If your company regularly sends employees on business trips, it’s important to fulfill your duty of care and have a quality business travel insurance program in place. It may cover expenses associated with canceled or delayed flights, lost luggage and more.
What is business travel insurance, and how does it work? This article will cover the most common coverages that a business travel insurance plan offers.
Cancelled or Canceled Trips
Many business travel insurance policies cover lost or canceled flights, as well as lodging expenses in the event of a trip interruption. These expenses can add up quickly if a traveler is forced to stay longer in an unfamiliar destination due to weather, an uncontrollable situation or another issue out of the traveler’s control.
Some business travel insurance plans also include coverage for rental car losses, as well as accidental death and dismemberment protection while traveling. Travelers should read their specific policy to learn what is covered and for how much.
Most business travel insurance plans offer trip cancellation coverage for a variety of reasons, including natural disasters, work conflicts and a requirement to stay by your boss. These reasons are typically specified in the fine print of a policy. For example, World Nomads’ Explorer plan covers trip cancellation in the case of physical damage to a company’s headquarters from a natural disaster or from vandalism or theft.
Trip Delays or Cancellations
Business travel insurance typically offers reimbursement for expenses incurred due to unexpected trip delays or cancellations. Depending on the policy, this may include meals, accommodation, transportation and communications. However, the reimbursement amount will likely be limited to a certain coverage limit.
If you’re traveling for work and carrying expensive equipment, consider a policy with equipment coverage. This may reimburse you if the equipment is lost or damaged while on a business trip.
Some business credit cards also offer trip delay coverage, but this usually covers only short-term disruptions. In contrast, some plans offer trip interruption coverage that reimburses you for pre-paid, non-refundable trip costs if the trip is cancelled or interrupted for uncontrollable reasons, such as a natural disaster or the death of a family member. Generally, these policies have specific time limits for delayed departures and arrivals, as well as daily and total benefits caps. Some plans also cover delays caused by weather and government-imposed travel restrictions.
Trip Disruption or Cancellation Due to Acts of Terrorism
Terrorism is an increasingly common concern of business travelers. Some comprehensive travel insurance plans include terrorism coverage under the trip cancellation, interruption and emergency medical benefits. However, most travel insurance policies only provide this coverage if the United States government deems an incident as an act of terrorism and not as a civil disturbance or riot or a declared or undeclared war.
The Enhanced Travel or Terrorism Disruption add-on for Voyager Plus Travel Insurance covers trip cancellation due to acts of terrorism in addition to other reasons like natural disasters, a labor strike, an unexpected change in the FCDO’s advice against travel (such as the COVID-19 pandemic) or bankruptcy. It also extends the Travel Delay cover to include public transport such as scheduled flights, cruises and train rides.
Business travelers are typically dressed in professional attire and carrying expensive electronic devices that make them stand out to pickpockets. This is one reason why many travel insurance plans offer personal belongings coverage, which reimburses for lost or stolen items such as luggage, mobile phones and other technology, clothing and even important documents such as passports.
Medical Expenses
Many policies cover medical expenses that arise as a result of illness or injury during a business trip. This includes the cost of treatment in local hospitals as well as medical evacuation expenses if a traveler needs to be transported from a remote location to a hospital or other facility with specialized equipment or doctors. Some policies even include coverage for dental care.
Most business travel insurance policies also provide compensation if an employee loses company-issued luggage or other important belongings while on a business trip. The policies may also cover the costs of replacing those items if they are stolen.
Business travel insurance is an excellent benefit to offer employees who frequently travel on behalf of the company. It can help reduce financial losses and stress for both the employees and their managers who must deal with unexpected events. It can also be an important hiring and retention tool that shows the company cares about its employees’ wellbeing.
