6. Insurance

It is the responsibility of the CO to establish appropriate insurances for locally hired national staff. All national staff, regardless of the duration of contract, must be eligible for medical benefits. Insurance schemes for national staff should be reviewed and adjusted as necessary with relevance to the emergency context. For example, national staff may be required to work in another part of the country outside their regular place of work, and may be required to work in an environment that has greater hazards and safety risks. If the emergency is related to an armed conflict, war risk coverage may be needed. The CO should consult with the Lead Member as early as possible. (See also sections 4.4 and 4.5).

Insurance requirements for international staff are organised by the Deploying Member before the staff member arrives in the country. At a strict minimum, this insurance should cover emergency medical expenses, medical evacuation to the home country and repatriation in case of death. The receiving CO must:

• ensure that each Deploying Member or sending CO, provide all details regarding their insurers to the receiving CO at the commencement of the emergency response
• maintain a copy of the policy number and contact details of each CARE insurer. Each National Member has different insurance practices with different providers that have varying policies
• notify each Deploying Member of international staff travel movements outside of the main country location. It is common for an emergency response to operate in two countries. Some insurers have required notification of crossing borders. This has to be carefully managed by the CO to ensure Lead Members are notified of travel movements of staff. The Lead Members in turn will advise the insurance provider of this change in location
• in the case of CARE USA TDY assignments, ask the sending CO to arrange insurance cover. This should be confirmed with that CO. Refer to Annex 21.31 CARE USA TDY policy.