State travel protection

Illnesses and accidents

We cover your reasonable medical care costs as well as other necessary expenses. In serious cases, we will also cover the costs related to your return transportation to Finland. Dental care costs are only covered in the event of dental injury resulting from an accident. Medical care costs are covered for a maximum period of three years from when the illness was diagnosed or the accident occurred. The treatment costs of a pre-existing condition that has worsened will be covered for a maximum period of 6 months.

Health care

We cover your reasonable health care-related costs in the target country, that are comparable to occupational health care services.

Read more about health care compensation >

Permanent disability

We award compensation for permanent functional incapacity caused by an illness or accident that took place during your journey, if any recovery from the disability or illness is not medically likely to occur. The maximum compensation for a permanent disability is 60,000 euros. The total compensation sum is determined by the disability class of the disability or illness, which is determined according to its medical quality and degree of difficulty.

Death

In the event of a death, we cover the transport of the deceased back to Finland. We will pay a funeral subsidy to the estate of the deceased. The compensation for death (60,000 euros) will be paid to the estate or a designated beneficiary. You can specify your beneficiary on the Forms and appendices tab.

Damaged baggage

The compensation awarded for sudden and unexpected damage to baggage is at most 3,000 euros per journey. On official government journeys that last for over 3 months, any trips that are made from the destination country to a country abroad (including any personal trips) are considered separate journeys.

If your baggage is delayed and you cannot reasonably be expected to wait for their arrival, we will award up to 800 euros in discretionary compensation for the purchase of necessities. When travelling back to the home country, the purchase of necessities is not usually compensated.

If you have an animal with you that is vital for the performance of your duties, we will award a maximum of 2,000 euros in compensation for veterinary costs or the purchase of a new animal. We will not compensate any damage to pets.

We will only award compensation for damage to personal aids, such as eyeglasses, if this is the result of an accident.

Travel liability

We will award up to 85,000 euros in compensation for any bodily injury or material damage caused by the person who is travelling. You can apply for the compensation using a free-form application.

Legal costs

We will cover any reasonable expenses resulting from a criminal proceeding or settlement of liability. You can apply for the compensation using a free-form application.

Family members

The State’s travel protection for foreign travel does not apply to family members whose stay in the destination country lasts less than 6 months.

If you are a family member of a public official and you live in the same household as the public official in the destination country for at least 6 months, you are entitled to travel protection coverage provided by the State Treasury.

The coverage applies to the public official’s spouse or cohabiting partner who has lived together with the public official for at least 2 years. A cohabiting partner is also included in the coverage if they have or have had a child together with the public official.

Both the public official’s and spouse’s children are included in the coverage if:

• The child is under 20 years old and does not work for a living.
• The child is 20 years old or older but is unable to work for a living due to an illness, defect or injury. In addition, the public official or spouse must act as the child’s guardian.

The State’s travel protection for foreign travel does not apply to family members whose stay in the destination country lasts less than 6 months.

Illnesses and accidents

We cover reasonable medical care costs as well as other necessary expenses. In serious cases, we will also cover the costs related to your return transportation to Finland. Dental care costs are only covered in the event of dental injury resulting from an accident. Medical care costs are covered for a maximum period of three years from when the illness was diagnosed or the accident occurred. The treatment costs of a pre-existing condition that has worsened will be covered for a maximum period of 6 months.

Health care

We cover reasonable health care-related costs that are comparable to occupational and school health care as well as child welfare clinic services.

Further information on the costs compensated as health care costs can be found on the Official government journeys of over 3 months tab.

Permanent disability

We award compensation for permanent functional incapacity caused by an illness or accident that took place during your journey, if any recovery from the disability or illness is not medically likely to occur. The maximum compensation for a permanent disability is 60,000 euros. The total compensation sum is determined by the disability class of the disability or illness, which is determined according to its medical quality and degree of difficulty.

Death

In the event of a death, we cover the transport of the deceased back to Finland. We will pay a funeral subsidy to the estate of the deceased. The compensation for death (60,000 euros) will be paid to the estate or a designated beneficiary. You can specify your beneficiary on the Forms and appendices tab. No compensation for death is paid if the deceased is a child.

Damaged baggage

The compensation awarded for sudden and unexpected damage to baggage is at most 3,000 euros per journey. Any trips that are made from the destination country to a country abroad (including any personal trips) are considered separate journeys.

If your baggage is delayed and you cannot reasonably be expected to wait for their arrival, we will award up to 800 euros in discretionary compensation for the purchase of necessities. When travelling back to the home country, the purchase of necessities is not usually compensated.

We will not compensate any damage to pets.

