Traveling is a complex and global industry today, and risk protection requires expertise in tourism and travel insurance, experience which characterizes the Business Unit of Strategica, specializing in coverage for operators, carriers and individual travellers. We talked about this with Matia Barberio, Account Executive of Strategica Group and Emanuela Bonomi, Head of Insurance Management at Valore Sicuro, a division of Strategica Group specialized in the travel coverage.
"The world of Mobility is wide and multi-faceted: business and leisure travel, long-term and daily trips, travel abroad or within one's own country: each of these cases has specific risks "explains Emanuela Bonomi. A few examples: for leisure travel, the risks range from flight cancellations to possible health problems with consequent medical needs in site; for business travel, risks range from liability risk to possible reputational damage for a company whose employee finds himself in difficulty while away.
Although the pandemic has redefined the boundaries of 'travel', especially at an international level, "over the last two years there has been an increase in both: the perception of risks by clients, therefore a greater awareness of their own safety, and the importance of coverage for protection against possible unforeseen events and adverse scenarios".
The legacy of the 2020 health crisis on insurance policies
During the pandemic, Matia Barberio argues, "numerous critical issues emerged regarding travel policy benefits and exclusions, related to the peculiarity of the pandemic scenario. For example, some insurance covers allowed policyholders stranded in a foreign country due to Covid-19 to benefit from the reimbursement of medical expenses, but not of related expenses. Those expenses related to quarantine requirement made abroad: food, accommodation, incidental expenses and assistance were not in fact equated to medical expenses and, therefore, fell on insured clients. It is from here that an important reflection arises" continues the expert, "on the importance, today more than ever, to pay special attention to every detail on the policies".
A properly structured travel policy (business or leisure) must provide for an on-site assistance in case of problems, especially if the journey has a country or an area with certain critical issues as a destination, such as health or public order, for example." Being able to count on medical and operational centre that manages emergencies, bureaucratic procedures, organizes transfers and movements, and contacts local structures and referents to respond to the client's needs," continues Emanuela Bonomi, "guarantees greater security for the person, saves time and resources, and overcomes obstacles such as lack of knowledge of the environment or language. Furthermore, she continues, "in the specific case of business travel policies, it is difficult for a company to guarantee the same level of assistance as an insurance operator, who can count on knowledge of its’ local network and dedicated resources. In addition, it is important to stress out that the professional must be previously prepared, made aware of the potential dangers of the trip and the destination, and in order to do this, the company must have specialists' support.
Relying on specialists for travel insurance policies also gives security to family members at home, who in an even of hospitalization or intrackability are unable to communicate with their loved one abroad, can count on the support of a 24-hour centre and receive updates.
This is a support that, in the most dramatic cases, also takes care of tasks such as the return of the body to the country, an operation that in the absence of a policy can become very complex and expensive, add the experts.
Business travel policies: the choice of companies
Each company can choose the type of solution that best suits its needs. There are policies that cover a single trip and there are annual policies, which can be nominal (for a specific employee) or corporate, which cover the travel of all the company's professionals, with the possibility of extension to consultants. For companies with Italian headquarters and multinational presence, Strategica has also implemented international business travel insurance programs that guarantee uniformity of benefits for employees worldwide. These programs are integrated with technology platforms (built by VAANCE, a Strategica Group company) that allow centralized control for HR and/or the Risk Manager.
"Effective insurance coverage must guarantee benefits that are on same level as those in the country of origin even abroad, especially in the health field. Each profession," adds Matia Barberio, "has its own specific risks and for this needs a proportional insurance coverage". Strategica has realized, in collaboration with a fashion agency, a unique insurance program designed for models: Insurance4Models includes coverage for medical assistance and expenses, accidents, third party liability, travel inconveniences and extraordinary stay expenses for medical reasons, all available h24 and 365 days a year thanks to a dedicated app.
Some professions which are exposed to particular risks, such as personnel working on extraction platforms and pipelines, the military, politicians, continue the experts, need ad hoc coverage, since they are excluded from the standard coverages.
In addition, to meet the needs of long-haul or long-stay workers, some business travel policies can be extended to the family and cover the entire household for the period of the professional's relocation.
Business travel in Strategica Group
Strategica Group encompasses four distinct realities, whose synergy allows to provide customized services and products with high added value. Strategica Risk Consulting and Strategica Insurance Management offer consultancy services in risk management and insurance brokerage. Valore Sicuro, the third company in the Group, is specialized in travel, both business and pleasure. Valore Sicuro supports the operators of the sector, like travel agencies, in activities such as the analysis of the margins of optimization of their strategies in the field of insurance services combined with tourist packages and services; study of insurance products best suited to the specific needs of the final clientele; search for the best conditions offered by specialized international insurance markets; the claim management phase; study and analysis of marketing and communication activities aimed at the distribution of insurance products.
Within Strategica Group there is also VAANCE, insurtech and insurance intermediary that operates as a wholesaler through the use of advanced and innovative technologies for multi-channel, multi-product and multi-company distribution, able to reengineer and optimize operational processes of the insurance business.
