24-Hour Cover vs. Occupational-Only Cover (24-Stunden-Deckung vs. Berufsunfalldeckung)

The Two Basic Variants

International wordings define the scope as “operative time”. Under 24-hour cover, insurance applies to all accidents worldwide, regardless of whether they occur at work, on the way to work, at home, in sport or on holiday; it is the most valuable variant for employees because statistically the majority of serious accidents occur in leisure time. Occupational-only cover (“occupational accidents only”, sometimes “business hours” or “occupational including commuting”) restricts protection to accidents during the performance of occupational duties including business journeys, business travel and company events, with or without commuting accidents between home and workplace. It is considerably cheaper and is chosen where the employer primarily wants to cover its duty-of-care and liability exposure or to protect hazardous activities and travel. Intermediate forms such as “business travel only” or cover exclusively for air travel are also common in the market.

Swiss Context: BU and NBU

In Switzerland the distinction is shaped by statute: the UVG separates occupational accidents (Art. 7) from non-occupational accidents (Art. 8); employees working at least eight hours per week for the same employer are compulsorily insured against non-occupational accidents as well, and the NBU premium may generally be charged to the employee. Collective supplementary accident policies follow this structure and are written for occupational accidents alone or for occupational and non-occupational accidents; part-time employees below the eight-hour threshold are insured against non-occupational accidents through their health insurer rather than through the company.

Tax and Underwriting

The scope of cover affects the premium through the time at risk, the accumulation exposure (business travel, aircraft) and the wage tax treatment: in Germany the contribution for 24-hour cover is, absent other evidence, allocated half to the occupational and half to the private sphere, which is relevant for the tax-free travel expense portion. In the event of a claim under occupational-only cover the employer must be able to demonstrate that the accident occurred within the operative time.