Travel insurance

Policy

The University will provide travel insurance for employees of Cambridge University and its subsidiary companies whilst travelling abroad on University of Cambridge business. It will also cover members of supervised departmental field trips. Currently, no charge is made for this cover; the costs will be met by the University's insurance budget. However, employees and departments (in the case of field trips) are required to use the appropriate application process.

Procedure

Register the trips via the Online Travel Insurance Portal that is available from the Insurance section's web site. You will need

the traveller(s)' name
Their payroll/student number
The countries to be visited
The dates of the trip
The purpose of the trip and whether it includes any incidental holiday
Details of anyone else who will be travelling with them
Confirmation of good health and that where they have a medical condition their doctor has agreed to the trip

Organisers of supervised group departmental field trips to places outside the UK can also use the portal to register the trip.

See Insurance section [1] on the Finance Division website.

Tax implication

University travel insurance

Not taxable and does not need to be reported on the P11D.

Other single trip travel insurance

Providing it is for foreign travel, it is not taxable and does not need to be reported on the P11D.

Any annual travel insurance

As this can be used for private travel as well as business; it is classed as a taxable benefit and must be reported on the P11D.

However, if an employee is able to demonstrate on their own tax returns that the insurance was related wholly to business travel, they may be able to negotiate an apportionment for business use.

Alternatively, if the employee makes a retrospective claim and apportions the premium between their business and private travel during the year, then this does not need to be reported on the P11D.