Use insurance provided by employer when applying for a Schengen visa

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Schengen usually has very specific insurance requirements, such as repatriation of remains, a minimum value for life insurance and a minimum value for foreign hospital care. I've never heard of a requirement that the insurer must be European.

For example, quoting the French embassy website about visa requirements:

MEDICAL INSURANCE, A letter from an insurance company (+ 1 copy) stating that you will be covered for any medical, hospitalization and repatriation expenses (the three words must be written) for at least $45,000 during your stay in the Schengen countries. If your current insurance company does not provide such a coverage, please find an international insurance company (and ask for the letter mentioned above with the three words).

I work in Canada for a foreign company and have a Canadian insurer and I was able to use my work insurance for travel in the past. But be sure to check the details of your specific coverage!

Upvote:2

To add to blackbird57's answer, there's also some anecdotal evidence (from an authoritative source) that your employer's insurance coverage will be ok - providing their letter of confirmation matches the Schengen requirements.

As described in this meta discussion, GayotFow has taken a course instructed by Elspeth Guild, who was part of constructing the Schengen border code.

In response to a question similar to yours - "Will they accept alternate forms of insurance like an employee who is covered by his company's group insurance?", Elspeth stated:

Yes, but the provider needs to cut and paste the paragraphs from the Schengen site into their letter of confirmation.

It's not clear exactly which paragraphs this refers to, but I would think it just has to be clear in the letter of confirmation that the insurance covers the requirements in the Visa Code.

Lifted from Article 15 of the code:

  1. Applicants for a uniform visa for one or two entries shall prove that they are in possession of adequate and valid travel medical insurance to cover any expenses which might arise in connection with repatriation for medical reasons, urgent medical attention and/or emergency hospital treatment or death, during their stay(s) on the territory of the Member States.

......

  1. The insurance shall be valid throughout the territory of the Member States and cover the entire period of the person’s intended stay or transit. The minimum coverage shall be EUR 30 000.

So, ensuring there is proof that your employer's insurance meets this requirements seems like it would not be a problem.

Also of interest is item 6 in article 15, although it's not clear what all the professions are that this applies to:

  1. The insurance requirement may be considered to have been met where it is established that an adequate level of insurance may be presumed in the light of the applicant’s professional situation. The exemption from presenting proof of travel medical insurance may concern particular professional groups, such as seafarers, who are already covered by travel medical insurance as a result of their professional activities.

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