Top tips for business travellers

1. Take a copy of important documents  

Technology is the crux of the modern world, and as much as mobile phones have their ample uses, they don’t have ever-lasting battery life. Take a hard copy of your booking information and itinerary on your business trip, that way you’ll be able to access them without those infernal technical glitches!

2. Keep your business materials in your hand luggage

Keeping your laptop and work briefs in your hand luggage means that you’ll have immediate access to them whenever you need them. This will come in handy if your luggage gets redirected or delayed, so at least you’ll have all your materials with you to ace that presentation!

3. Will you be covered if you are taking part in activities?

It’s not always work, work, work on business trips and if either you or your business partner has organised an activity to break the ice, you need to make sure you have suitable cover in place should anything go wrong. Make sure you check your policy wording carefully before you get behind the wheel of that elaborate race car.

4. Prepare for flight delays

Technical issues, strike action and severe weather conditions are among the many reasons your flight could be delayed. Although there’s not much you can do about them, pack a book from your reading list or catch up on some Netflix to ease the wait.

5. Invest in a portable charger

We know how temperamental technology can be, so make sure you’re geared up with a good portable charger. There’s nothing worse than charging your phone all night, looking down to check the time at the airport and somehow, it’s on 1% – we all know the feeling!

Business Travel Insurance

If jetting off on business trips is a regular thing for you, annual multi-trip policies will be more suited to your travel routine. This will provide cover for your business trips all year round. Then again, if you only take business trips once or twice a year, you’ll be better off with a single trip policy to cover you for those rare occasions that you do go. It is worth noting, some travel insurance policies will offer a business extension on both annual multi-trip and single trip policies.

Although most travel insurance policies will cover things such as; medical emergencies, possessions and delays and cancellations, a business travel insurance extension will provide you with additional cover for your work-related matters. So, what exactly can you get cover for?

You’ll want to know your business equipment is safe for sure!

Loss or theft of business equipment:

If you’re travelling to a meeting, and somewhere along the way, your briefcase is stolen, a business extension will offer to pay up to £2,000 (amounts will vary between insurers) for the loss of any business-related equipment.

Transportation costs to replace business samples:

If your business samples were lost, stolen or damaged and you needed to hire transport or pay for the shipping to get a replacement to you  then you’ll be able to claim the costs back from your travel insurer when you get home, just make sure to keep all your postal receipts as evidence when submitting a claim. You may also need a police report for lost or stolen items so be sure to check this before you leave the country.

Loss or theft of company money:

It’s highly likely you’ll be taking company money with you on your trip and it wouldn’t be too great if that money was to get lost or stolen. If this does happen, however, some business extensions will cover up to £500 for the loss or theft of your business cash. This amount will differ between policies so be sure to check the cover levels are suitable before you buy your insurance.

Medical expenses:

If you are in an accident or require emergency medical treatment and, as a result, are either hospitalised or need to be brought back home (repatriated), you may be able to claim up to £1,000 towards the cost of sending a replacement employee or if you need to re-plan your business trip.

Cover for electrical items: 

You’ll want to make sure your laptop or tablet is safe when you’re travelling abroad. It’s important to note that laptops and tablets will be covered as electrical items under the personal possessions section of your policy. Some travel insurance policies will pay up to £2,000 in total if your electrical items are lost, stolen or accidentally damaged during your trip, and a total of £500 for accessories. Laptops are covered under electrical items, but the single article limit may be low depending on the policy so you may find it more beneficial to have worldwide home insurance or worldwide specialist gadget/laptop insurance.

Cancellation:

So… your business trip abroad was a success and you secured that all-important deal, but, in an unexpected turn of events, a severe storm brewing overhead has delayed your flights until the morning. To top it all off, because severe weather conditions are known as ‘extraordinary circumstance’, your airline is not obligated to g pay you any compensation. They do however have a duty of care to re-book, refund or re-route your flight and provide refreshments and accommodation if necessary. Your travel insurance policy may offer to pay compensation, regardless of the reason for a delay or cancellation – provided you were checked-in on time. Take a look at ‘Departure Delay’ for more information on this.

Consequential loss:

It’s worth noting, travel insurance policies will not provide cover for consequential losses. For example, if you miss your meeting because your flight was delayed, and you didn’t secure the deal or partnership, you will not be covered for any consequential loss you or your company may incur as a result.

Exclusions from the policy

As with most travel insurance policies, business travel extensions also have exclusions. This will include things like risky activities, pre-existing medical conditions (that have not been declared to your travel insurer when taking out the policy), items left unattended and if you’re claiming back for an alcohol-related incident as well as any reckless behaviour. If the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has advised against travel to certain areas of a country and you still choose to travel, you will not be covered by your travel insurer.

Before you go

Here are some more articles you might like:

Making a Claim    Group Travel Advice    Medical Travel Insurance   

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