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A Guide to Foreign General Liability Insurance

If your company does any business outside the country, an important decision you’ll have to make is what foreign general liability insurance you should invest in. As a company with employees or offices in another country, liability insurance will cover any problems that can occur. Foreign countries have different laws and customs. In the case of a bad situation, you want all parties to be fully covered.

Some particulars to consider include coverage of employees in the foreign countries which you operate. If facing immediate medical attention from an on-the-job injury, you’ll need it taken care of in a prompt and cost effective fashion. Other possibilities such as potential hostage situations or emergency travel services could turn into a nightmare without foreign general liability insurance. Finding a foreign liability insurance carrier is necessary for the immediate response to these possibly dangerous circumstances.

As a company that manufactures overseas, your US insurance policy would not be sufficient. In the case of an incident, it would only cover lawsuits filed in the US. It is also often the case that foreign jurisdictions require policies that can only be provided by foreign coverage. If a lawsuit is filed in another country, and you are not covered by the proper foreign carrier, the ramifications can be significant. You risk losing your assets to that country and you could be banned from continuing business there.

In a foreign country, language barriers can be a problem between the company and its employees, if they are also from the foreign country. For a company that may have US employees spending a significant amount of time travelling, this can become a problem for that employee as well. In this case, it would be important to know the local language.  In addition, risk management training could be effective as well. Some companies will offer these preventative services. This can be helpful to a company that is new to foreign business practices, or a company that doesn’t interact with the foreign country on a regular basis.

If already with an agency that offers this coverage, you might receive a discount on your overall insurance with the inclusion of foreign general liability coverage. Putting your foreign affairs in the hands of a trusted insurance company is perhaps the most important precaution you can take. You need someone who is well versed in dealing with another country’s rules, culture and language.