Health Insurance

From Eikaiwa Wiki

Health insurance at eikaiwa conversation schools (including dispatch companies) almost always tends to be some for of private travel insurance. Some companies like BERLITZ provide this insurance as part of the employment while others like NOVA charge teachers for the insurance.

Travel insurance typically covers only injuries and conditions you experience after you pick up coverage, and will not cover the cost of any previously existing medical condition. Travel insurance also has limitations on the length of coverage, and will not provide benefits for long term conditions like diabetes or kidney problems, it's only designed to for immediate treatment of illnesses and not definitive treatment or long term care.

In 2005, it was revealed Nova (along with other eikaiwa companies) had been breaking the law regarding government health insurance payments, shakai hoken. It became public knowledge at the time that Nova was enrolling instructors in traveler's health insurance, (JMA). To enroll instructors in JMA traveller's health insurance, instructors were supposed to already belong to the government health insurance program, shakai hoken.

Nova had lied to the JMA underwriters (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation) , telling them, yes Nova instructors were enrolled in the public health insurance system when they actually were not. Nova suddenly became liable for billions of yen in back payments of Health and pension premiums. Nova (and basically every other eikaiwa company) immediately cut the number of hours instructors worked by exempting time between lessons (essentially only changing how the work hours were calculated), to make sure they wouldn't have to meet the requirements to pay government health insurance which is 3/4 of full time or 30 hours. Under the new work hour calculations Nova instructors were now working 29.5 hours and were not eligible for shakai hoken. Nova then courted a New Zealand based traveler's health insurance company to insure its instructors.