Insurance study highlights international healthcare risks

A study by PMI Global has revealed that 20% of companies that send employees abroad for prolonged periods of six months or more fail to provide them with international health insurance.

According to PMI Global, a new service offering an integrated package of insurance and healthcare support for employees abroad, the research has highlighted the need for a greater duty of care amongst many employers that assign staff overseas.

It also indicated that for those staffed within the EU, as many as 36% of companies rely on individual European Health Insurance Card's (EHIC) for their employees' health cover.

The study found 20% of those surveyed were unaware that their employers liability insurance may not always cover staff working overseas and that country-specific policies may be required.

The research also revealed that 48% of companies neglect to conduct full health assessments of the destinations they send staff to, while 44% don't organise vaccinations for their employees where required and that 1 in 10 companies leave their expat employees totally in the dark over where to turn to for health advice.

Rachael Floyd, operations director at PMI Global, commented: "It's encouraging that a large number of UK businesses are well equipped for sending employees abroad but the financial implications for those that fail to provide employees with suitable health insurance can be considerable."

She concluded: "While the EHIC entitles any resident in the UK to receive emergency healthcare treatment while travelling in the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland, restrictions mean it isn't a substitute for standalone international health insurance."