The new realities of business travel during a pandemic
Does your risk management program give employees the confidence to travel for business again? Here are some key considerations.
The COVID-19 pandemic has clearly changed business travel for the foreseeable future, and companies and employees are navigating the new environment with cautious optimism.
In fact, many employees are eager to go on business trips eventually. According to a March 2021 Chubb survey of business travelers globally, 84% said they could not wait to travel again, and nearly as many have personally missed traveling for work.
What’s driving this view is the significant toll that the pandemic has taken on business relationships. In the survey, nearly 75% of respondents believed that COVID restrictions had hurt their ability to maintain relationships with clients and business partners, serve clients effectively and develop new business.
While they may be ready to travel again, 88% of survey respondents worry that fellow travelers could put them at risk by not responsibly following COVID protocols.
More than ever, companies are recognizing their responsibility to safeguard their employees while they travel on business. That’s why now is the perfect time for organizations to rethink how they manage this risk. This encompasses everything from choosing the right types of business travel accident coverage and implementing a well-coordinated travel risk response plan to effectively communicating with employees about these programs.
Selecting and tailoring coverage
With the pandemic raising the stakes of business travel for companies and employees, choosing the right business travel accident insurance is critical. Whatever your role in the purchasing process, it helps to have a clear understanding of the basic coverages offered and how insurance benefits can be tailored to best fit a comprehensive risk management strategy.
Overall, accident and health (A&H) policies enable an organization to fill gaps or supplement other casualty and benefits policies, such as workers’ compensation, general liability, major medical, and life insurance. These A&H products are highly flexible, allowing an employer to tailor eligibility, benefits, coverages and limits to their specific needs.
When an organization begins tailoring its A&H program, an agent or broker can help them carefully consider their options from a basic framework of who needs the protection and when, what types of insurance benefits best fit their risks, and where the coverage will be needed based on each organization’s travel plans and risk tolerance.
Here’s a closer look at those considerations:
- Who: Companies can select a wide range of individuals for insurance protection, such as employees, expatriates, contractors, spouses, dependents and guests.
- When: Policies can help cover employees while traveling on business, performing their occupational duties, or even on a 24/7 basis.
- What: The base offering is business travel coverage for employees with a lump-sum indemnity benefit in the event of a death or serious accident. The benefit amount can be five to ten times the employee’s annual salary (as compared to workers’ compensation death benefits, which are often generally limited to two-thirds of the state’s average wage — an amount that may be insufficient for surviving dependents’ needs). For U.S. companies with domestic-only business travel, this base business travel insurance offering can meet most needs. There also are many ways to enhance the base offering for special situations, such as coma or paralysis.
- Where: Exposures are more complex for companies with significant international travel or employees working abroad. Coordination and payment of medical care from a traveling employee’s unexpected illness or injury in another country can be challenging because U.S. major medical health plans and workers’ compensation may have limits, exclusions, or difficulty paying at admission and to the point of service. In this case, it is recommended employers add foreign business travel benefits, which help cover incurred expenses for hospitalization, emergency medical evacuation, repatriation of mortal remains and security evacuation. U.S.-based multinational companies often opt to cover these exposures with a controlled master program that combines a U.S. master policy with coordinated policies in local countries.
International considerations
Given the cost and complexity of overseas medical circumstances, a travel assistance services provider should be included as part of every international travel risk management plan. These providers are available 24/7 worldwide to help traveling employees through challenging situations — from navigating visa requirements for carrying medical insurance before a trip to coordinating and monitoring care if a medical or security situation arises during a trip. Some employers may already have arrangements with these providers directly or they may choose to access them through the insurance carrier. Either way, the insurer can coordinate claims and payments directly with the assistance provider to deliver a seamless experience for the employer and employee.
Most importantly, when it comes to international coverage, it is critical to work with a global insurer with extensive local presence, business operations, and network partnerships that extend to any place an employee may need to travel around the world.
Engaging employees in travel-risk planning
In the survey noted earlier, 86% of business travelers agree that having travel insurance makes them more comfortable when traveling for business or leisure. So, in addition to having the right coverage for today’s risks, it’s more important than ever to make sure employees understand the program’s benefits and available resources, including your travel assistance partner, and how to contact them.
While each company has its own communication approach and channels, it’s best to leverage a combination of general communications, such as Intranet and email, as well as more focused campaigns, such as annual benefits enrollment and just-in-time communications when an employee begins planning a business trip.
Another critical element that makes a meaningful difference when a travel accident situation arises is having a comprehensive, coordinated travel risk response plan. Internal departments such as risk management, human resources, and security should align to ensure clarity around roles and responsibilities as well as authorities. This internal plan also should incorporate appropriate external partners, including the travel insurer and travel assistance services provider, so that there is an efficient, well-coordinated response at the moment of crisis.
Having all of these elements working together — the right coverages, effective communication, and a coordinated response plan — will go a long way toward providing employees the comfort level they need to travel confidently for business again.
Lauren Gorte (Lauren.Gorte@Chubb.com) is chief operating officer, North America Accident & Health at Chubb.
This piece is published with permission from Chubb and may not be reproduced.
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