Duty of Care: Shortfall in Life Insurance for International Assignees

A recent report from Cigna mentioned that 50% of expatriate employees 

feel that their expat employers are not meeting their duty of care 

requirements for the global assignments that they are on.

Update: Insured Nomads has introduced a full duty of care program developed and managed within their Juvo Innovation Lab called INC by Insured Nomads. It is one of the most comprehensive membership programs available built with collaborations and strategic partnerships with leading global providers. Although the content below covers the need for cross-border life insurance - take a deep dive into duty of care with a conversation with the team at Insured Nomads.

Many times in the development of policies and implementation of group insurance plans for employees on international assignment the focus becomes primarily on health and medical benefits. Life insurance is considered a supplemental benefit that is under-funded and not emphasized. Take a moment to read further if 'duty of care' and corporate responsibility matters to you.

As one who has been on an Aetna Global plan with a $25,000 primary and $10,000 dependant life policy as a rider on the medical insurance plan, I know first hand that I could not locate a broker to buy additional coverage once I accepted my international assignment offer. I have recently seen this same level of benefit on a both a MetLife Expat and a Cigna Global plan and I am compelled to say that this is a shortfall that must be addressed, and promptly. More than likely you were not presented with better options when you chose your international health insurance plan. The likelihood of a brokerage talking with your hr team about a group international term life insurance policy is low. It's critical to care and provide for international assignees to a higher level than is currently practiced. If you are in a place of influence in your company or organization then consider making a difference in what is offered to those taking the risk of a global relocation.

You may be involved in the Dialogues on Duty of Care group on Linkedin and aware of the "Singapore Declaration" on Duty of Care. Yet, I make a call out to all to look closer at your practices when it comes to the level of financial risk you place your employee when sending them to work outside their home country.

Group and individual international term plans are available and affordable. Make a point to talk to your brokerage firm, or even myself, about options to protect and care for your team.

Andrew Jernigan, Int'l Insurance Thought Leader

#Expat #DutyOfCare #GlobalMobility #InternationalAssignment #LifeInsurance #LifeAssurance #worldwideerc #WeekendEssay

Duty of care is off the radar screen for many HR professionals, but recent events … are putting employer obligations to their globally mobile workforce on the front lines. Suzanne Garber, International SOS, Americas Region