We will only award compensation for damage to personal aids, such as eyeglasses, if this is the result of an accident.

Travel liability

We will award up to 85,000 euros in compensation for any bodily injury or material damage caused by the person who is travelling. You can apply for the compensation using a free-form application.

Legal costs

We will cover any reasonable expenses resulting from a criminal proceeding or settlement of liability. You can apply for the compensation using a free-form application.

The State’s travel protection applies to you if an authority of the Finnish State has invited you to perform a task in Finland or abroad and has declared that you are covered by the Finnish State’s travel protection.

The coverage does not apply to you if you are entitled to compensation for damage on the basis of an act, insurance policy or agreement. The service also does not cover you if an authority has provided you with a travel authorisation or similar document. In this case, the travel protection covers you entirely.

Before departing

The authority will provide you with a travel insurance certificate that can be used to apply for a visa and cover for medical care expenses.

In case of injury

Illness or accident

We cover reasonable medical care costs as well as other necessary expenses. In serious situations, we can cover the costs of transportation back to your home country. Dental care costs are only covered in the event of dental injury resulting from an accident.

• If you fall ill or have an accident during your trip, you can find the closest medical facility near you by calling Falck’s 24/7 emergency phone line (+358 295 503 777).
• At the medical facility, show your insurance certificate. This is often enough and you will not be required to pay for the cost of the treatment.
• You can submit a claim later via the forms page of the State Treasury’s e-services for any treatment costs that you have paid for yourself. >
• Be prepared to submit the receipts of the costs that you have paid.

Follow-up treatment for an illness or accident

• If the treatment of the accident or illness that occurred during your trip continues even after your trip has ended, please contact our customer service. If necessary, you can submit a report on the need for follow-up treatment by mail to this address: State Treasury, PO Box 500, FI-00054 Valtiokonttori, Finland.

Damaged baggage

• Your baggage is not covered by the State’s travel protection.

What constitutes a travel illness and accident?

A travel illness is an illness that, according to medical knowledge, originated during the journey. A person is also considered to be suffering from a travel illness if a pre-existing illness, injury or defect is unexpectedly exacerbated during the journey. Dental conditions are not considered travel illnesses.

A travel accident is a sudden and unexpected event that occurs during a journey due to external factors and causes injury or illness to a person. The exacerbation of a defect, injury or illness that is compensable under some other Act than this Act is also considered a travel accident to the extent that the exacerbation corresponds to the cause portion of the accident.

In addition, damage resulting from certain other circumstances are compensated as damage caused by a travel accident, such as poisoning or sudden temperature fluctuation damage.

Death

In the event of a death, we will cover the transport of the deceased back to their home country and provide a funeral subsidy.

If you are travelling to a high security risk area, you can find information on the additional security measures that are related to your trip in this section. Find out about the other features of the travel protection in the section accordant with the duration of your journey (the alternatives are listed above).

High security risk areas are areas that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs has designated as not recommended for travel or stay. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ travel notices can be read here. >  In addition, the Antarctic and the northern polar ice cap have been designated as high security risk areas.

Compensation for permanent disability

A lump sum of 210,000 euros is awarded as compensation for a handicap class 20 permanent disability that is caused by an injury or illness that occurred in a high security risk area. For a partial permanent disability, a lump sum of as many twentieths as is deemed by the relevant handicap class are paid from this compensation. If the damage can be compensated as an occupational accident or occupational disease, you will also be entitled to a compensation for functional limitation in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation Act.

Compensation for death

In case of a death that is caused by an accident in a high security risk area, 200,000 euros will be paid in compensation to the estate of the deceased or the designated beneficiary (you can specify your beneficiary on the Forms and appendices tab).

In addition, an additional compensation is paid to every child of the deceased who is under 18 years old, the total sum of which is 40,000 euros. A child of the spouse of the deceased is also considered to be the child of the deceased if the spouse is the child’s guardian. A child born out of wedlock is also considered a child of the deceased if the deceased was under obligation to provide maintenance for the child based on an agreement or court decision.

If the damage can be compensated on the basis of the Workers’ Compensation Act, the immediate family of the deceased is also entitled to a survivors’ pension in accordance with the Workers’ Compensation Act

The age of your baggage affects the evaluation of the amount of damage, because the travel protection is intended to compensate for actual loss. The amount of damage compensated is calculated based on the following age deduction calculation rules:

• During the year when the baggage was acquired, its acquisition price is compensated in full. No age deduction is made for the year of the accident, either.
• For the years after the acquisition, the amount of compensation is decreased by 10%/year.
• If the damaged item of baggage can be repaired, we compensate for the repair costs according to the repair invoice. However, the maximum amount of compensation is the value of the item calculated using age deduction.
• For electronics (e.g. mobile phones, tablets, computers), we compensate the acquisition price of a corresponding device according to the value on the date of the damage. However, the maximum amount of compensation even for electronics is the value of the item calculated using age deduction.

