Also known as short term international health insurance, business travel medical insurance is a specialist product for people who travel with work for short periods of time. The purpose of this kind of medical insurance is to cover businesspeople for emergency medical treatment should they become ill or be injured while travelling for work. Short term international health insurance is perfect if your employees spend periods of time overseas but not long enough to be considered an expatriate.
Do you arrange travel for employees in your SME? Are you wondering what protection is needed if they become ill or have an accident while they are away? This article is for you.
What is business travel medical insurance?
What is a medical emergency?
A medical emergency is an accident or illness that presents an immediate threat to health so requires urgent medical attention. It may also be a sudden and unexpected worsening of an existing condition. In general, a medical emergency requires treatment by a doctor or hospital within 24 hours. Ongoing treatment requirements that remain stable would not be considered a medical emergency.
Business Travel Post-Covid
In 2018 business travel accounted for $1.4trillion - more than 20% of the global travel sector. However, travel has been the industry most impacted by the Covid-19 crises of 2020 and into 2021. As vaccination programmes have begun in most of the western world, the hope is the return of international travel will follow. Although initial indications are that the recovery of business travel may be slow.
Business Travel News predicts budgets for travel may be reduced as less important meetings can happen digitally rather than in person. Businesses of all sizes may try to have a better understanding of the ROI of a business trip before it is approved.
The importance of international travel for SMEs
Despite the necessary move to digital meetings for the duration of the pandemic, research amongst British SME’s in 2018 found doing business and building relationships was best done in person.
For many SME’s business travel is an essential component for survival. As an SME you may not have the resources to sustain multiple quarters without an income. If international travel is key to growing or maintaining operations then getting back to business travel is vital.
This is supported by some experts in business who say the primary way to build company culture and relationships is through connection between people. Although some of this can be done virtually, it is rarely as effective at building relationships with supplier partners or clients in person. Although the frequency of travel may reduce, SMEs may need to achieve more on a given trip.
Some experts also predict meeting in person is going to be more important than ever as the world transitions to a hybrid way of working. Sifted believe businesses should prepare for more company wide meetings requiring international travel by a dispersed workforce.
Does my SME need business travel medical insurance?
If you are hoping to travel as soon as international restrictions lift or if you must travel now for essential reasons, business travel medical insurance is likely to be a useful asset. Our short-term international health insurance offering allows your business to tailor the maximum duration of your cover to either 90 or 180 days per insurance year so your employees can have the cover you need while on a longer trip.
Discover more about our business travel medical insurance for SMEs today.
