Business insurance across borders

The labels below are questions to take to a broker. They are not a statement that your company needs every one of them, and they are not a statement that any of them is compulsory. Compulsory cover, where it exists, is a local rule to verify.

If the business gives advice, designs something, or provides a professional service, a client may claim for an error, an omission or a late delivery. Contracts often require this cover and name a limit. The limit in the contract and the limit in the policy need to be read together. This page states neither. Ask which services are insured, which are excluded, and which countries the clients sit in.

Directors and officers insurance looks at claims against individuals for the way they managed the company. Subsidiaries, joint ventures and different legal systems can each change who is insured and where a claim can be brought. A new country of operation is a reason to ask whether those individuals are still inside the wording. It is not, by itself, a reason to assume they are.

Lost income and extra expense are meaningful only once you know what has to happen first. Some wordings require damage to insured property. Others describe a failure of a supplier, a customer, or a system. A dependency on one supplier or one client is a business fact to put next to that trigger. Ask which events start the cover, how long it can last, and which entities’ income is included. No period and no amount are stated here.

If you make or sell a physical product, claims can arise where the product is used, which may be a different country from where it was made. Distribution, a local seller and the courts a customer can use are part of the reading. A recall — the cost of getting products back — is a further section, sometimes absent. Ask which countries you ship to, and which of those the policy names.

A local entity, a remote worker, and an employer-of-record arrangement can each change who the employer is. Travel, health and injury cover may sit in different policies: a travel policy for a trip, health cover for ongoing care, and a liability or compensation policy for injury at work. Ask which people are employees, which are contractors, and which country each of them works in. Digital nomads is the immigration side of remote work. It does not place anyone on your insurance schedule.

Some countries require specific insurance for employers, for motor vehicles, or for particular professions. This page does not list those requirements. Verify them where you operate. A global or master policy can sit above local policies. It is a mistake to assume it stands instead of them. Ask a broker who will say which local contract is still required, and which entity must buy it.

Turnover, staff, new countries, new products, an acquisition, claims and the contracts you have signed can all change the risk since last year. A renewal that only compares premium can miss a subsidiary, a remote team or a client clause. Ask what the insurer has assumed, and correct it.