Accident Insurance Fee
Liability to Insure
The employer is liable to take a statutory accident insurance for all his/her employees. According to law, an accident insurance must be taken for all employees except the employer himself/herself, the majority owner of a limited liability company working in the management of the company as well as in the partnerships and limited partnerships, for the authority officials of the company.
The obligation to insure does not generally apply to employers who have had their employees carry out less than 12 days of work during a year. The obligation may, however, rise if the employer employs more than 12 employees. The employee’s salary or age does not affect the obligation to insure.
The accident insurance must be taken before the work commences. The insurance is available in the private insurance companies.
Self-employed persons may also insure themselves and their family members taking part in the work by a voluntary accident insurance.
The Amount of the Fee, Paying and the Payment Notification
The amount of the accident insurance depends on the dangerous nature of the work and the size of the company and may be anything between 0.3 % and 8.00 %.
The employer shall pay an advance insurance fee from the insurance at the beginning of the insurance term. The final insurance fee shall be determined on the basis of the payment multiplier based payments gathered from the payment notification and on the level of danger the work includes. The insurance fee is paid during the period the insurance company has provided.
The employer shall provide an annual payment notification to the insurance company at the end of the insurance term. The due date for the notification is on the 31 January. The declaration should set out the salaries paid during the insurance period itemized in accordance with the character of work.
Right to the Cover of an Accident Insurance
A person is entitled to have the cover of an accident insurance if he/she:
is undertaking work on a contractual basis for another
is compensated for the work
is supervised and managed by the employer
The right to the accident insurance protection is not dependent on whether or not the employer has complied with its obligation to insure the employees. If the employer has failed to fulfill its obligation and the employee suffers loss due to an accident he/she will receive compensation either from the State Treasury or the Federation of Accident Insurance Institutions. In these situations a part of the compensation and increased insurance fees from the period of the negligence are collected from the employer.
Outside the scope of the insurance protection are:
independent entrepreneurs or practitioners of a profession or family members living in the same household
partners of a general partnership and responsible partners of a limited partnership if they, together with family members living in the same household, hold more than half of the controlling power of the partnership
shareholders of a limited liability company being in a senior position in the company, who alone or together with family members living in the same household, hold more than half of the company’s share capital.
Senior positions in a company are held by:
shareholders of the company who exercise control in the company (e.g. the managing director)
partners of general partnerships and responsible partners of limited partnerships, unless otherwise provided by the partnership agreementThe accident insurance also applies to employees working abroad with certain conditions. In certain situations e.g. a certificate of posted employees is required. The accident insurance companies provide information on insuring the employees abroad.
Insurance Compensation
From the accident insurance are compensated damages caused to the employee in work or en route between home and work. Accident insurance covers in practice work-related accidents and occupational diseases. The insurance covers necessary medical costs of work-related accidents or occupational diseases as well as the loss of earnings by way of a daily allowance or employment accident pension. For permanent general disability an employee may also receive a disability indemnity on the basis of the accident insurance. In addition, the insurance covers costs for rehabilitation and, in the case of death, a funeral allowance and the possibility to receive a dependent's pension.