GUEST BLOG: Responsible travel management as a means to corporate social responsibility

As a socially responsible corporation, the security and welfare of your employees and their families is one of your main priorities. This includes employees that are posted on overseas missions, perhaps to one of the post-conflict areas of the world.

So how do you exercise responsible travel management?

As a socially responsible organisation, you need to consider the priorities when sending your employees overseas, perhaps accompanied by their family members.

It is only right that you are concerned about safety, security, and welfare. The first two things that might come across your mind might be responsibly choosing the air carrier and hotel accommodation; however, travel insurance is what you should really be thinking about in this world of uncertainty.

A travel insurance policy provides cover for your employees while traveling abroad on business trips against unforeseen events that can result in injury or even death. Also, your employees would be put at ease knowing that they have access to medical treatment and baggage claims should the need arise.

These things are typical concerns when the destination is to a stable territory. What if you are sending employees to a post-conflict territory, say Iraq, Libya, or even Afghanistan? This is when travel insurance becomes even more important in your travel management. In addition to having a standard travel policy in force, now it becomes vital that you make sure that your employees are covered against extreme events such as kidnap & ransom, blackmail & extortion, hi-jack or terrorism, what is called a “Crisis Assistance Plan”. As drastic as it may sound, these sorts of incidents can occur. 

You might think that this will be an expensive and time-consuming insurance cover to arrange; well, it doesn’t have to be...

So, the insurance solutions are out there; the questions to ask yourself as an employer are: “Am I providing responsible travel management to my employees?, and, is the insurance cover as good as it should be?”

For further information visit www.frontiertravelinsurance.com; www.aaib-insurance.com

Posted by Lubna Amasheh at AAIB, who are exhibiting in the Responsible Travel Management zone at the Business Travel Show on 4-5 February 2014.