Many employees travel as part of their job. This may include employees whose main jobs require driving, such as couriers, delivery drivers, and truck drivers. Other employees regularly travel to get from one job to the next such plumbers and electricians. And then there are also employees whose travel is only incidental to their jobs. This incidental travel may include meetings with clients or attending seminars. This type of business travel also more frequently requires long-distance travel and reliance on third party vehicles to get from one place to another which may include airplanes, buses, Uber, or taxis.
With all this traveling, it is inevitable that employees will get involved in accidents. To help minimize the impact of business travel accidents, businesses should have business travel plans in place to address them.
Have an established driving policy
For businesses whose employees drive regularly as their job, they should develop detailed driving policies. These policies should include topics such as:
- Pre-driving preparation
- Restrictions on who can drive company vehicles
- Where company vehicles should be parked when not in use
- Safe driving reminders
- Mileage tracking requirements of using personal vehicles
- Expense reimbursements
- Accident procedures
- Traffic and parking ticket procedures
- Discipline for failing to comply with the policy
Understand the limitations of vehicle insurance
Car and other vehicle insurance can be complicated for an individual, but things get more complicated when business travel is involved. This is especially true when an employee uses a personal vehicle for business purposes.
Thus, HR should take time to understand the limitations of company vehicle insurance for when employees get in an accident whether the accident involves a company vehicle or an employee’s personal car. For example, company insurance plans may not cover work use of personal vehicles or may require a company to add that protection to the company policy. The company should also consider whether they should pay employees for the expense of adding business use coverage to their personal car insurance.
HR should also know whether the company’s insurance provider or the employee’s personal car insurance provider will be primarily responsible for addressing the accident with the other being the backup.
Knowing this information about vehicle insurance will help companies be better prepared for when accidents happen and have the answers available when employees ask question.
Travel insurance
For businesses whose employees rely on third parties for travel, e.g. airplanes, buses, Uber, it may be worthwhile purchasing business travel insurance. Business travel insurance helps provide protections other company insurance may not. It also helps relieve stress for employees and HR who have less to worry about when traveling.
Business travel insurance may help pay for:
- Trip cancellations
- Trip interruptions when a planned trip is cut short because of an emergency
- Missed connections
- Medical expenses
- Baggage insurance
Employees who are victims of accidents
Company or personal insurance may cover employees when they are driving the vehicle involved in the accident. But what about when an employee is involved in an accident where they aren’t a driver? For example, an employee may hire an Uber to get to a client meeting and the Uber ends up in an accident during the trip. In these situations, there may not be insurance to protect the employee beyond their personal health insurance.
In these situations, companies need to be prepared to support the employee as they deal with injuries, lost time, and the mental anguish caused by the accident. This support may include making leave accommodations so the employee can attend appointments and provide documentation to attorneys the employee may have hired to help ensure the compensation they receive from the accident is fair.
Also, if an employee is a victim of an accident that occurred in a different state from the employee’s home state, there will be even more complication. When this happens, an employee may need to hire an attorney in the state where the accident happened as well as a local attorney. For example, if an employee lives in Tennessee but is involved in a Uber accident while in Houston, Texas, the employee may need to hire a Houston Uber Accident Lawyer to help. Companies should be aware of these unique situations and be prepared to help in these more complicated situations as well.
Conclusion
Many companies rely on employees to travel to succeed. However, with business travel comes risks and liabilities. To help minimize the risk and reduce liability, the company and their HR should be aware of the various aspects of business travel. These aspects include the types of travel their employees engage in, the insurances available and involved, and the impact of accidents on the employees. Preparing for and establishing detailed policies will help save companies and their HR significant time, stress, and confusion.
