Annual travel insurance is a simple umbrella policy for travelers to reduce risk of experiencing a problem during a trip. Annual business travel insurance takes this concept and applies it to the corporate world, helping to protect equipment, time, employees and corporate investments and potential profits. The U.S. Travel Insurance Association, the largest industry organization for companies selling such policies, notes that U.S. consumers spent more than $1.3 billion on travel insurance, from trip cancellation, to equipment insurance, to medical travel insurance in 2006. Learn why more small businesses and large corporations are buying annual business travel insurance.
Annual Business Travel Insurance Basics
Unlike a short-term, one-trip policy that is purchased to cover a single travel event, annual business travel insurance is a policy that is purchased to cover an entire year and all corporate or small business travel-related activity during that year. While many travelers buy one-time policies for specific trip and need to manage the premium, the policy, and any date or coverage changes, with an annual business travel insurance plan the blanket coverage means owners and employees experience less hassle.
Most business travel insurance policies fall into three categories:
- Medical emergencies
- Travel interruption or cancellation
- Equipment loss
Medical Travel insurance for Emergencies and Evacuations
For U.S.-based companies and employees, travel insurance may need to include some form of medical or emergency travel insurance. For instance, what if a corporate employee experiences a medical emergency during a convention in Europe and needs to be evacuated to the United States? Who pays for the associated costs?
An annual business travel insurance policy can handle this circumstance, and many others. One caveat: the Better Business Bureau recommends that companies and employees first examine the company's health insurance plan offered through the benefits department before buying full medical travel insurance. In some instances, medical bills incurred overseas or out of network area can be covered by an existing health insurance plan rather than by medical travel insurance. For small business owners or self-employed individuals this could save significant costs on premiums.
Trip Cancellation Insurance
Tornadoes, hurricanes, extreme blizzards - any unexpected weather event can bring a corporate trip to a screeching halt, compromising revenue and costing the company thousands or tens of thousands in lost productivity and travel expense. Trip cancellation or interruption insurance, known as TCI in the industry, provides a significant reduction in risk exposure to these unexpected weather events.
But TCI covers other issues as well, including:
- Airline or hotel closure
- Medical issues preventing travel
- Bankruptcy of travel service providers
or any other event that interrupts or leads to cancellation of the trip.
Equipment Insurance for Corporate Trips
Equipment failures, losses, or thefts can leave any corporate traveler in a jam and possibly compromise business deals. The potential loss of revenue can be damaging, and annual business travel insurance policies cover these losses. Two of the largest annual business travel insurance companies, Access America and USI Affinity, offer varying levels for corporate trips.
Once again, the BBB cautions that corporate and small business travelers should examine personal insurance policies, in this case homeowner and renter policies, to see whether equipment loss or theft is covered up to a certain amount. If so, whether to add this coverage to an annual business travel insurance policy or not is a case-by-case issue in weighing out coverage vs. premium cost.
For highly-specialized travel conditions, high-value items or documents, or any other travel-related event that places the company at high material risk, contact a professional travel insurance agent for a more detailed quote and coverage that is custom-designed for the company needs. This is rare; most corporate and small business travel can easily be covered by a standard annual business travel insurance plan. Look for value when purchasing travel insurance and for companies that are members of USTI to get the best deal on this blanket coverage to protect assets and employees.
Self-employed workers may wish to read the article Do Self-Employed Workers Need Small Business Travel Insurance? to learn about possible free sources of coverage.
To learn more about all forms of travel insurance and the largest company for last-minute policies, please read Insure and Go - Cheap Family Travel Insurance.
Melanie Zoltan - Melanie Zoltan is a former college professor and administrator who has written for About.com, PCWorld, Brain Child, Thomson Gale, and ...
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