Safe on the road as a volunteer

Around 2.5 million traffic accidents occur on Germany's roads every year – many of them involving business trips. In numerous social economy organizations, it is common for employees and volunteers to use private vehicles for business purposes. If an accident occurs, the question of liability arises. Who covers the costs of damage to the private car? Diana Ortmeier, Senior Product Manager Property/Technical Insurance, and Markus Sander, Team Leader Social Economy Region East, explain the advantages of business travel vehicle insurance for employers, their employees and volunteers.

“A rear-end collision, parking damage or maneuvering error – possibly even with a trailer – can happen in everyday life despite great caution. To provide comprehensive protection for full-time and volunteer employees who use their own cars for work-related travel, we offer our customers a specially designed insurance product: business travel vehicle insurance,” explains Diana Ortmeier. Especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers, the support of volunteers is becoming increasingly important for social institutions and church parishes. ‘But in their work, employees also want to be protected,’ says the product manager. The legal situation (Section 670 of the German Civil Code) also provides for this: employees who use their private vehicle for business trips on behalf of their employer and negligently cause an accident that also damages their own vehicle have a claim for damages against the employer for the damage suffered to their own vehicle.

Covering the risk

Business travel vehicle insurance protects the employer from liability risk and largely exempts them from claims for compensation asserted by employees. “It is a comprehensive insurance policy for which the deductible can be individually agreed,” says the expert. Among other things, the insurance covers damage to and destruction of the vehicle. It also covers damage to certain vehicle and accessory parts that are kept under lock and key or are attached.

Insurable journeys

“However, only journeys that are ordered for business reasons are insured. These do not include, for example, journeys from the employee's home to the permanent place of work and back,” says Markus Sander. For part-time and volunteer workers who use their own vehicles for business purposes, insurance cover begins when the business trip begins. For example, the route from the employee's home to the place of work and back to the starting point is covered. “However, it should be noted that if the outward and return journey is interrupted for personal reasons and this is not related to the activity for the policyholder, the insurance cover is suspended during the interruption period. The same applies to an extension of the stay at the destination.”

Procedure in the event of a claim

“The injured party can report the damage to us directly via ecconnect, our website or by email, but they must first inform the employer and discuss the damage with them,” says Markus Sander. To avoid disputes between the employer and the volunteer or employee, the Ecclesia Group takes over the further processing of the claim. “What is important here is that the injured party reports the damage in good time and can prove that the journey was ordered by the employer. In addition, the injured party is obliged to provide information about any other vehicle insurance that may exist,” adds Diana Ortmeier.

Customer-oriented concept

There are various approaches to calculating premiums for business travel vehicle insurance. ‘We offer a premium rate with a flat-rate approach,’ says Markus Sander. Here, the calculation is based on the number of home places or beds, for example in hospitals, homes, workshops for people with disabilities and similar institutions. Another model is a contract based on the annual business mileage. This solution is used by social stations, outpatient care services, associations and similar institutions that cannot specify the number of places or beds. “The different models enable us to offer the appropriate insurance cover for each customer. Our special coverage concept, which we developed together with the insurers, goes far beyond the usual market conditions,” says Diana Ortmeier. The insurance cover can be customized by purchasing additional modules, such as subsidiary motor third-party liability insurance or no-claims bonus loss insurance.