Working Abroad Travel Insurance

Travel Insurance for Working Abroad

If you are travelling abroad and intend to find work overseas, you must ensure that your chosen travel insurance policy will cover you in the workplace. Many policies do not, as they are only intended to cover leisure travel and will not compensate you if you have an accident whilst working. Therefore, ensuring that you purchase a suitable working abroad insurance policy is essential. 

The purpose of working abroad travel insurance is to allow those who travel outside of their home country the ability to work safely. Whether the work entails hospitality jobs, domestic labour, or simply going on a gap year, working abroad insurance covers you for any accidents you may have and for working in specific environments in particular roles.

Short or Long Term Work Abroad Insurance Policies

Our AIG Longstay & Backpacker policies are suitable for :

• Manual work, construction sites, working with machinery
• Farm work, including working with animals and agricultural machinery
• Working on an animal sanctuary with wild animals, including big cats etc
• Long stay working trips up to 18 months duration
• Volunteering, charitable or paid work
• These policies are not online – please phone 0161 973 6435 or email sales@navigatortravel.co.uk for quotes or booking.

Our Silver, Gold, and Diamond policies are suitable for:

• Clerical work
• Bar and restaurant work
• Fruit and vegetable picking
• Light farm work
• Voluntary and charitable work
• Light manual work using hand tools or hand power tools
• Work with small domestic animals in a supervised environment

What are the Types of Working Abroad Travel Insurance? 

Working travel insurance can cover you for a variety of different roles. The risks and responsibilities involved in your job will determine which type of working holiday insurance you should opt for.

Finding and purchasing working travel insurance for office and clerical work or for working in bars and restaurants is fairly easy, and many insurance policies will cover light farm or agricultural work such as fruit and vegetable picking on a casual basis.

It is much more difficult however to find working abroad travel insurance that covers manual labour or construction work, particularly involving working with machinery or tools, and any agricultural farm labour (particularly those that use large machinery or vehicles). This isn’t impossible, however, and here at Navigator Travel, we do offer different working abroad insurances to cover all of these types of employment.  

If you run your own company or business, it may be that you have to travel for work-related activities or events and, thus, you must choose an appropriate business travel insurance policy for you. 

If you need cover for more potentially hazardous work, such as working with machinery, large or wild animals (including in an animal sanctuary or refuge) using heavy power tools, or heavy manual labour, you would be better off choosing our AIG Longstay & Backpacker, Adventures or High-Risk Voyager policies. These cover a remarkable range of employment, including those mentioned above.

Please be aware that our insurance policies are subject to conditions, including wearing any recommended safety clothing or equipment and strictly following all recommended safety advice and precautions during your employment. 

What’s the Difference Between Working Holiday Insurance and Travel Insurance?

General travel insurance policies will only cover you for travel that is for leisure, whereas working travel insurance will cover you for the work and employment that you intend to be doing when abroad.

Some distinct differences and terms must be considered when looking at the difference between these two types of travel insurance. 

Working abroad insurance will not cover personal liability claims that may arise in the workplace, meaning that if you cause injury to someone else or damage property whilst working, your claim will not be covered by any of the aforementioned policies.

When considering medical insurance for working abroad, our aforementioned working travel insurance policies cannot be used to claim additional compensation for death, loss of sight or limbs, or for disabilities related to workplace accidents. You also won’t be provided cover for income protection in the event of injury in these policies. 

When considering regular travel insurance policies, these typically cover baggage loss or damage to differing levels. However, this normally does not include adequate cover for expensive tools and equipment. Therefore, if you are planning on travelling abroad with these items, you should consider a travel insurance policy that includes this coverage. 

Regular travel insurance policies also normally only cover your medical costs, for ambulances, hospital treatments, surgery, and repatriation for example, rather than any additional compensation. This excludes all types of work, whether paid, unpaid, volunteering or charity work.

When looking for travel insurance for working overseas for extended periods, remember that not all policies will allow you to return home mid-term. When searching for year-long work abroad insurance policy, or travel insurance for periods longer than this, we would encourage you to consider whether you are covered for returning mid-term or at particular times of the year. We would also advise you to check what cover can be offered for claims arising from pre-existing medical conditions.

Navigator Travel Insurance Services Ltd are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.