insurance;
• dry-cleaning or replacement of clothes if they have been damaged or soiled as a result of the accident;
• lump-sum compensation in the event of death or invalidity;
• etc.

Travel insurance should be chosen according to the territorial breakdown that most accurately covers the countries visited during the trip.

• The Baltic States and the Nordic countries (Estonia, Lithuania, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden, as well as the islands belonging to these countries).
• Europe (countries geographically located within Europe and islands belonging to them, including the European part of Russia, Cyprus, Macedonia).
• Europe+ (countries geographically located in Europe and its islands, including the United Arab Emirates, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan).
• Worldwide, except USA and Canada.
• worldwide.

There are a number of cases where the insurance company can significantly reduce or refuse compensation, so you should check the terms of your contract carefully. The most common reasons for refusal are:

• If the right insurance cover is not chosen, for example if you need to make changes to your trip but the risk is not covered by the insurance policy;
• If the insured person has deliberately failed to take the required precautions.
• If the insured person was under the influence of alcohol, drugs or psychotropic substances at the time of the accident.
• If the insured person has failed to comply with the laws and regulations in force in the country concerned.
• If the insured person failed to seek medical attention immediately when necessary or to follow the doctor's recommendations and instructions.
• Failure to report to the police the theft of personal belongings or documents within the time specified in the insurance policy.

Important! When taking out an insurance contract, read the terms and conditions and exclusions carefully, as they may differ from one insurance company to another! It is important to adapt the insurance cover to the specifics of your business.

• When an insured risk occurs:

• call the responsible authorities immediately, for example the police in case of theft, robbery or an attempt, a medical centre in case of health problems, etc;
• take measures to avoid further damage, for example cancelling accommodation bookings if there is a free cancellation period;
• notify the insurance company immediately or within 3 days of the insured risk becoming known and follow further instructions;
• submit an application for insurance indemnity and any other documents requested by the insurance company to establish the occurrence of the insured risk and the amount of the loss.

• Before travelling, employees are strongly advised to obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), which will make it easier and quicker for them to get reimbursed. The EHIC card will ensure that you receive the same level of emergency medical care as nationals of the European country concerned.
• The EHIC card and travel insurance will complement each other: the EHIC providing state-guaranteed care and travel insurance providing medical assistance outside state-guaranteed services. If you do not have an EHIC card, the insurance company may refuse to reimburse you for state-funded services.

You can get an EHIC card free of charge from the National Health Service (NHS).