What is Company Travel Insurance?

Companies carry various types of insurance for different purposes and for use at different times. Insurance that covers employees’ basic medical, pharmaceutical and other miscellaneous expenses incurred during the time they’re traveling on behalf of their employer is called company travel insurance. The company travel insurance coverage might also include other losses that are personal or company-related, such as losses of luggage, personal belongings, laptop computers, software discs or company products. The company insurance policy is usually specific in outlining what the covered and non-covered items are when employees travel for work purposes and incidents occur. Usually, if an item or multiple items are related to the employee performing his or her duties, it is classified under the company’s travel insurance policy.

It is common for large corporate entities to frequently send their employees on travel trips to conduct company business or to make sales calls. Sending employees on these trips carries certain risk elements, placing the company in the position of responsibility for the employee’s overall safety. Insuring the employee and any related property protects the company financially. The insurance also replaces losses that are incurred as a result of the trip. Depending on each company’s policy and exclusions, travel coverage can also extend to corporate trips abroad.

Organizations typically carry company travel insurance as a budgeted expense, especially if they have employees who travel frequently. The travel coverage can vary in its extension and might cover employees according to departments, geographical locations or titles. For example, employees who work in the company’s information technology department and who travels only occasionally might not require as much travel insurance as the company’s sales manager who travels several times a month, sometimes abroad.

Some companies might require their employees to carry their own business travel insurance and have the company travel insurance act as a rider to what the employee carries. Most jobs that have this type of setup are those in sales or consulting where the employee has to do a significant amount of traveling. The cost can be substantially lower per employee as opposed to a corporate rate. Also, the employee might be able to add his or her company travel insurance onto any existing insurance policies that he or she already has, thereby reducing his or her insurance costs. The employee also might be reimbursed at the end of the year from the company for any expenses incurred.

When an employee is hired by a company to perform certain duties, specific insurance coverage is normally outlined at the beginning of employment. If there are to be certain circumstances surrounding any travel insurance issues, they often will be negotiated up front. This allows the employee to be aware of any limitations or exclusions concerning his or her insurance coverage through the employer.