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As anyone who has been on holiday knows, even the most carefully planned trip can still go wrong… and business travel is no different.
However, there are steps you can take to protect yourself – and your business – from mishaps while you’re travelling for work.
If your business activity takes you overseas, business travel insurance could give you some peace of mind throughout your business trip. You might sleep a little sounder knowing that your business is financially protected from the moment you take off all the way to when you land that big international deal.
And even if you’re only travelling within the UK, business travel insurance may still have plenty to offer your enterprise. Yes, you probably don’t need to worry about things like healthcare while you’re travelling domestically, but you still face the risk of cancellations or the loss of expensive business equipment.
Read on to find out more about what business travel insurance covers, when you might need it, and how much it costs.
» MORE: Do I need business insurance?
What is business travel insurance?
Business travel insurance is a special kind of business insurance designed to protect you and your business when you have to travel for work, whether domestically or overseas.
Think about the kind of travel insurance you’d take out before a family holiday or a trip abroad with your friends. With personal travel insurance, you would typically be covered for medical treatment, cancellations and lost luggage in the course of your holiday.
In many ways, business travel insurance is similar to personal travel insurance – only it’s designed with business trips in mind.
A decent business travel insurance policy is likely to include everything you’d expect from your personal travel insurance. However, business travel cover tends to go the extra mile.
The specifics of what you’re covered for will depend on your business travel insurance policy, but you might be able to protect your business with extras like cover for samples and merchandise, cheques, business documents and equipment. You may also be able to include cover for cancelled business events.
And if you fall ill before your business trip and can’t make it out there, business travel insurance may even cover the cost of sending one of your colleagues or employees in your place, making sure your firm still has a seat at that important meeting.
What does business travel insurance cover?
There’s no one-size-fits-all business travel insurance policy, so the ins and outs of your cover are likely to depend on the details of your policy and the specifics of your business.
But if you think about many of the worst-case scenarios you face whenever you make a trip away from home, your business travel insurance should provide financial protection in the event of most of them.
As standard, your business travel insurance could cover:
- disruption to travel, such as cancelled flights, delays and missed connections
- cancelling your trip ahead of time or cutting it short due to unforeseen circumstances, such as a sudden bereavement
- replacing lost, stolen or damaged baggage and belongings, including passports
- paying medical costs if you fall ill and medical repatriation costs if you urgently need to return home
- legal support if you have an accident or become ill
More extensive business travel insurance may also protect your business in more specific ways.
For example, you can get cover for any business equipment or samples which you need to take abroad with you. In the event of theft, loss or damage, your business travel insurance could reimburse your business and even pay out so you can buy or hire replacement equipment while you are on your trip.
And if a sudden family bereavement means you are unable to make your trip, business travel insurance could compensate you for cancelling your flights. Your policy could also cover the cost of booking a new flight if you had to race back home at short notice for a similar reason. In this instance, your business travel insurance may even pay for a colleague to fly out and complete the business trip in your place.
Were you to fall ill while on your business trip, meanwhile, your business travel insurance could pay for your treatment. It could also cover the costs of returning you home if deemed medically necessary.
Or say your rental car breaks down en route to the airport, causing you to miss your flight. In this case, business travel insurance can cover the extra transport costs to get you home.
And if your luggage is delayed and leaves you without a fresh suit for your big meeting, business travel insurance can cover the cost of buying new clothes.
All these scenarios show the potential benefit of having the right business travel insurance in place before you leave home. But if you plan to take any employees with you, business travel insurance is even more vital.
If there’s an accident while you’re away, and an employee is hurt or even killed, a group travel insurance policy can provide financial assistance and compensation. Even though a disaster of that magnitude may be unlikely, the peace of mind on offer could be priceless.
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Do I need business travel insurance?
It can be hard to predict what exactly could go wrong on a business trip. That’s why business travel insurance is so helpful, because it saves you from having to worry about all the possible mishaps you could face while overseas.
In some cases, your overseas business activities might be covered by your personal travel insurance policy.
However, if you plan on going abroad for business without taking out specific business travel insurance, you should check whether there are exclusions for business use in your personal insurance policy.
And remember that business travel insurance is generally more comprehensive than personal travel insurance, covering a wider range of scenarios specific to your business activities.
Business travel insurance for employees
If you are going away on business as an employee, rather than a business owner, first check if you are covered by your company’s business travel insurance policy, or whether you need to get your own.
If you do have to buy your own insurance, also check if you’ll be reimbursed .
Business travel insurance single trip vs annual policies
When looking into buying business travel insurance, you can usually choose between single trip insurance and annual insurance.
- Single trip business travel insurance: You might take out this kind of short-term policy if you are only intending to make one business trip in a year.
- Annual business travel insurance: If you are likely to make a few business trips in a year, the flexibility of an annual policy may suit you better.
Group business travel insurance
Of course, business trips are often conducted as a group. For instance, you might be a small business owner taking your team to an expo, or you might want to fly out some colleagues to help you land a new overseas client.
In this case, it may be possible to take out business travel insurance for your entire party under the same policy. This will only apply, however, if you are all travelling together.
How much does business travel insurance cost?
Like with most forms of insurance, the cost of your business travel insurance premium will depend on multiple criteria, including:
- whether you want a Single Trip or Annual policy
- how many people you are looking to insure
- whether you, or any of your travelling party, has a pre-existing medical condition
- whether you need cover for luggage, valuables and business equipment
- where you are travelling to (with European destinations generally cheaper than elsewhere)
» MORE: Compare Business Insurance
What isn’t covered by business travel insurance?
Your business travel insurance is likely to come with a few exclusions. These are the things which you shouldn’t expect the policy to cover.
Examples include situations where someone gets hurt because they were drunk or high, or where you make a claim for injuries or losses caused by breaking local laws.
If you travel to a country against government advice, you probably won’t be able to get business travel cover. The same goes for if you plan on doing certain adventurous or dangerous activities during your trip (unless you pay extra to add these specific activities to your policy).
Similarly, any mishaps involving undisclosed medical conditions are unlikely to be covered.
And as for loss or damage to possessions, your personal goods may not be included in your policy – just equipment belonging to your business.
Check the specifics of your policy ahead of time so you know exactly what will and won’t be covered while you’re away.
Image source: Getty Images
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