By Naval Goel
Business travellers are not ordinary travellers. They need to be always prepared to travel at short notices. Hence they require a specially-crafted travel insurance plan that addresses their specific needs. They need a travel insurance cover that is valid throughout the year and not only for a particular journey. The travel insurance should cover them against all likely mishaps which can occur during their journeys right from the time they leave their abode until the time they are back home irrespective of the means of travels adopted by them while travelling to overseas as well as domestic destinations.
What to Look For In A Business Travel Plan?
Though many features and benefits can make business travel insurance plans comprehensive, yet sometimes some of these may be irrelevant for you. In such cases, it is advisable to shop for a customizable business travel insurance plan which can be tailor made as per your relevant requirements.
For example, the business plan you may be considering may have coverage for locations you would not be visiting at all. So, seek options for removing such locations from the plan to bring down the insurance cost. Also, you may be travelling to destinations that may be covered by a specific travel plan like Asian travel plan. Check out the specific plans for relevance, savings and benefits.
You may be sufficiently covered by your existing policies for certain conditions, whereas certain other conditions may be sparsely covered. While choosing a business travel plan, get more cover for the sparsely-covered conditions.
For example, your existing accident policy covers you sufficiently against accidents that occur within your resident country but not when you are overseas. So, your business travel plan should provide adequate cover for possible overseas travel mishap conditions.
Or, you may be already covered by your corporate travel insurance plan but are seeking additional individual business travel insurance as you feel that your existing corporate insurance lacks certain covers. So, while choosing an individual business travel plan, get a good coverage for the conditions which lack cover or lack sufficient cover.
Several times your global credit or debit card also comprises insurance cover for overseas travel. These may mostly include overseas leisure travel insurance. While choosing your business travel insurance policy, you may hence cut down on leisure travel insurance cover and focus more on business travel insurance cover.
Covers Included In A Comprehensive Business Travel Insurance Plan:
Overseas Travel Insurance: The travel insurance plan you choose should cover you sufficiently against unwanted situations while you are overseas. Make sure the geographical scope of the travel insurance plan chosen by you includes the places you would be visiting. As business travel plans are annual multi-journey plans, several times, certain places may have to be added or deleted.
Domestic Travel Insurance: You may already be covered for domestic travel exigencies, yet the cover may not be sufficient in which case you may seek more domestic travel cover while choosing your business travel plan.
Death and Accident Cover During Travel: In case of demise of business traveller, the beneficiaries or nominees registered by the policy holder can claim death sum assured. Sum assured can also be claimed for disability due to an accident during travelling by roadways, waterways, airways.
Global Emergency Assistance: People are more susceptible to dangers and unforeseen situations when out of their home countries as they are in an unknown territory. While choosing your business travel plan, make sure that global assistance can be availed with ease whenever you might require it.
Trip Cancellation Cover: Several times trips may get cancelled due to external factors like bad weather, riots and disturbances, and other causes. In such eventualities, your business travel plan should provide you adequate cover to arrange for another trip.
Illness or Sickness During Travel: Illnesses can suddenly strike in mid airway or in any place. It is important that a business travel plan provides for immediate assistance and cover if sudden illness strikes.
Emergency Expatriation Cover: Several times overseas travellers need to be expatriated to their home countries due to several reasons. The business travel plan should provide cover for all such eventualities.
Cover For Theft or Loss of Luggage And Documents: While out of home in a strange place or even in known places, there is always a risk of losing baggage and documents by theft or otherwise. The business travel plan should address such covers adequately.
Cover For Being Held Hostage or Being Kidnapped: Business people are several times marked by rouges in a foreign land and may be held hostage or be kidnapped. If such an occurrence takes place, the known people of the business traveller should be able to get due assistance and cover from the travel insurance firm for getting the insured released.
Cover and Assistance For Being Stranded In Unknown Territory: The risk of being stranded in a foreign or remote territory can be high. Many times business travellers while commuting within foreign territories may face situations like vehicle break down and get stranded in remote places like deserts or jungles. If the traveller is sufficiently covered against such eventualities by his/her travel policy, then coming out of the quagmire will be much easier.
Third Party Liability Cover: What happens should you accidentally happen to injure or damage property of a third party in domestic terrain or in a foreign land? A travel insurance having provisions for third party liability cover will enable you to attend to third party concerns adequately and avoid legal hassles.
Annual Cover For Multiple Journeys: Business travellers need to undertake multiple journeys for attending to their business purposes. Getting cover for separate journeys can be cumbersome and expensive. Choosing a comprehensive business travel insurance plan works out much more in favour for the business traveller class.
(The author is Founder & CEO of PolicyX.com)
