by Sarah J Palmer

Created on: September 20, 2008   Last Updated: November 04, 2008

"Am I insured?" asked a salesman's tremulous voice above the distinctive sound of helicopter gunfire. He had blithely self-booked himself a trip to seal a deal in one of Africa's many restive countries without a proper thought for his safety. Whilst his three outbound flights had been uneventful the actions of the locals, who were engaging in what is politely referred to as civil unrest', had rendered the runway of the airport unusable for his departure.

Thankfully he was covered under the company's business travel insurance so via their Helpline we were able to seek good local advice on how best to handle the situation for our stranded traveller.

Travel insurance is so important that you should simply never even contemplate travelling without it and travelling on business in no exception. The rules of claiming, however, are more stringent than with domestic or leisure insurance claims. You should familiarise yourself with your employer's travel policy as you could find yourself unable to make a successful claim if you contravene it, even unwittingly.

Always make sure you have written approval from the appropriate level of manager prior to travelling on business. Never travel on verbal approval your grieving spouse will need physical proof the company allowed you to travel if they are to make a successful claim. Always email the approval and your itinerary home before travelling.

Circumnavigating some travel approval systems can be more tiresome and time-consuming than the travel itself, it took 41 emails to get approval for one of my travellers to fly London to Washington this summer! Nonetheless, make sure you do it properly otherwise it will reflect badly upon you in the event of making a claim. It is so easy for employers to simply say you didn't follow procedures or policy and therefore you were acting in a reckless or irresponsible manner. Never give their lawyers rope with which to flog your case to death.

If you book your travel with a company credit card you will enjoy the additional cover that the card provider offers. This can often be more readily accessed than perhaps your company's official travel insurance provider. However, both should offer 24/7 multi-lingual Help Lines who can offer medical, legal and travel advice. They can arrange for legal representation, translators, personal security, replacement tickets, money to replace lost or stolen luggage as well as passports and visas for you. They will even "Send in The Boys" to rescue you from life-threatening situations if your local embassy is unable to assist.

Much to my errant colleague's disappointment his situation didn't warrant the Black Helicopter treatment. Hopefully the memory of three days spent in an hotel room without air conditioning and with restricted water supply, no toilet tissue, television or radio will aide his future travel planning and remind him of the benefits of being approved and insured to travel!

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