How Travel Insurance Supports ‘Duty of Care’ Policies

Duty of care is a legal and ethical obligation applicable to any individual, professional, company or other entity who has a responsibility to care for others. Anyone with any responsibility has to ensure that they take ‘reasonable care’ to protect others from harm. This obligation doesn’t just apply to direct parties, like customers and employees, but to other people as well.

The term ‘duty of care’ was first used in the legal case of Donoghue vs Stevenson (1932) in Scotland, United Kingdom. A woman in Paisley who found a decomposing snail at the bottom of a ginger ale bottle she drank from filed a lawsuit against the brewer after falling sick. However, she wasn’t a direct customer of the brewer.

In the landmark judgment that followed, it was established that the manufacturer owed a general ‘duty of care’ not just to buyers of the product but also to a ‘neighbour’ who used it. This legal decision led to the creation of ‘duty of care’ and ‘Doctrine of Negligence’. Over time, the usage of the term broadened across fields in different parts of the world.

Almost everyone has a ‘duty of care’ towards others. Doctors have a duty of care towards patients, business owners towards employees, travel agencies towards customers and manufacturers towards users of their products. All of these parties must prevent acts that can foreseeably harm other people or groups; otherwise, they have been negligent.

Here are some examples to demonstrate what duty of care different parties have towards others:

For Doctors

All medical professionals have a duty of care towards their patients and must take reasonable steps to prevent harm to their patients. Doctors, nurses, surgeons, specialists, as well as clinics and hospitals, have a legal liability to ensure a ‘duty of care’. Failure to do so makes them liable to medical malpractice under the Consumer Protection Act, 1987.

For Employers

For employers, ‘duty of care’ means their obligations and responsibilities to ensure the health, safety and mental well-being of their employees. Employers, along with their HR (Human Resources and Development), need to maintain a safe workplace, provide health insurance coverage and train employees to follow safety protocols. Employees travelling on their company’s behalf may need coverage from an employer’s duty of care travel policy.

For Retailers

Sellers and their employees have legal responsibilities towards their customers, including providing clear information about their products, avoiding misleading claims, and honouring warranties. Establishments like supermarkets, gyms, department stores, etc., also have to maintain a safe environment for everyone entering their premises. Restaurants, cafes and fast food joints have additional health, safety and sanitation duties.

For Travel and Hospitality

Travel agencies, hotels and establishments catering to travellers must take every reasonable measure to ensure their safety. This includes having safety and emergency procedures, risk assessments, issuing travel advisories and responding to threats. For example, if a traveller or tourist falls ill, the responsible organisations must be able to render first aid.

In Public Places

Just like companies and professionals, governments also have a duty of care in public places. Local governments and municipalities are responsible for maintaining roads, streets, sewer systems, and government buildings. Failure to maintain a reasonable level of care and safety gives injured people the right to file a lawsuit for negligence.

Employers have a moral and legal obligation to protect their employees from physical, mental and emotional harm both in the workplace and while carrying out business-related activities. Traditionally, this meant maintaining a safe workplace, fostering a caring environment, and maintaining security systems. However, in the case of remote and hybrid models and business travel, the responsibilities extend outside the office premises.

Today, companies that ensure the well-being of their employees beyond traditional boundaries differentiate themselves in the marketplace. In a world with unpredictable global events and high-risk factors, companies that assume greater responsibility are rewarded with better retention and uninterrupted operations. That’s why predicting risks, taking various precautions and responding to a crisis have become broader corporate goals across the world.

Legal ramifications are another reason for employers to be proactive in prioritising their ‘duty of care’. A lack of action to protect employees can result in unprecedented reputation loss if the same becomes public knowledge, in addition to punitive actions taken by the authorities. Companies that neglect their duty of care are experiencing worsening levels of engagement and higher burnout and attrition.

In travel management, duty of care is defined as a set of responsibilities and guidelines to ensure the well-being of travellers and tourists. It involves providing basic needs like food, water and shelter, ensuring travellers’ safety and health, preparing emergency care facilities and taking reasonable steps to prevent distress.

For businesses, travel-related duty of care refers to the employer’s moral and legal obligation to protect their employees from harm while they are travelling for business purposes. Employers are required to take reasonable steps, such as sharing travel advisories, mitigating foreseeable risks and providing necessary resources for a trip. Getting a duty of care travel insurance is an easy way for employers to cover their financial liabilities.

Also Read: What Is Travel Insurance?

