About International Workers Compensation Insurance (Foreign Workers Compensation Insurance and DBA Insurance)
We are asked a lot of questions about how well U.S. based workers compensation plans cover foreign risks for expatriates. The answer is, it depends on the issues discussed below.
A Foreign Workers Compensation Insurance Plan is Always Recommended for the Following Reasons.
We don't often lead a discussion with price, but this insurance is just too inexpensive not to have for all expatriates and for international business travelers.
For U.S. expatriates and travelers, a foreign voluntary workers compensation plan will take a secondary position behind State mandated workers compensation benefits. Do expatriates still have coverage under the residence State workers compensation plan. The answer is it depends and in many cases yes. Even professionals at insurance companies that underwrite international workers compensation insurance often cannot give you a good answer. Global employers buy this insurance "just in case" for U.S. expatriates but it's a necessity for Third Country Nationals, even those enrolled under an expatriate group health insurance plan because almost all of these international employee benefit programs are non-occupational.
A Blanket International Workers Compensation Insurance Scheme (foreign workers comp. insurance) is useful for travelers and expatriates.
Employees may reside in multiple U.S. States, or have come from various States before traveling or working overseas. It can be very hard to predict exactly where the U.S. workers compensation program will cease to provide coverage however, we do have some general rules where it's reasonable for one to assume there is no longer coverage under the U.S. State workers comp. program and foreign voluntary worker compensation insurance is needed.
When is an international workers compensation program almost always needed.
In this case it's easier to start from the other side and say who probably has no coverage under the U.S. workers comp program.
- Local nationals working inside their home country (the exception is DBA or defense base act insurance (see the gray box on the right).
- Third country national employees also called non-U.S. expatriates. A French national working in Sudan will not quality for the U.S. workers comp policy.
- U.S. expatriates where the master U.S. workers comp policy comes from certain carriers, or from certain States. Some carriers just won't take the risk. In some states, there is no free market place for workers comp. insurance provided by the private marketplace.
- In some cases, U.S. expatriates that have been working overseas for over a certain period of time. A expatriate who has been working in Poland for 5 years may not be able to file a claim under Pennsylvania State benefits, and State insurers.
- Expatriates in the process of being localized in their assignment country or who have been localized will not qualify for coverage in most instances.
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