Companies must improve protection of travelling staff

In the past, these business travellers would have been largely left to their own devices when it came to the assessment of the risks of travel, and perhaps even to the purchase of insurance protection. But as Ian CS Slater, senior vice-president and head of A&H, Chartis Europe, explained, "An emerging trend that we have identified is that organisations are becoming increasingly aware they have a duty of care (under law) to take steps to assess, manage and avoid reasonably foreseeable risks to their employees when travelling. Investing time and resources in risk management strategies can help an organisation protect not only its employees' safety and wellbeing, but also itself against claims of negligence or breach of its statutory duties." In a new White Paper from Chartis, entitled 'Pre-Travel Risk Assessment,' Guy Wilson, Head of Group Insurances, Accident and Health, Chartis Europe Limited, said: "As part of their duty of care, employers need to carry out pre-travel risk assessments. Too many employers are failing to do so and are thereby exposing both their employees and themselves to unnecessary risk."hideThe paper explains that a pre-travel risk assessment involves the collection and analysis of information about an individual who intends to travel in the UK or overseas, as well as their transport mode, travel itinerary and destination. Its purpose is to identify risks that may arise during or because of the trip and, where possible, implement control measures. In the paper, Declan Meighan, managing director at Maxwell Lucas, security and situation awareness specialists, said it is important to become familiar with the specific travel needs of the employee. "From this starting point, policies and procedures can be developed to ensure that an employee's individual requirements are met. An employer's duty of care requires that they ensure the employee is informed about the type of risk they may be exposed to and that they are given appropriate information and instruction as to how these risks may be managed, reduced or eliminated," he explained. The paper also advises organisations to educate employees about their destination, particularly around issues such as the risks of terrorism or social unrest. It also stresses the need for the right kind of business travel insurance to assist them. "Too often employers may be tempted to rely on travel insurance offered via credit cards or private bank accounts without appreciating the significant limitations on the type of business travel covered and possible exclusion of cover for pre-existing medical conditions," said Mr Wilson in the paper. Business travel and personal accident insurance is a growing line of business, and is increasingly being included in multinational insurance programmes. As Suresh Krishnan, General Counsel for the ACE Group's Multinational Client Group, told International Programme News, "Globalisation - and the search for new revenue streams in developing markets in particular - is leading to more employees travelling overseas on behalf of more companies, and both larger and mid-size businesses are becoming more aware of the risks and the regulatory issues. Currently, our multinational team is seeing increased interest in business travel and group personal accident programs from companies of different sizes across many industries." But organising business travel and personal accident insurance for employees of multinational organisations is not straightforward, and the regulatory issues are complex and often confusing. In an ACE report written by Mr Krishnan, entitled: 'Structuring Multinational Insurance Programs: Cross-border Challenges to Business Travel &Personal Accident Insurance,' he stressed that the payment obligations within multinational business travel and personal accident policies are complicated. "For instance, in the UK and Continental Europe, claims under Accidental Death and Dismemberment coverage generally are paid directly to the employee or to a beneficiary. 'Assistance coverage,' however, may entail reimbursement not to the employee, but to the employer or third-party vendors," said Mr Krishnan. "Similarly, Out-of-Country Medical Coverage, global insurance protection for medical costs incurred during travel in countries other than an employee's home country, generally requires direct payment to the medical provider for treatment and/or evacuation to the home country," said the report. Mr Krishnan told IPN that whether a covered claim for medical expenses can be paid in a country in which the insurer is not licensed depends on local laws. He said most countries, and China and Mexico are good examples of this, permit a business traveller to purchase travel accident and health insurance in their home country before coming to China or Mexico. The insurer explained that in fact, when a traveller to China applies for a visa, the visa application requests his or her travel accident or medical insurance information as part of the application process. In other words, the purchase of travel accident insurance is actually required before a Chinese visa is granted. "But the rules differ between countries," Mr Krishnan warned. "In Belarus and Ukraine, travel or medical insurance must also be purchased as part of any visa application, however it must be bought from the state-owned insurer." Mr Krishnan continued: "Clearly, understanding these issues, so that the insurance performs as expected, is a crucial part of travel insurance procurement for any multinational enterprise. The regulatory issues most commonly tend to arise when a parent company purchases one policy in its home jurisdiction to cover both its own employees as well as the employees of its subsidiaries and affiliates, when these are located in jurisdictions that are highly restrictive to the purchase of unlicensed insurance to insure local risks. The most prudent approach for the multinational is therefore to purchase local policies, where required, and then complement these with a master policy that provides wider coverage and additional limits, compared with what is available locally." The Chartis White Paper "Pre-Travel Risk Assessment," and the ACE Report "Structuring Multinational Insurance Programs: Cross-border Challenges to Business Travel &Personal Accident Insurance", can both be found in the IPN Databank.

Companies must improve protection of travelling staff

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