Commercial, educational and religious groups traveling overseas face wide international risks. In response, PRIME Insurance has teamed up with the leading companies, like CHUBB, in order to offer the needed protection.

The following are various claim scenarios that any corporation doing business outside of the US can experience.

• Commercial General Liability: 3^rd Party Property Damage
  A company employee traveled to Belize for business purposes. He forgot to turn off the bath faucet in the hotel room. The bath water rose higher and higher until it flooded the bathroom and the floors beneath it, including the building’s lobby. The hotel management demanded compensation for the damages. If not for the international commercial insurance policy the company purchased, this claim may not have been covered as domestic coverage generally does not include occurrences in foreign lands.
  
  
• Products Liability: Coverage Jurisdiction
  An American business that fabricates burners exports them to a French distributor who then sells the product to a third-party business in Germany to use in its industrial furnace. In one instance, a burner failed, causing extensive damage to the third-party customer’s furnace. The German customer filed a lawsuit against the American company as well as its French distributer. While a domestic general liability insurance policy may not cover suits brought against its policyholders outside of the US, the international policy provided international products liability and protected the insured.

• Contingent Auto Liability: Difference in Policy Limits
  A US corporation sent its employee to Mexico in order to conduct business. The woman rented a car that was accompanied by the local auto liability policy with limits of Mexican peso of 750,000, equivalent to $40,000 US dollars. Unfortunately, the company employee was involved in a major auto accident that resulted in the death of the other car’s driver. The ensuing claim could exceed the MXN 750,000, equivalent to $40,000 US dollars. The employee and the US company that he represents could be held accountable for a court decision in excess of the local policy’s limit. However, the international commercial policy can provide contingent auto liability protection out of the United States, with limits of $1,000,000 per accident while extending coverage to American entities and their workers.

• Executive Assistance Service while Traveling
  An American-based charity sent representatives to an African village in Zimbabwe. One volunteer came down with malaria. Because quality medical care was not available in the vicinity, the volunteer needed to be transported to Johannesburg, South Africa at the considerable cost of $50,000. The international coverage disbursed the funds to cover the cost.

• Overseas Voluntary Compensation: State of Hire Benefits
  An American company sent several employees to oversee a factory within an isolated vicinity in Botswana. During the temporary tenure, one employee fell off of a forklift and broke his leg, rendering him disabled for 40 days. The international insurance provided foreign voluntary compensation coverage that extended the comparable state of hire or country of origin benefits.
  
  
• Accidental Death and Dismemberment: Non-Occupational Injury
  An American business’s employee that was working in Mexico City on a temporary basis used her free time to visit tourist spots. While on the tour, the woman slipped down a staircase and broke her arm. Because the break occurred on her free time, away from work activities, the US company worker’s comp program may not have covered medical costs. The international insurance, however, provided the benefits as well as non-occupational medical expense coverage.

• Kidnap and Extortion: Kidnapping
  An executive of an American-based business traveled to Ecuador to survey a company facility. After hailing a cab at the airport to take him to his hotel, he was kidnapped. The abductors demanded $500,000 ransom for his release. The international policy covers the cost related to kidnap, extortion and detention if employees or their next of kin are abducted. It also provides important expert crisis management consulting services.

• Property Theft
  US-based missionaries visited Africa to teach modern agricultural methods. While implementing the techniques, the leased farming equipment was pilfered. The international insurance responded to the loss of owned or leased equipment by theft under the property coverage form.
  
  

For more on the International Business Insurance Program, visit us online HERE or contact us at PRIME [at] primeins [dot] com or 732-400-5242.  

Summary: American companies and volunteer or church groups operating overseas generally have no protection in the event of a lawsuit. International insurance is an inexpensive option that can cover liability associated with injury and damages in far-off places.