Many Spaniards have been living in Switzerland for years without knowing exactly what happens if they have an accident on their way to work. The answer is clear: your employer’s occupational accident insurance (LAA) covers accidents that occur whilst travelling between your home and your place of work, and also on the way back home. This has its own specific term: ‘accident de trajet’. It is not your health insurance that covers this; it is your employer’s insurer, usually Suva or an equivalent private insurer.
What does this mean in practice? It means that if you fall off your bike on your way to the office, or have a car accident on your usual commute, your medical expenses are covered by the LAA. No excess, no 10 per cent co-payment – none of the things you’d normally have to pay with your health insurance. And from the third day of sick leave onwards, the LAA pays you 80 per cent of your salary, again with no deductibles. The only important caveat: the cover applies to the direct and usual route between your home and work. If you take a detour for personal reasons, that detour itself may not be covered. Once you return to your usual route, the cover is reinstated.
This applies to any worker on a contract in Switzerland, regardless of the number of hours they work per week. This is a key difference compared with non-work-related accidents, which only cover those who work at least 8 hours a week for the same employer. Commuting accidents do not have this threshold.
What many people don’t realise is that when you arrive at A&E, you must state right from the start: ‘It was an accident on the way to work.’ If you simply present your health insurance card, the hospital may bill LAMal, and you will then have to correct this retrospectively, with all the paperwork that entails. Your employer or Suva can advise you if you’re unsure whether your journey was covered. Generally speaking, the rule is clearer than it seems: a direct journey from home to work, without any detours, is covered by the LAA.