Why Travel Health Insurance
Might Be a Very Good IdeaYour Guide to Virtual Teams in 2016
No one wants to think about getting sick or having an accident while they're on vacation. Yet, unfortunately, it can happen. Travel health insurance can provide peace of mind and help cover you financially if you need medical care while away from home.
If You’re Eligible for Our [Business Travel Accident] Insurance...
Before we describe travel insurance and why you might want to consider it, let’s first review similar insurance that is available to you from the company at no, or minimal charge to you.
[CLIENT: INCLUDE INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR BTA PROGRAM (OR SIMILAR), including WHO’S ELIGIBLE, WHAT’S COVERED, WHERE TO LEARN MORE].
Why You Should Consider Travel Insurance
Travel health insurance is a temporary policy that provides health care coverage while you’re traveling away from home.
Pricing. While planning your trip expenses, you may think that you might prefer to spend the money on sightseeing or a five-star dinner. Yet, if something happens to your health during the trip, travel insurance’s reasonable cost will be worth every penny.
Out-of-network coverage. Some of our medical plans offer some protection when you’re away from home, including [CLIENT: LIST THE HEALTH PLANS THAT OFFER OON COVERAGE].
There are some things to keep in mind:
- Even if you have out-of-network coverage, it may not be available in certain places, for example, out of the country.
- You are generally required to pay more for out-of-network care.
- You may be required to pay upfront for out-of-network care.
- Finally, if you didn’t choose the [PLANS], you do not have out-of-network coverage at all.
Depending on the plan, medical travel insurance coverage can cover you when nothing else will.
Availability. In most cases, some form of travel insurance is available to people without proof of good health or a medical exam. The policies generally won't cover pre-existing conditions, but it can make it easier to deal with a crisis away from home.
Peace of mind. Since vacation is about relaxation and adventure, knowing you’re covered in the event of illness or an accident can help you unwind.
Whether you need travel insurance it or not depends on:
- The nature of your trip. Although you could get sick anywhere, a trip like white water rafting or visiting Africa may be more risky than a trip to Disneyland.
- How much financial risk you’re willing to take.
What Does Travel Insurance Cover?
Though features differ between companies, most travel medical insurance plans cover:
- Any accidents that may happen when you are traveling
- Expenses related to health care providers and pharmacies
- Emergency evacuation
Sometimes the insurance can even offer refunds of travel cost.
If you choose an international travel plan, coverage begins when you leave the country.
How to Find Travel Medical Insurance
To buy travel insurance, you can:
- Contact a travel insurance provider directly
- Review insurance comparison websites such as insuremytrip.com and travelinsurance.com. These sites will allow you to easily see what each company offers, compare plans, get quotes, and purchase online. Purchasing your insurance through comparison sites allows you to easily determine which provider offers the options you need at the best price point available.
- Add it on to your trip from travel sites like expedia.com or orbitz.com or a travel agent.
Saving money on your travel insurance policy
If you travel frequently, there are options that will help you save money. These include:
- Choosing a multi-trip travel health insurance plan.
- Purchasing annual plans or choosing a new plan that has the option of renewing it at a discount.
You can also save money if you buy your travel health insurance for a specific international destination
Before leaving for your trip
If you choose a travel insurance plan, be sure to take a moment to confirm what is covered. Also, determine how you contact the medical insurance company if you need to use the plan. An emergency is a difficult time to be expected to look up a telephone number. Make note of how you’ll contact them, including any international access codes you may need.
With global teams, flexible work arrangements and colleagues working from home, now it seems that almost every professional is working as a part of virtual teams. Whether your colleagues are scattered across the state or around the globe, working effectively requires a delicate balance of:
Time zones
Communication
Technology
Recognition of work style and even cultural differences
With this in mind, here are some five key things to remember if you are (or plan to be) working as a part of a virtual team this year:
1.Avoid In-Group Bias Attend
When working remotely, Iit can be all-too-easy to fall into the trap of in-group bias, or the tendency to favor your colleagues who work geographically closer to you or who you get to interact with in “real life.”
If you or members of the team develop this bias, it will create division, kill productivity and ultimately, undermine what you’re working towardthe team’s success. In order to have a strong and productive team, you need tomust establish trust. If someone feelsSomeone feeling left out, or is they are not given the same opportunities as those in the “in group,” building trust will be a challengeerode trust.
One of the ways you can avoid this pitfall is by creating a single, shared objective for your team to avoid an “us vs. them” mentality that creates division and kills productivity. Another way is toYou can also use a project management tool (e.g., Basecamp) or enterprise social media tool (e.g., Slack, Jive, etc.) to manage all your communication and make everything easier to share.
2.Accept the Risk Tthat Comes Wwith Trust
Building trust can be difficult when you’ve never actually met some of your teammates – especially if they are from a culture where trust has a different meaning from yours.
And by cultureCulture , it doesn’t necessarily mean a different country. In some companies, two offices within the same city can have two very different cultures. For example, 10 AM may be the standard reporting time for one offices and 8 AM may be the standard reporting time in another office. If you’re from the 10 AM office, the person in the 8 AM office may have a difficult time trusting you because they think you’re always late!
Trusting another person is always a risk and trusting a virtual colleague requires giving up complete control. This is frequently a challenge for some people. As difficult as this may be, remember when you don’t trust your teammates:
They are less likely to be accountable for their results.
Less work gets done.
It causes confusion.
3.Don’t Withhold Information
Many groups think the objective of a meeting is to reach a consensus. This isn’t untrue, but it misses a vital point. It’s equally important to cultivate and benefit from the unique skill sets and knowledge bases in your group. If you realize that there’s knowledge in the group that some have and others do not, make sure it is shared.
4.Throw Out Your Assumptions
Don’t assume that everyone is on the same page or has the same understanding of a task – even one that is seemingly self-evident. It’s not uncommon for two sides of a team to split up and start working on a project just to find that one group is working in the Metric system and the other the English system of measurement, for example. Things can go awry when erroneous assumptions are made.
Check, double check, and check again that everyone is on the same page before moving along, especially when working cross-culturally.
5.Always Evaluate Communication
Here are the must-do’s to encourage effective communication when working virtually:
Avoid slang and jargon
Be aware of the expected manners:
oIf you’re not sure if other team members are casual about profanity, refrain from using it.
oFind out what’s considered an acceptable timeframe to reply to messages.
oDetermine if being late to a meeting is acceptable with an excuse or if the group dynamic is more casual and missing the first 5 minutes is not even considered late.
oFigure out every person’s communication preference. Some people like to be texted. S, some hate voicemail. For better productivity, use the method each person prefers.
When a problem arises, evaluate so you can improve. – not to point fingers or place blame
At different project stages, discuss what’s going well and what needs to change.
When related to work, keep your messages on-topic and simple.
Seek ways to get to know your team members as individuals – video conferences, private phone calls, meeting them when you visit their city, etc.
Respect time zones – always include the time zone in meeting requests and other communication.