International Casualty Claims Scenarios
The claim scenarios described here are hypothetical and are offered solely to illustrate the types of situations that may result in claims. These scenarios are not based on actual claims and should not be compared to an actual claim. The precise coverage afforded by any insurer is subject to the terms and conditions of the policies as issued. Whether or to what extent a particular loss is covered depends on the facts and circumstances of the loss, the terms and conditions of the policy as issued and applicable law.
Country of Origin Benefits - Foreign Voluntary Compensation
Difference in Limits – Contingent Auto Liability
Coverage Jurisdiction – Products Liability
Property Damage From Foreign Travel – Commercial General Liability
Trip Travel – Executive Assistance
Country of Origin Benefits - Foreign Voluntary Compensation
- Australian national is employed by U.S. multinational company policyholder to work in Bahrain.
- Employee is injured in Bahrain in the course and scope of performing his duties for the U.S. multinational and as a result he is disabled for 30 days.
- Employee receives medical treatment in Bahrain.
- Bahrain does not have a local workers compensation scheme.
- Australia does have a workers compensation scheme, but benefits are limited to injuries that take place in the Australia.
- An International Advantage® policy can provide foreign voluntary compensation coverage that can extend the equivalent of country of origin benefits for the Australia.
Difference in Limits – Contingent Auto Liability
- U.S. company’s employee travels to Mexico on business and rents a car from a local rental agency.
- The local rental car agency carries a local Mexican auto liability policy with limits of MXN 500,000 (Mexico requires compulsory auto liability insurance on all vehicles with limits of MXN 500,000 – approximately equal to USD $40,000).
- Employee is involved in a serious auto accident in Mexico resulting in the death of a passenger in the other vehicle and a serious injury to the driver of the other vehicle; the claims have been valued at the equivalent of US $500,000 under Mexican law.
- The U.S. company-employer and the driver-employee could be held directly responsible for US $460,000.
- An ACE International Advantage policy can provide worldwide contingent auto liability coverage outside of the U.S. with limits of $1M per accident and can extend coverage to U.S. companies and their employees.
Coverage Jurisdiction – Products Liability
- U.S. company manufactures burners in the U.S. that are sold to a distributor in France. Distributor sells burners to third-party customer in Germany who uses them in an industrial furnace.
- Burner suffers premature failure and damages third-party customer’s furnace.
- Third-party customer sues U.S. company in Germany.
- The domestic general liability insurer may deny coverage because the suit has been filed outside of the standard coverage territory.
- An ACE International Advantage policy can provide products liability coverage in foreign territories, and defense of suits brought in foreign territories.
Property Damage From Foreign Travel – Commercial General Liability
- U.S. company’s employee travels to Belize on business and accidentally leaves the water running in the bathtub in the hotel room.
- The bathtub overflows, causing water damage to the floors below, including the hotel lobby. The hotel owner demands payment for the damage.
- The claim may not be covered under the U.S. company’s domestic general liability policy because the event happened outside of the policy’s coverage territory.
- An ACE International Advantage policy can provide worldwide property damage liability coverage outside of the U.S.
Trip Travel – Executive Assistance
- U.S. based charitable organization takes a mission trip to a village in Zimbabwe with volunteers who stay at a campsite.
- One of the volunteers contracts malaria while in Zimbabwe.
- There are no qualified medical facilities within a reasonable distance from the charity’s campsite to treat the volunteer.
- The volunteer’s only option is to be evacuated to a qualified medical facility in Johannesburg, South Africa at a cost of $30,000.
- The volunteer’s spouse, also a participant in the mission trip, wants to accompany the volunteer to the hospital in Johannesburg at an additional cost of $10,000.
- An ACE International Advantage policy with Executive Assistance services can provide benefits for the cost of emergency medical evacuation to the nearest adequate medical facility and can include the cost for an accompanying spouse.
ACE International Advantage© and other international casualty products are offered by various divisions of ACE USA that specialize in providing international insurance programs to small, mid-sized and large U.S.-based companies and organizations. This singular focus translates to expert service provided by skilled international underwriters and claim professionals.
ACE USA is the U.S.-based retail operating division of the ACE Group of Companies, headed by ACE Limited (NYSE: ACE), a component of the S&P 500 stock index and rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best Company and AA-(Very Strong) by Standard & Poor’s. ACE USA, through its underwriting companies, provides insurance products and services throughout the U.S. The ACE Group of Companies is a global leader in insurance and reinsurance serving a diverse group of clients. The ACE Group conducts its business on a worldwide basis with a physical presence in 53 countries. Additional information can be found at: www.acegroup.com.
Information contained herein has been prepared by the ACE Group as a convenience to users and is not intended to constitute legal advice or recommendations upon which a user may rely. Nothing provided herein may be used as legal advice or as a substitute for the advice of competent counsel, and users are advised to seek legal advice from their counsel.
The ACE Group makes no representation, warranty or guarantee, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in this document or linked herein or on any other web site maintained by the ACE Group or any member of the ACE Group. The statements and descriptions contained herein are not intended to be complete descriptions of the terms, information and conditions applicable in any country, but are provided solely for general illustrative purposes and do not in any way affect the terms of any insurance transaction or the provisions of any insurance policy.
This document contains proprietary information of the ACE Group. No disclosure, reproduction or use of any portion of these materials may be made without the express written consent of the ACE Group. © 2012 ACE Group. All rights reserved.