Is Personal Accident and Business Travel Cover Needed in 2026?
Corporate travel is now more or less exceeding pre-pandemic levels.[i] Businesses are wishing to do business face-to-face again[ii] and tariff wars have made a search for new markets an essential move for some organisations. Driving much of the corporate travel growth are smaller businesses, sending employees overseas for training, seminars and conferences, with AI topics often being a theme within this international learning forum.
In Europe, business travel is showing ‘remarkable resilience and growth.’[iii] 83% of businesses believe the cost of corporate travel is worth incurring, to achieve business objectives. Corporate travel is seen as a means to foster growth, innovation and connection.
However, the threats to the safety employees travelling overseas are more significant than ever. High-impact weather events, from south-east Asia floods to forest fires, dominate headlines. Protests and political rallies are commonplace. Visa policies are changing rapidly. Airspaces can be shut in an instant, or flights cancelled out of the blue. Geopolitical instability is widespread. New diseases, not typically protected against through vaccination, such as dengue fever, are spreading across the world. Then there is AI, presenting new travel risks when misinformation is spread, and cyber threats, which can infiltrate and disrupt travel systems.
Employers risking breaching duty of care for employees travelling overseas
Corporate travel budgets have tightened, with planners looking at more cost-effective accommodation and transport options. This, however, can place employees in less safe areas, away from the popular tourism traps.
New markets also present new risks. In 2024, eleven of the world’s fastest growing economies were in Africa.
Against this backdrop, too many employees are being sent across the world to do business, or take on board new learning, and then being left to figure out ways of getting themselves out of predicaments that their employer should have placed on their risk radar and made provision for.
Personal Accident and Business Travel (PABT) insurance and duty of care
In a world where business travel growth is accelerating again, but risks simultaneously multiplying, diligent UK companies, which care about their reputation and standing in their market, are re-examining how well they protect their employees when they’re on the move. Personal Accident and Business Travel insurance is an often-underestimated cover that can make an enormous difference, not only to employee wellbeing but also to business continuity, financial resilience and employer reputation.
UK employers have a legal and moral responsibility to safeguard their employees, if they are travelling for work purposes. By securing the back-up of corporate travel insurance cover, a business, of any size, can demonstrate that it is taking steps to manage risks. This is a wise move. Not only does it demonstrate concern for the employee and help retain talent within the business by making employees feel valued, it can also reduce liability in the event of an incident.
Employers exposing themselves to business travel risks
Liability payments are not the only thing that should concern employers. If an unfortunate incident did occur and impact an employee, a business could find itself incurring major costs. That might be in terms of significant medical bills, repatriation costs to get the employee home, or legal expenses. By being able to call on a PABT insurance policy, they can have such costs picked up on their behalf, protecting their cash flow and, ultimately, their business continuity.
Specialist corporate personal accident and travel protection can also go far further than a business might be able to venture under a self-financing situation. For instance, it can step in when there is a kidnap and ransom threat. It can assist with security evacuation, when there is pressure on flight availability to get personnel out of a danger zone fast. If they go missing, it can trigger access to specialist search and rescue services. It can also provide access to the best medical facilities and repatriation services, worldwide. It provides the connecting links to the right expertise, in the right scenario, at the right time.
Other benefits of Personal Accident and Business Travel Protection
It’s not just the employee who is covered but their equipment too, in terms of their all-essential laptop, phone and other professional equipment. It can step in if they lose or have their passport or visa stolen, not to mention keys. Even baggage is protected.
And it also covers trips made by a director and their family, whether that is purely leisure-based or a director tagging a family holiday onto a business trip for a spot of what is becoming known as ‘bleisure’.
Maintaining reputation and resilience
Corporate reputation can most definitely be maintained with the help of such a policy. Should the worst occur to an employee, the cover can enable the employer to deal with the situation in the optimal fashion, easing the burden on loved ones. There are also lump sum payouts for accidental death or permanent disability, so long-term financial impacts on families can be reduced.
For UK businesspeople, Corporate Personal Accident and Business Travel insurance provides a powerful safety net that protects employees, strengthens employer duty of care, and ensures business continuity. As organisations strive to remain resilient, responsible and competitive, investing in this type of cover constitutes both good governance and a wise business strategy.
How to buy Personal Accident and Business Travel protection
Talk to Gauntlet about Personal Accident and Business Travel insurance today, by calling us on 0113 244 8686. Alternatively, choose a local broker to help you, by visiting this map.
Once your employees are covered for their foreign business trips, you will have ticked a significant box on the way to complete duty of care for employees. You will also have protected your business against financial and reputational losses. And who knows … you might also receive more applications for the next overseas sales role you advertise.
Photo by Marten Bjork on Unsplash
[i] https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/business-travel-finally-recovers-from-pandemic-stagnation#:~:text=Business%20travel%20is%20poised%20to,the%20appeal%20of%20corporate%20travel.
[ii] https://jtbbts.com/when-to-make-business-travel-arrangements-for-employees/
[iii] https://www.businesstravelexecutive.com/news/europe-business-travel-showing-remarkable-resilience-and-growth-says-report/