Who must be insured?

Employees, defined as persons who carry out a professional activity in Luxembourg for remuneration on behalf of others, must be insured against the risk. 

Also insured are: 

• apprentices;
• seafarers employed on a ship flying the Luxembourg flag, subject to certain conditions of residence and nationality 
• members of religious associations and persons who may be assimilated to them and who carry out a general interest activity in Luxembourg; 
• development workers, participants in peacekeeping operations and observers of elections and removal operations; 
• armed forces personnel; 
• young people doing voluntary service; 
• disabled workers employed in protected workshops; 
• athletes who compete on an elite level. 

Persons carrying out a paid professional activity for a third party in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg without being legally established on their own account or those carrying out a paid or unpaid traineeship without being insured under the special schemes must be insured under the conditions applicable to employees. 

Victims of an accident at work that is illegal still receive the same compensation as those in a legally established activity declared to the social security. However, the Accident Insurance Association (AAA) can recover from an employer at fault up to half of the benefits paid as a result of the accident to an undeclared insured person, up to a ceiling of €30,000. 

Insured persons who normally work in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and who are temporarily seconded abroad by their employer remain covered by the Luxembourg accident insurance. The duration of this secondment is limited to a period that cannot exceed two years. 

Are the self-employed also affected?

Yes, persons who work in Luxembourg on their own account at a professional activity covered by the Chamber of Trades, the Chamber of Commerce or the Chamber of Agriculture or a professional activity of a mainly intellectual and non-commercial nature must also be insured.  

The following are considered to be such persons: 

• partners of general or limited partnerships or limited liability companies who hold more than 25% of an entity’s shares; 
• directors, general partners or agents of public limited companies, partnerships limited by shares or cooperative societies who are delegated to carry out the day-to-day management, provided that they are persons who have obtained the authorization to establish the business. 

Also insured are the spouse or partner and, in the case of activities falling under the jurisdiction of the Chamber of Agriculture, relatives and allies in the direct or collateral line up to and including the third degree, provided that these persons are at least 18 years old and provide the insured with necessary services to such an extent that these services can be considered as a principal activity. 

The insurance extends to ancillary activities that are economically dependent on the farm, such as: 

• forestry operations; 
• the development and production of the farm’s products; 
• carrying out agricultural operation duties;
• extraction or processing of soil products; 
• work subcontracted to third parties; 
• training courses carried out in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and abroad, provided that the trainees are not covered as secondary or university students, as well as continuing education provided for by the laws and regulations and recognised by the Chamber of Agriculture. 

Occasional helpers, i.e. persons carrying out an agricultural, viticultural, horticultural or forestry activity on behalf of a compulsorily or voluntarily insured person, either as an accessory to a main professional activity and without remuneration or for remuneration not exceeding one third of the minimum social wage, or occasionally for a period determined in advance which may not exceed three months per calendar year, are also insured without having to apply to the Joint Social Security Centre. 

Persons whose professional income from their main or secondary activity other than farming does not exceed one third of the minimum social wage or who work on an agricultural entity of a certain economic size are exempt from insurance. However, such persons are covered by compulsory insurance at their request. 

What is meant by special schemes?

Special schemes are an extension of accident insurance without the payment of premiums. Benefits and administrative costs are reimbursed by the State to the Accident Insurance Association (AAA). 

 The following are insured under special accident insurance schemes: 

• schoolchildren, secondary and university students and children under six years of age who are in an approved organisation within the meaning of the socio-familial and therapeutic law (ASFT), such as children in a drop-in centres; 
• lecturers, monitors and supervisors of extracurricular, extracurricular and university activities, persons taking part in continuing education courses and related examinations organised or approved by the State, municipalities and professional chambers, as well as lecturers and members or assistants of the relevant panels; 
• representatives of the various professional branches attending meetings of professional chambers, bodies of social security institutions, the Social Security Arbitration Council, the Higher Social Security Council, the Labour Tribunal, the Economic and Social Council, the Tripartite Coordination Committee, the National Conciliation Office, or attending meetings of any other social dialogue body established by law or regulation, provided that they are not insured in any other manner; 
• persons involved in rescue and relief efforts; 
• persons benefiting from a work placement measure provided for in the Guaranteed Minimum Income Act; 
• persons who are subject to a social integration or work placement measure under criminal law or youth protection law; 
• jobseekers benefiting from a vocational integration measure; 
• in the performance of their duties, Members of Parliament and other persons holding political office; 
• persons carrying out voluntary activities for the benefit of social services approved by the State; 
• victims of a commuting accident going to a medical examination or to an assessment and guidance unit;
• persons employed by a Luxembourg diplomatic, economic or tourist representation abroad; 
• the recipient of the full unemployment benefit attending a job interview or an active employment measure with the ADEM; 
• persons with disabilities enrolled in an approved training service. 

Note: Accident insurance coverage for school children, secondary and university and students 

Early education, pre-school, secondary school and university means: 

• that organised by a public or private educational establishment established on Luxembourg territory; 
• that followed in a public or private educational establishment established abroad by persons having their legal domicile in Luxembourg; 
• that provided by music education institutions. 

In addition to the activities included in the programme of the institutions referred to above, the insurance extends to activities related to these programmes and organised by these same institutions. These activities, carried out in Luxembourg and abroad, are the following: 

• time spent in canteens and boarding schools; 
• remedial classes, supervised studies, guided activities, supervised recreation, and guided tours; 
• study trips and stays abroad and those organised in Luxembourg for foreign pupils and students as part of international exchanges;
• medical check-ups, consultations, examinations, school integration tests and other activities organised by the medical-psychological-pedagogical and school orientation services and by the centres, institutes and services for special education; 
• information and orientation days for schools and careers; 
• events organised jointly with schools in the area of road safety and school savings days; 
• research activities and internships of secondary and university students in companies or administrations;
• all the activities organized within the framework of the school projects planned in the education system; 
• mother tongue and culture courses for children of immigrant parents authorized by the Ministry of National Education; 
• activities of a sporting, artistic, cultural, ecological or scientific nature; 
• the activity of the Mass servers called upon during school hours to attend religious ceremonies. 

Extracurricular, after-school and extension work activities are the following activities organized for secondary and university students admitted to early childhood, pre-school, school and university education, either by the State or municipalities or by approved bodies:  

• time spent in boarding schools, day care centres without accommodation for children, reception centres with accommodation for children and young adults, and activity and holiday centres;  
• activities of a sporting, artistic, cultural, ecological or scientific nature if they are organised by associations working exclusively within the framework of educational establishments; 
• trips, visits and stays organised as part of youth exchanges under bilateral agreements and international programmes, both for trips and stays by young Luxembourgers abroad and for trips and stays by young foreigners in Luxembourg; 
• participation in courses, study days, camps, leisure and holiday activities and holiday camps; 
• the sale of flowers, badges and cards authorized by the Minister of National Education; 
• socio-educational activities in youth centres, hostels and houses, guide and scout groups and youth organisations and associations; 
• participation in the training of coordinators; 
• consultation, help, assistance, guidance, social training, coordination and orientation for children and young people in specialized services. 

In the event of an accident abroad, entitlement to benefits is suspended up to the amount of the benefits of the same type granted by the country in question. 

Schoolchildren, secondary and university students shall only be entitled to compensation for incidental damage to property caused by a motor vehicle if, for consequential reasons beyond their control, they were unable to use public transport.