Travel Insurance for Guest Speakers: An Easy Guide

As a guest speaker at conferences and events, you likely don’t think of yourself as part of the ‘entertainment industry.’ Yet, for many practical purposes, you are- including your insurance coverage! Today the Hencilla Canworth and Performing Arts Travel Insurance team dives deep into the nuances of travel insurance for speakers, why it matters, and how to get the coverage you need.

Why Guest Speakers Need Travel Insurance

As a guest speaker, you rely on your voice and your body to help motivate, educate, and enthral the crowd. If you fail to appear for a gig, you not only lose your booking and the cash you expected to earn, but you (or your client) could potentially have spent a great deal of money getting you to the destination, too. Here’s just a few scenarios to consider:

• You arrive, but not your checked bags: This can be especially problematic for guest speakers, as there’s a high chance your presentation materials are in your luggage! While airlines can be helpful with misdirected baggage, that doesn’t do much if you are on a tight schedule. What are the chances you can source new materials quickly enough to present them on time? And what happens if your luggage arrives ok, but is stolen on route to the venue? You can’t present in the messy clothes you wore when you left home!
• Insta-failure: Accidents happen. Maybe you stop for a photo op with other conference delegates, or you stunt a little trying to impress people back home or on your social accounts. What happens if you break an ankle? Remember, not everywhere has instant access to great health care, and any policies you have at home won’t cover you abroad. Rather than relying on strangers, you need the peace of mind that you’re covered no matter what.
• You get seriously ill: What happens if it isn’t a small accident, but something very serious? Strokes, heart attacks, and more can strike no matter where you are. Medical evacuation from another country can be immensely pricey. Why worry, when you can rest assured you have the means necessary to help yourself?
• You can’t get home: Your gig was a success, but severe storms rolled in afterward. Now you can’t get home. It’s not the airline’s fault if they can’t take off, and your conference’s obligations ended after you left, but you’re still stuck trying to find a place to spend the night and the means to replace the tickets.

These are just some of the reasons why you need smart, flexible, and customizable travel insurance to make sure your back is covered at all times.

What Travel Insurance for Guest Speakers Should Cover

Now you’ve seen a few of the many ways in which travel insurance can help you as a speaker, let’s look at some of the key areas you should focus on in a travel insurance policy. Of course, the list is not exhaustive, but it gives you a great place to start from.

• Baggage Delay: This will reimburse you for the essentials you need while the airline figures out what happened to your luggage
• Baggage Coverage: If your luggage has left you for good, this will return some cash you can use to set yourself up at your destination worry-free.
• Evacuation and Repatriation: This ensures that you are covered for repatriation back home in the event of a medical emergency
• Medical Coverage: This gives you some coverage and assistance in finding suitable medical facilities if you get sick or have an accident that won’t stop you from speaking, but will need medical care
• Delay and Cancellation: Trip delay coverage will reimburse a certain amount to cover hotel, transport, and dining costs if your trip is delayed for a covered reason. Trip cancellation will pay back prepaid, non-refundable expenses if the trip is cancelled outright, again for a covered reason.
• Emergency Assistance: Trying to navigate the ins and outs of a different country when something goes wrong is tough, especially as a busy business traveller. Access to emergency help in your home language can be invaluable as you try to find alternate flights, track lost luggage, or seek medical care. Having a nuanced specialist provider who is used to the needs of travellers like you also means you can get industry-focuses, specific help instead of just a generic call centre with no idea what the impact on your plans can cause.