When private employers apply for an overseas contract with the United States Government or with an applicable government agency to work on a US Military base outside of the continental United States, you must also apply for Defense Base Act insurance – also known as DBA Insurance (or DBA coverage).  DBA Insurance is mandatory for employees hired by Government contractors who are working outside of the US (other than any waived employees). It is designed to protect you and your employees in the event of an injury, illness or death. If you have secured a US government contract to work overseas, you must secure insurance coverage including DBA insurance for your employees before they are deployed overseas. Just like a contract bid, the DBA insurance carriers require some information to evaluate your application.  In certain cases, permissibly self insured American employers can meet this obligation for government contracts. In this article, we will cover some requirements for the Defense Base Act DBA insurance application process.

1. Contract Details Needed by your DBA Insurance Company for Defense Base Act Insurance or US Longshore and Harbor Workers Compensation Act

Supplying the required information about your contract will help carriers evaluate your application easily. The following should be provided when applying for defense base act insurance. 

1. Who is involved in the contract?

2. How many employees will be deployed outside of the United States? Also, do you anticipate hiring any foreign workers or local legal residents?

3. What kind of work will they be doing? Have you confirmed compliance with the Foreign Assistance Act?

4. Where are they travelling to from their home country?

5. When will the contract start and end?

6. How will your employees move around the target country? Will they be transported by or operating any military equipment or using similar services?

7. Employee concentration such as the number of workers per flight or workers on specific military bases?

The answers to the above questions will help us understand the scope of your overseas contract and your application for Defense Base Act DBA, reduce delays and get you the right policy in the event of an injured employee, medical expense benefits, funeral expenses, compensation claim, medical care coverage, death benefits or dba benefits need to be paid or if a worker should claim compensation or disability compensation. Much of the information about a contract is contained in the statement of work (SOW).

Statement of Work to be Performed Under Government Contracts Approved

This is a document required for each contract. It is a detailed description of the contract to be executed. SOWs are issued by the US department that is awarding the contract. They define any specific aspect or requirements of the contract. The details on how you intend to implement the SOW are necessary for your DBA insurance application. For example, if a project involves the use of weapons by an employee. You need to state how much training employees have and the use cases for such weapons.  If you are working on a project with a classified SOW, you should indicate this on the application form. Be as specific as possible when answering the questions for DBA insurance.

2. Payrolls

You should have an idea of the amount of payroll for work falling under the DBA insurance policy (or harbor workers compensation act) in the first 12 month period. Also, the ratio of US citizens vs locals that your company will engage and your estimated payroll for each. This information will be audited at the end of the policy by the DBA insurance company. You may be required to complete a payroll reporting form at policy expiration. Thus, the supplied payroll data should be as accurate as possible.

3. Organization Details

How you manage your organization is important for the Defense Base Act DBA insurance application. This includes: 

• How you will handle employee background checks under this government contract for employees working overseas

• Your personnel record-keeping practices that will be used for your Defense Base Act insurance carriers or harbor workers compensation act

• Your general business experience. How many years you carried domestic Workers Compensation insurance benefits, US Longshore and Harbor Workers compensation insurance benefits or coverage under the Defense Base Act

These details will help the carriers evaluate your application and draw up the right policy for your contract.

4. Claims Loss History

 Insurance carriers are also interested in your DBA claims history, which should include information on any prior claims paid for death benefits or DBA workers compensation benefits to injured employees (whether fully insured or self insured) or paid under the Defense Base Act, the longshore and harbor workers act, mutual security act or general tort law. You can get the information from your previous carrier who provided the coverage. If it is your first application, you should indicate it on your application form. It is important to provide detailed and accurate information to the insurance carriers about your business for defense base act insurance application. With the preparation and supply of needed information, you can get a quote and policy quickly for your contract and the needed insurance coverage. At IOA, we can provide your Defense Base Act Insurance or a DBA insurance quote even on short notice. Do you want to get a quote for the insurance coverage needed for your contract? Click on the DBA Insurance quote request button below to get the coverage required under the Defense Base Act.