In an increasingly globalized world, business travel is essential for employees in different countries to meet face to face, establish trust and collaborate toward shared goals. (Photo: Shutterstock)

It's a frightening prospect: one of your top employees is on an important business trip thousands of miles from home, and something goes terribly wrong. He gets clipped by a bus on the streets of Mexico City, or she contracts a debilitating virus in New Delhi just hours before a scheduled presentation. Employees on the road can also be sidelined by less severe but more frequent problems, such as breaking a leg, getting the flu or diarrhea, getting into an accident, or falling victim to theft.

Every day, stories about the coronavirus fill the pages of newspapers around the world, making it impossible to avoid thinking about travel risk. Corporate purchasers of a multinational business travel policy understand their duty of care to employees when they travel for business. But how well do they understand exactly how the insurance coverage they purchased will respond when something goes wrong?

Related: 4 tips for moving employees abroad