All You Need to Know About EMS Insurance
Extra Mural Studies (often referred to as EMS) can be a crucial part of your studies as a veterinary student. An EMS placement can provide vital experience and develop practice skills in a ‘real life’ setting.
But before you embark on your EMS training, have you thought about insurance for your placement? Here are several important factors to consider:
Does your placement practice have insurance for Employers’ Liability, Public Liability and Professional Indemnity?
- Employers’ Liability can cover situations where your employer (the placement practice) is responsible for an injury at work.
- Public Liability can provide a level of financial protection should a member of the public (i.e. a client) make a compensation claim for damage or injury to their property.
- Professional Indemnity covers the cost of a claim related to professional services, for example, if an animal is injured. Most indemnity held by veterinary practices should provide you with the protection required.
EMS Insurance is automatically included as part of your BVA student membership. The following two scenarios provide insight into what EMS Insurance does and doesn’t cover.
Scenario 1
“Annabel” lives with her parents in Devon, England, and is a UK national who is studying for an undergraduate in the Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery at The University of Edinburgh in Scotland. She has accepted an Extra-Mural Study placement for 12 weeks in Spain. Critically, she is a student member of the BVA.
“Annabel” will travel back to Devon for a family wedding during her placement.
The BVA EMS cover will provide:
- Personal Accident Cover
This provides a ‘lump sum’ compensation if “Annabel” were to sustain certain major injuries or disablements as a result of an accident.
- Personal Liability
This will help to defend “Annabel” if she is accused of being personally responsible for injuring another person or causing damage to property. This is the kind of cover many people would have as an additional part of their home insurance, however, as many students wouldn’t have home insurance, this cover helps to close that gap.
Covers to consider in addition to EMS:
- Travel Insurance
To be clear, your EMS Insurance won’t cover medical expenses. That’s where travel insurance comes in. Many policies won’t cover injury or illness whilst working abroad, so it’s important that you arrange a travel policy that will cover this.
- Liability Cover
As with EMS in the UK, you should make sure that your work placement still provides Public Liability, Employers’ Liability, and Professional Indemnity. In the past, we have seen situations where placements abroad haven’t given such protection under their insurance.
Scenario 2
“Hilmi” is a Malaysian national who is studying at Ghent University in Belgium for a Master of Science in Veterinary Medicine. “Hilmi” has accepted an EMS placement in Aberystwyth, Wales for 20 weeks. He is considering BVA membership but is not currently a member.
In order to benefit from BVA EMS cover, “Hilmi” must be an active member of BVA. Once he has membership, the EMS insurance protection will provide cover for:
- Personal Accident Cover
This provides a ‘lump sum’ compensation if “Hilmi” were to sustain certain major injuries or disablements as a result of an accident.
Covers to consider in addition to EMS:
- Personal Liability
This will help to defend you if you’re accused of being personally responsible for injuring another person or causing damage to property. This is the kind of cover many people would have as an additional part of their home insurance. This is something “Hilmi” should ensure he is protected by insurance sourced in his home country or University.
- Travel Insurance
To be clear, EMS Insurance won’t cover medical expenses. That’s where travel insurance comes in. Many policies won’t cover injury or illness whilst working abroad, so it’s important to arrange a travel policy to cover this. We would recommend” Hilmi” arrange Travel Insurance protection before leaving Malaysia that provides cover for the countries he intends to travel to and all activities intended on being undertaken.
- Liability Cover
All students should make sure that their work placement provides Public Liability, Employers’ Liability and Professional Indemnity. In the past, we have seen situations where placements abroad haven’t given such protection under their insurance.
To find out more about EMS Insurance or to arrange cover for your travel plans, call one of our advisers.
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