Get Smart, Get Travel Insurance
by Geraldine McManus
The purchase of insurance for staff travelling overseas is not as simple as "what's the cheapest deal?".
Travel insurance is a smart move but equally there are smart moves to get the best insurance.
"Insurance cover providing security and peace of mind are now the big concerns for employers sending staff offshore. If you are an employer with ten staff around the world, it's an integral part of the care of those staff to have travel insurance in place that not only covers lost luggage and changed flights but also bigger concerns such as terrorism and political evacuation," says Leith Sisson, CEO of North Shore Business Travel. "Where once business travellers felt very comfortable and unthreatened with frequent travel to Australia or London, now this is not the case, most destinations have an element of risk."
Sisson says that most of their clients are on multi-user annual policies.
"These are much more cost effective than buying a stand-alone one-off," he says. "Annual policies provide simplicity and are worked out on the number of days of travel used. A company's travel history establishes the average travel days a company has people travelling each year and the likely destinations. A travel insurance policy is then set up covering all staff and the average number of travel days annually.
If the company uses less in the 12-month contract period then a refund is made, if the travel exceeds there is an additional top-up."
Benefits are not just the simplicity of management but also the additional coverage included. Important inclusions that attract companies to annual travel insurance policies are cover for electronic equipment that staff are carrying whilst on business travel (such as laptops) or cover for alternate staff to replace a staff member who has become sick or injured whilst away. A suitable travel insurance annual policy for a one-person business is a frequent flyer policy covering multiple trips over a 12-month period. Once again this is more cost effective than one-off policies.
Sisson explains that travel insurance for one trip to the US or Japan can be very expensive, "In these countries if you get sick and need to go to hospital they will not admit you unless you have cover. A one-person sole trader who travels say 10 times a year to Australia and once a year to the US will make considerable savings by having an annual policy in place rather than just looking to cover the one trip to the US."
Card holder insurance
One outcome of the competitive banking and credit card market is the provision of travel insurance for certain card holders, especially gold cards. Whilst this looks like α good deal it's always worth looking at the fine print, recommends Sisson.
The fine print of the policies is easy to find on the website of most banks and credit card companies. In some cases at least half the costs of the travel must go through the card, to enable the travel insurance offer to be provided. Business travellers who decide to rely only on these policies need to keep a check to ensure their cover has been activated as well as be mindful of what is covered.
The purchase of travel insurance is not as simple as "What's the cheapest deal?"
Standard policies usually do cover luggage but tend not to cover higher risks such as terrorism or if a problem occurs medically for a pre-existing medical condition.
Loss of income is also considered important. If a staff member is injured whilst travelling most annual corporate policies will cover both the replacement staff taking over and replacement of income for up to six months.
Leisure travel is also usually covered under comprehensive annual policy contracts. "If an employee decides to tack on a week in Hawaii after a business trip these travel days are also covered under most multi-user corporate policies," says Sisson.
Geraldine McManus is director of Geraldine McManus Communications & PR, a boutique tourism, public relations and communications consultancy. Email: geraldine@mcmanus.co.nz
Copyright Profile Publishing Limited Oct 2005