Example: A pair of sunglasses were purchased on 1 May 2014, and they were damaged beyond repair on 1 June 2018. Age deduction is not made for the acquisition year (2014) or the accident year (2018). The age deduction is made for the years following the acquisition year, 2015, 2016, and 2017: 3 x 10% = 30%. The amount of damage is calculated by deducting 30% from the price of a corresponding new item.

Designation of beneficiaries >

Your death benefit will be paid to your estate, unless you have submitted a designation of beneficiaries in writing to the State Treasury.

Persons invited by the authority

The agency can extend the travel protection scheme to include a person for whom it is impossible or difficult to take out travel insurance or a similar type of coverage in their home country. Any invited travellers must be reported to the State Treasury before they embark on their travel.

Act on Compensation for Damage on State Official Journeys >

The State Treasury will reimburse the costs of Covid-19 vaccines and vaccine trips to a person traveling abroad for more than three months and to a family member accompanying him/her.

The following are reimbursable:

• Vaccines given abroad
• Possible side effects of an EU-approved vaccines given abroad
• If necessary, travel expenses for a vaccination trip to Finland for a person who.

Vaccines given abroad

State travel protection also compensates for the possible side effects of a Covid-19 vaccine given abroad. You can take the vaccine in the target or host country and any side effects are reimbursed under the same conditions as side effects from a vaccine given in Finland would be reimbursed as a drug injury.

The amendment, which entered into force on April 26, applies to vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency and authorized by the European Commission on 1 January 2021 at the earliest.

Information on the change and the substitutability of side effects >

Vaccination trips

Vaccination trips involve a risk of infection, so it is recommended that vaccination will be given in the country of destination, if EMA-approved vaccine is available. If it is not possible to obtain an EMA-approved vaccine in the target or host country, the State Treasury will reimburse the costs of the Covid-19 vaccination trip to Finland. The trip is only reimbursed to the recipient of the vaccination. If family members travel together, the trip will only be reimbursed to those vaccinated during the trip.

Vaccination trips only reimburse travel expenses to the accommodation. In terms of reimbursement, the length of the trip does not matter, but it is essential that you get vaccinated during the trip. Travel expenses do not cover local transport costs, accommodation costs or daily allowances. The costs of the mandatory hotel quarantine assigned by the authorities of the destination or station country are considered as travel expenses, and you can claim compensation from them through the State Treasury’s electronic transaction service.

If you are entitled to a holiday trip paid by your employer, we will, as a general rule, only reimburse you for one dose of vaccine. Please try to schedule a second dose during your vacation.

Things to consider during vaccination trips:

• The trip will only be reimbursed to the recipient of the vaccination
• The ticket must be changeable
• For flights of more than 20 hours, you have the right to stay at an airport hotel
• Travel expenses are reimbursed for mandatory hotel quarantine issued by the authorities
• Accommodation costs or daily allowances are not reimbursed
• Local transport costs are not reimbursed as travel expenses
  Vaccination travel will not be reimbursed to trainees if the training lasts no more than three months
• Pet transportation costs are not reimbursed
• There is no need to apply for a preliminary ruling from the State Treasury for a vaccination trip

Do this:

• Book a trip from your organization travel agency. If you do not know your agency’s contract travel agency, contact the agency’s travel administration.
• The reservation can only be made by the official’s work e-mail, even if the passenger receiving the vaccination is accompanied by a family member.
• Enter the vaccination distance in the email header field
• To book a trip you need the following information:
  – time of vaccination
  – trip information
  – passenger’s name, date of birth, telephone number, e-mail address

Changes are allowed if the change is due to the airline or a sudden illness. Changes can be made by phone through the travel agency

Covid-19 tests are reimbursed as a health care expense for a person traveling abroad for more than 3 months and for an accompanying family member. If your trip lasts up to 3 months, contact your employer.

Covid-19 tests and fit to fly certificates are reimbursed when traveling between home and station countries, regardless of direction.

We do not reimburse a test or certificate related to leisure travel to a third country.

If a test and certificate is available from occupational health care, please use it as a priority.

There is no need to make a precedent for a test.
Falck’s travel emergency service is not available to determine the corona test site.

Do this

• Go to a test
• Pay for the test yourself first and apply for compensation through the Treasury ‘s e-service>
• The claim for the test need to be done individually for each family member

We will deal with the cost of Covid-19 tests and fit to fly certificates as soon as possible.