The doors of every airport lounge open for you. Flight attendants know you by name. You’re a Diamond Platinum Crown Elite member of every loyalty program.

That’s the glamorous side of being a business traveler. The less glamorous side? Cancelled flights. Mysteriously missing bags. Being coughed on by your seatmate for five hours straight.

Fortunately, travel insurance can help protect you when things go wrong on a business trip. Here’s how.

Why do I need travel insurance for business travel?

When you’re going on vacation, you buy personal travel insurance to protect your travel investment. That way, if your trip is canceled or cut short for a covered reason, you get reimbursed for your nonrefundable expenses. But wait — you’re not paying for a business trip out of your own pocket, so why pay for your own travel insurance?

Because travel insurance exists to protect you and your possessions on a business trip, and you can’t always count on your company to do that. If your personal laptop gets stolen from the airport, will your company pay to replace it? Or if you fall seriously ill while on a business trip overseas, will your company cover your hospital bill? A solid business travel insurance plan gives you the protection and peace of mind you need to travel with confidence. Also, if you buy travel insurance, you can be covered even if you combine personal and business travel.

Considering buying travel insurance in case your trip is affected by COVID-19? We are currently offering certain temporary claim accommodations if you, a traveling companion, or your family member becomes ill with COVID-19. Also, many of our travel insurance plans now include the Epidemic Coverage Endorsement, which adds covered reasons to select benefits for certain losses related to COVID-19 and any future epidemic. (Benefits vary by plan and are not available in all jurisdictions).

To see if your plan includes this endorsement and what it covers, please look for "Epidemic Coverage Endorsement" on your Declarations of Coverage or Letter of Confirmation. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply. Benefits may not cover the full cost of your loss. All benefits are subject to maximum limits of liability, which may in some cases be subject to sublimits and daily maximums.

How do you choose the best travel insurance for business trips?

Here’s a secret few people know: If you travel often for business (more than 3 times a year), you’ll get the most coverage for the least money with an annual travel insurance plan.

Annual travel insurance covers all your trips for the year, both business and personal, for one low cost. The AllTrips Executive Plan from Allianz Global Assistance is $459, which covers you for multiple trips, up to 45 days in length each, anywhere in the world.

How much coverage do you get? Almost too much to list. Your benefits include:

• Up to $45,000 in collision/loss damage insurance, which can protect you from paying for covered rental car damage or theft.
• Up to $50,000 in emergency medical benefits due to covered medical and up to $500 for dental emergencies that occur during your trip. Appendicitis in Antwerp? Broken tooth in Bogota? You’re good.
• Up to $250,000 in emergency medical transportation benefits, which provide medically necessary transportation to the nearest hospital or appropriate facility following a covered illness or injury. This is crucial, even lifesaving, coverage for international travel, particularly if you’re visiting remote regions.
• Up to $5,000 in trip cancellation protection and up to $5,000 in trip interruption protection to reimburse your prepaid, non-refundable expenses if you must cancel or interrupt your trip due to a covered reason. The AllTrips Executive Plan includes some covered reasons that are specifically meant to protect business travelers.
• Up to $1,000 in business equipment benefits and up to $1,000 in business equipment rental benefits to save the day if your work iPad goes missing while the airline’s handling your suitcase.
• Up to $1,500 in trip delay benefits to reimburse you for meals, accommodations and lost prepaid expenses when your travel is delayed for a covered reason. Stuck in Buffalo during a record snowstorm? At least you can stay in a cozy hotel.
• Up to $1,000 in baggage delay benefits so you can purchase emergency essentials if your bag gets waylaid. Keep your receipts to seek reimbursement.
• Up to $1,000 in baggage loss/damage benefits if that missing bag never does turn up.

The AllTrips Executive Plan offers even more benefits, including 24-hour access to our multilingual assistance team in case of emergency. It also can cover you even if you have an existing medical condition, as long as the stated terms and conditions are met.

What are the limitations of an annual travel insurance plan for business?

Annual travel insurance isn’t the right choice for everyone. If you’re an infrequent business traveler and if all of your trips are in the United States, you may opt instead to buy a domestic travel insurance plan for each trip. Just consider the benefits carefully — the low-cost OneTrip Cancellation Plus Plan, for instance, offers trip cancellation/interruption/delay benefits, but not much else. 

With the AllTrips Executive Plan, benefits for trip cancellation and trip interruption is capped at $5,000. If you’re planning a family trip to Costa Rica that costs $7,000, you may want to insure that trip separately with the OneTrip Prime Plan, which can cover trip cancellations up to the amount purchased. Plus, kids 17 and under are covered for free when traveling with a parent or grandparent (not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents).

Keep in mind that the AllTrips Executive Plan includes many covered reasons for cancelling a trip, such as a company merger that requires you to work, a covered illness of a family member, or a terrorist attack at your destination within 30 days of the day you’re scheduled to arrive. However, if you cancel a trip for a reason that’s not listed in your policy, your cancellation won’t be covered. 

Before you buy, call 1-866-884-3556 to get answers to specific questions about what’s covered and how business travel insurance works. Travel happy!

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