Clarification

Insurance against industrial accidents and Insurance against occupational diseases for (post-)doctoral grant holders
Ghent University is a public institution and therefore acts as its own insurer for the industrial accidents and occupational diseases of its personnel.  Therefore Ghent University is not obliged, as far as its members of personnel is concerned, to conclude an industrial accidents insurance policy or to have its personnel insured against occupational diseases.
However, UGent cannot legally act as its own insurer as far as the occupational diseases and industrial accidents of its (post-)doctoral grant holders is concerned.
In its meeting of 11 October 2006 the executive committee therefore decided:

• to agree with the procedure of inviting public tenders with European notification with the aim of concluding an industrial accidents insurance policy for (post-)doctoral grant holders that will take effect from 1 January 2007 onwards, with the premium that is to be paid for the industrial accidents insurance for (post-)doctoral grant holders  to be charged as a supplement to the budget post from which the (post-)doctoral grant is paid;
• to agree  that the (post-)doctoral grant holders will be insured for their occupational diseases with the Fund for Occupational Diseases, with the solidarity contribution (amounting to 1%) to be charged as a supplement to the budget post from which also the (post-)doctoral grants are paid.

1. Industrial accidents insurance for (post-)doctoral grant holders

After consultation of the market, an industrial insurance policy for the (post-)doctoral grant holders was signed valid from 1 January 2007 with the insurance company NV GENERALI Belgium, whose administrative seat is located in 1050 Brussels, Louizalaan 149, through the insurance broker NV Vanbreda Risk & Benefits, whose administrative seat is located in  2140 Borgerhout, Plantin en Moretuslei 297.
The premium for this industrial accidents insurance amounts to 0.21548 % of the gross amount of the (post-)doctoral grant, and is charged as from 1 January 2007 as a supplement to the budget post from which the (post-)doctoral grant is paid.
Every industrial (road) accident of a (post-)doctoral grant holder has to be reported by UGent to the industrial accident insurer within a period of 8 days after the accident. With this aim the notification form (139KB) has to be duly completed and signed and sent back within three days after the industrial (road) accident to UGent, Directie Personeel & Organisatie, afdeling Administratie Contractueel Personeel (Central Department of Personnel and Organisation, Office for the administration of Personnel with contracts limited in time), Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25, 9000 Gent.
The doctoral grant holders registered at UGent were insured until 31 December 2006 for their industrial (road) accidents as part of the collective policy for physical accidents of students concluded by UGent with Ethias. This policy offers a less extensive coverage than the (legally obliged) industrial accidents insurance.
For the full text of the policy for industrial accidents insurance for (post-)doctoral grant holders see here.

2. Insurance against occupational diseases for (post-)doctoral grant holders

All information with respect to the insurance against occupational diseases of (post-)doctoral grant holders  can be found on the website with the following URL: http://www.fbz.fgov.be/
For the payment to the Fund for Occupational Diseases of the solidarity contribution amounting to 1%, the presently charged supplement to the gross amount of the (post-)doctoral grant amounting to 1% will be used.
The notification of an occupational disease of a (post-)doctoral grant holder to the Fund for Occupational diseases has to be done by the industrial medical officer of UGent by using the notification form that can be found on the website mentioned above. You therefore need to contact  in this matter prof. dr. L. de Thibault de Boesinghe, departement Medisch Toezicht (Department of Medical Supervision), De Pintelaan 185, K3, 9000 Gent (tel. 09 332 30 50; fax 09 332 49 81; e-mail: ludo.vanmarsnille@UGent.be).

Take note: this new arrangement is only applicable to (post-)doctoral grant holders, which means that doctoral students remain covered by the collective policy "physical accidents of students" concluded with Ethias.