Business risk Support for clients


B


usiness risk is an increasingly important element of corporate travel insurance. Davina Southwell, AIG Travel multinational manager for


Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), explains: “We look to understand the holistic needs of our business clients rather than just their more traditional travel insurance requirements. “The corporate travel insurance market


is increasingly focused on business risk – bringing in elements around security and crisis response. “Conversations are not just about what


we can do to help in an emergency, but also about what support we will provide to employees before and after travel.” She says: “We look to reduce the pressure


on clients’ HR managers in a number of ways and one of these is through our mobile app. This provides access to security training modules, country and city reports, and other useful information to help employees prepare for their travel and to keep them safe by advising them of any issues in specific areas they may travel to.” Southwell adds: “There is no one size fits


all. Large global businesses employ teams dedicated to looking at the risks facing their people at any time. These will typically come to their insurers and ask what we are doing in certain areas.


“This kind of engagement drives


innovation in the sector and the benefits are subsequently felt among mid-tier and smaller companies which perhaps don’t have in-house insurance teams.” She says: “Differences [in business needs]


vary more by sector than by country. The more high-risk industries are more attuned to business risk – for example, oil, gas, mining companies and charities – any sector sending people into territories when everyone else is leaving or staying away. These organisations tend to have sophisticated approaches to business risk because it is something they face every day. “The larger companies usually want to


maintain a close relationship with their insurer and their broker. We have teams


44 | Travel Weekly Europe Report 2018 million


10 12


0 2 4 6 8


Germany UK France Austria Finland Italy Spain


8% 11%


5% 5%


Denmark, Finland, Sweden Belgium, Netherlands


6% 8% 21% Source: Eurostat €235bn


EU OUTBOUND SPENDING 2016


31%


EU OUTBOUND CORPORATE MARKETS Overnight business trips, 2016 (million)


FIGURE 64: Market share


specialised in looking after clients as well as intermediaries and work in a tripartite way to support clients. This is generally how we work across the EMEA region – the only exception would be in the Nordics where companies prefer to work directly with their insurers.”


No one size fits all in business travel, but safety and security are essential. Davina Southwell, AIG multinational manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, explains


‘Our focus is whether there is a need to travel’ As specialists in corporate travel risks, Southwell and her team often take a different approach to advice provided by foreign ministries than leisure tour operators and insurers. Government foreign offices, such as


the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, typically characterise travel as ‘essential’ or ‘non-essential’, and foreign offices around Europe can often issue conflicting advice – as was the case between June 2015 and last summer in relation to Tunisia, with the UK Foreign Office advising against non-essential travel, but Germany not doing so. Southwell says: “If there is a need to


travel for business and the client is aware of the risks, we look to support them. We have an in-house team of analysts and security personnel who provide invaluable specialist knowledge which enables us to take a view together with our clients. “Our focus is less about whether it’s advisable to travel and more about whether


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