If your business requires you and your employees to travel regularly, consider buying corporate travel insurance to cover all travel related to your business within specified time periods and for all eligible employees. In general, employers are responsible for employees whenever they are performing work-related activities and traveling as part of a work assignment. A corporate policy can protect your business from potentially large financial losses if plans change or disaster strikes. It also helps to protect your employees from personal harm and lost or stolen equipment and belongings.
A comprehensive, company-paid travel policy can be a valuable employee benefit and a good way to attract and retain top talent. It shows you care about the health and welfare of your trusted employees. Your business can pay for the coverage outright or employees can purchase appropriate coverage on a per-trip basis and you can reimburse them.
Policy Factors to Consider
As with other types of insurance, different companies offer various policy features. Some general provisions you might look for when comparing policies include:
- Case size. The number of eligible employees that will be covered. Some firms may require 10 or more employees in a group and others may offer volume discounts for groups of 20 or more.
- Coverage basics. The types of coverage offered and whether the coverage is for both domestic and international travel.
- Benefit amounts. Benefits can be a flat amount, or determined by job classification, annual earnings, or a multiple of salary.
- Benefit maximum. This could be a fixed amount or based on some other calculation, such as up to 10 times salary with a not-to-exceed cap, depending on group size and benefits.
- Time limits. For maximum flexibility, you’ll want a policy that provides coverage 24 hours a day for business travel. It’s possible to include personal travel as well.
- Extra services. Consider whether you need add-ons such as legal expenses, bail bond costs, emergency travel for friends or family, hijacking and kidnapping coverage, and 24-hour personal concierge-type assistance in foreign countries.
- Support. Many insurers now offer social media communication with clients, along with telephone and email contacts. Consider whether you’ll need 24-hour support, which is helpful when traveling abroad due to large time-zone differences.
Foreign Workers Compensation Insurance
If your employees routinely travel outside the United States, or are on assignment for extended periods in foreign lands, consider Foreign Voluntary Workers’ Compensation insurance. This type of coverage insures against bodily injury from accidents or diseases while your employees are overseas. It can include repatriation expenses for emergency medical treatment and liability protection for your business if an employee sues the company due to a work-related injury.
