It’s not uncommon to hear people saying that employees are at the heart of every company. Any unexpected disruption caused when travelling for business in the UK as well as abroad is a massive inconvenience and can have wider implications for the business. Ensuring your company has a robust business travel insurance policy covering medical, legal or personal emergencies for employees will help minimise the financial impact on your business.
Key Benefits of Business Travel Insurance:
A business travel insurance policy can cover a business against a number of potentially costly incidents. Some of the advantages of having a business travel insurance policy included in your commercial insurance plan include:
Covers valuable property owned by the business
Business equipment that travels with your employees can be crucial to fulfilling their role. The right commercial insurance cover will ensure it is covered, along with any business money, to minimise disruption to the business if it is lost or stolen.
Provision of emergency medical treatment and repatriation
Medical treatment can be incredibly costly outside of the UK with costs for getting the individual back to the UK as soon as possible. A business travel insurance policy will cover these expenses and several other costs that may be incurred in the event of injury, illness or death. The financial impact for a business with no business travel insurance can be severe.
Can pay for replacement staff
If an employee is out of action, this can be bad news for the company. Some business travel insurance policies will not only help look after an employee if they are injured or become ill on a trip, but the policy could help with sourcing a replacement.
No prior medical screening required
A business travel insurance policy will not exclude a pre-existing medical condition, so will help pay expenses should this become an issue when on a trip. In addition to this, some policies don’t have an upper age limit.
Leisure trips for directors
Business travel insurance is an expense most individuals will pay for personally. A popular benefit of a business travel insurance policy is that it will often provide company directors with cover for their leisure trips. This can also extend to cover the director’s families and includes cover for winter sports and activities.
Some of the business travel insurance claims we have seen:
Unable to get cover on personal travel policy
A company director who had suffered from heart-related issues in the past had always had a personal travel policy but was unable to get cover following these health problems. The business travel insurance he arranged for his company was able to cover him as it did not take into account his pre-existing medical conditions whilst travelling for business as well as on personal holidays and at a premium that was actually less than what he was paying for his personal policy. He had booked to go on a cruise and checked with his GP before he went to ensure that he wasn’t travelling against medical advice. Whilst on the cruise, he unfortunately suffered a stroke and his business travel insurance paid for him to be flown directly from the cruise ship back to the UK. This claim totalled £34,000 which was paid in full by the insurer.
Theft on Business Trip
An employee had been travelling abroad for business purposes with various bits of equipment owned by the company, including a laptop and his personal iPad. Whilst on a train journey between appointment locations, the employee had their luggage stolen. The business equipment was in their suitcase along with their own passport and many personal possessions. The business travel insurance policy was able to pay for replacement business equipment as well as their personal possessions (most importantly some fresh clothes for the remaining business appointments). The business travel insurance also paid for a temporary passport and the associated travel needed to obtain this so the employee could get home.
Injured whilst on Family Skiing Holiday
A self-employed businessman running his own manufacturing business was on a skiing holiday with his family when he, unfortunately, had an accident which led to puncturing a lung. His business travel insurance paid for the medical support required whilst he was abroad, but he was required back in the UK the following week for other commitments he had. Unfortunately, he had been advised by medical professionals that a normal commercial flight would cause him complications due to the altitude, so his business travel policy also paid for a private flight for him and his family to travel back together at low level into the UK so he could continue to run his business.
Business Travel Insurance Enquiry
Looking for a comprehensive business travel insurance policy? We are an independent insurance broker committed to finding you the best cover for your business. If you are interested in finding out more about our business travel insurance or any other commercial insurance policies, then get in touch by calling 01202 754900 or email info@alan-thomas.co.uk. If you would like a quote for your business, please complete the form below and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
Business Travel Insurance Enquiry
If you are interested in seeing a bit more information on Business Travel Insurance and would like a quote for your business, please complete the form below and we will be in touch as soon as possible.