If you work abroad, you always run a certain risk – at least as far as your insurance cover is concerned. Regardless of whether you organise your business trips independently or your employer sends you on a business trip, you should take out comprehensive insurance for your stay abroad.
Business travel insurance – safely on business trips
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Who ensures my cover when I am abroad?
Many Austrian workers travel abroad as seconded employees of their company. Often, however, only some of them are adequately insured when they need medical help abroad. Small and medium-sized companies, in particular, can quickly underestimate the risk of, for example, a business trip accident involving their employee. This is because, as employers, they are responsible for the health cover of their employees abroad.
If you have to be transported back to Austria due to an accident, for example, your employer is liable to pay. He/she shall be liable for all costs incurred during the business trip to the full amount. Before you travel abroad, you should, therefore, contact your employer and clarify your insurance cover. Even if there is no legal obligation to insure, it is advisable to take out business travel insurance.
If, on the other hand, you travel abroad on business as a self-employed person, you are responsible for your own insurance. Without a suitable business travel insurance policy, you will incur high costs in the event of an emergency – depending on the destination country.
What medical benefits am I entitled to abroad?
Your entitlement to medical benefits abroad depends on which destination country you are travelling to on business. With the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC, on the back of the e-card), you receive treatment by contracted doctors and in public hospitals according to domestic standards in the member states of the EU, the EEA and Switzerland. What does that mean? The costs for medical treatment will be reimbursed according to the regulations of the destination country. If the respective percentage differs from the Austrian regulation, either your employer or you as a self-employed person will pay a part of the costs.
Thanks to bilateral social security agreements with Austria, you are also entitled to emergency benefits in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia and Turkey. Nevertheless, depending on the type of treatment, you should not underestimate the amount of the co-payment involved. Important: If you travel outside the European Economic Area, you have no health cover and pay all costs yourself in the event of an emergency. Especially in the case of a medically necessary return transport of the patient, significant 5-digit costs can arise.
What role does the duration of my business trip play?
If you are preparing for your business trip, you should also adjust your insurance cover to the length of your stay abroad. If it is a longer trip abroad, comprehensive travel protection is even more important. With HanseMerkur's international health insurance, you also have the option of receiving non-urgent treatments – such as preventive check-ups, massages or physiotherapy. Especially outside the EU, however, suitable insurance cover should also accompany you on shorter business trips. With two different insurance plan variants (Carefree and Premium) of our insurance products, you can always adapt your travel insurance to your individual requirements.
The international health insurance for a business trip
If you would like to insure yourself exclusively for a business trip, we recommend our international health insurance for a maximum travel duration of up to 364 days. It protects you when you travel, among other things by covering:
- outpatient and inpatient medical treatment at 100 % (in the Carefree plan up to € 300,000)
- painkilling dental treatments
- medications and surgical dressings
- operations
- massages, compresses, inhalations and physiotherapy
- ambulance transport for inpatient treatment
- a medically reasonable return transport of the patient
Especially for longer business trips, we recommend an additional package. It sensibly completes your insurance cover with travel accident, travel liability and travel assistance insurance.
The best travel insurance policies for multiple business trips abroad.
The annual international health insurance policy for several business trips per year
Our annual international health insurance is often worthwhile for as little as two business trips a year. The prerequisite for this is that you or your employee do not travel for more than 62 days per trip. You pay no deductible and are protected worldwide, including coverage for:
- Outpatient and inpatient medical treatment at 100 %
- Medications and dressing material
- Dental treatment
- Home transport incl. ambulance jet
- Private/ hotel doctor
- Subsequent benefits abroad
- Substitute daily hospital allowance (€ 50/day)
Find out about all the benefits of annual international health insurance.
The Premium annual travel protection for comprehensive protection on several business trips
If you would also like to comprehensively cover yourself or your employee on business trips in the event of travel irregularities (e.g. flight delays), accidents or liability claims, we recommend our Premium annual travel protection. In addition to important international health insurance, you benefit from the following:
- Travel curtailment insurance (reimbursement of the trip price if the trip is interrupted within the first half of the trip)
- Return travel protection
- Transfer and delay protection
- Luggage insurance
- Travel accident insurance
- Travel liability insurance
- Emergency travel assistance insurance