According to new research by Jelf Employee Benefits, expatriate workers are being put at risk by their employers lack of healthcare knowledge.
The survey, conducted on 44 companies representing approximately 11,000 employees, found that only 5% of employers felt they fully understood international healthcare. This was in all the countries where they currently had employees based.
This indicates a possible breach of duty-of-care policies. An employee may only discover their cover isn’t adequate when they try to make a claim.
Over a third of employers worry the level of coverage they have isn’t enough for those employees abroad. This means they risk being fined if indeed the policy isn’t adequate, equally worrying for employees who may need to seek medical treatment.
The number of companies who felt they couldn’t keep up to date with changing international insurance rules was also high at 68%.
These results are even more shocking when 98% of employers believe their employees rely on them to ensure their health insurance is adequate when they are posted abroad.
With the risk of incurring fines and having to pay for employee medical treatment themselves, companies need to make sure they are more savvy with international insurance rules.