What to Pack? Travel Insurance - Brief Article

Workforce, July, 2001

HR people are expected to anticipate a of things: workload requirements, training needs, and changes in competitive salary ranges, to name but a few. But would you be prescient enough to say: our company needs insurance in case we have to airlift an ailing employee out of the most isolated place on earth?

Raytheon Company's HR and risk-management professionals were, and their foresight paid off. Dr. Ron Shemenski was working for Raytheon Polar Services as physician for researchers stationed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole station. In March, he was diagnosed with pancreatitis, a potentially life-threatening condition. Plans were made to airlift him out of the station, despite weather conditions that usually make flights to the pole extremely hazardous from late February until November. A Twin Otter aircraft, outfitted with skis as landing gear, picked up Shemenski on April 26.

The evacuation was covered under Business Travel Accident insurance that Raytheon had bought for Shemenski through American International Group, Inc. (MG). The policy had a provision for emergency medical evacuation.

Of course, most companies don't have employees stationed at the South Pole. But many have employees who travel for business, and who might become gravely ill far from home. The cost of an average evacuation varies, but is "less than $50,000," according to AIG. Costs for business travel accident insurance vary too, depending on such factors as the number of travel days and locations to which employees travel. AIG declined to say how much the South Pole evacuation cost, but Virginia Hillman, AIG national accounts manager, said it was "probably the most expensive evacuation we've ever done."