For business leaders, the duty of care is more than a concept; it must be part of a broader framework to mitigate risks. When it comes to employee travel for business purposes, companies can use the following framework to ensure adequate care:

1. Risk Assessment

Before employees go on a business trip, the management team should conduct an assessment of the various risks associated with the trip. One must analyse dangers, such as political unrest, crime rates, probability of natural disasters, safety issues and availability of basic facilities at the destination.

2. Travel Planning

Adequate planning is an integral part of the duty of care to safeguard employees, especially in the case of overseas travel or trips to high-risk locations. Employers should arrange for accommodation, food, beverages, and other essentials, prepare for emergencies and take care of the employees’ special needs, such as allergies and health conditions.

3. Corporate Travel Policy

Having a proper framework helps ensure legal compliance and the employees’ safety. The concerned team members should create a travel policy document by referencing standard protocols and destination-specific details from government travel advisories and news sources.

4. Risk Mitigation

With the information gathered during the planning stage, travel planners should take reasonable measures to address risks wherever possible. Planners can mitigate avoidable risks by preparing alternative transport, packing emergency rations and first-aid, providing a list of emergency contacts, etc. They should also train employees regarding situational awareness and safe procedures.

For unforeseen risks, employers can get a duty of care policy for business travel. Companies can get travel insurance online at favourable rates to address multiple risks, such as loss of luggage, cancelled flights, and emergency evacuation costs.

5. Continuous Monitoring

Even with all the proactive measures, it’s not possible to eliminate travel-related risks. Duty of care in business travel involves constantly monitoring the situation in the travel destination and keeping an open line of communication at all times. Advanced tech-based solutions can be used to provide real-time support to the employee and to assess weather reports, public health updates and the security situation.

6. Post-trip Debriefing

Every trip and incident can serve as a learning experience that can improve the overall system. Managers should implement a system where the employee’s feedback is taken seriously for the next trip.

Travel insurance is an essential pillar of the care of duty framework, as it helps mitigate unavoidable risks. It’s especially important for companies where some or many employees travel long distances or to high-risk areas. Since care of duty is both a moral and legal responsibility, it’s advisable to buy travel insurance to cover risks such as injuries, sicknesses, flight delays, accidents, terrorism, etc.

Employees travelling to international destinations carry additional risks that may be outside the employer’s control. In this situation, having international travel insurance coverage is a mandatory prerequisite. It helps to cover out-of-control emergencies, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as natural disasters like floods and earthquakes, riots, strikes and other risks.

Businesses must be aware of local health regulations, vaccination and testing, visa and passport requirements, etc., before sending their employees. A good care of duty framework should include adequate preparation; for example, partnering with a travel agency to provide real-time updates, guidance on safe locations, emergency services, and so on. However, some things may still be out of hand, making it useful to have a duty of care travel policy.

Having a travel insurance plan helps cover the following risks and situations, making it a must-have for corporate trips:

• Medical Coverage: Medical expenses can be exorbitant for your employees. Even simple treatments in countries with high healthcare costs can deplete their savings. Many travel policies cover costs for accidents, hospitalisation and evacuation for medical emergencies.

• Trip Cancellations: Travel insurance policies can cover cancelled bookings of hotels and flights, as well as full trip cancellation. These plans can cover cancellations from adverse weather, airline strikes, pandemics, etc., subject to the terms and conditions.

• Loss of Luggage: Most travel insurance plans cover loss or theft of luggage, providing financial compensation for the loss of personal belongings. Some may provide emergency cash to buy essentials for the time being.

• Delayed or Missed Flights: Missing a booked flight can be costly, while delays may lead to missing business appointments and meetings. That’s why most travel insurance for duty of care covers both delayed and missed flights.

• Disability and Death: Disability and death due to accidents caused during travel are either included by default or need to be added as a rider. This generally provides a sum assured amount to the policyholder’s kin to help with difficult times.

• Third Party Liabilities: Some plans cover damage or losses caused by the policyholder to individuals, vehicles and properties. Third-party liabilities can be surprisingly high in various countries due to their legal systems, leading to the need for insurance coverage.

Also Read: Essential Things Covered by Your Travel Insurance

While the term ‘Duty of Care’ used to have a specific definition, today it has a much wider scope and significance. Everyone, from companies and government bodies to professionals and even parents have legally defined duty of care towards those who depend on them. For employers, a duty of care travel insurance plan offers an effective solution to safeguard their employees travelling for business purposes.

Travel insurance extends to provide coverage to individuals and families when they are away from home. For example, if you have a trip planned to Singapore, TATA AIG’s Travel Insurance Singapore can help you cover the financial impact of unplanned events like a cancelled trip or a delayed flight. Buy travel insurance to protect yourself and your loved ones from unforeseen situations, such as lost passports, flight delays and medical emergencies.