Self Funded Work Travel is Discouraging Freelance Assessors & Loss Adjusters

Here’s the word from Roomex, who have discovered how de-motivating self funded travel expenses can be – essentially you are lending the company cash and receiving zero interest for the credit facility. Often doing all the hotel bookings in your own time too.

Last minute jobs and self-funded work travel is draining cash and job satisfaction from the UK’s financial services workforce, particularly those in the insurance industry, such as claims assessors, field-based underwriters, and loss adjusters. Many face delays with reimbursement and stress that’s making them question their future in the sector.

According to the survey, commissioned by leading workforce travel booking and management platform Roomex, 76% regularly use their own money or personal credit cards to cover travel costs such as accommodation and transport.

Of those who do, 1 in 3 (32%) wait more than three weeks to be reimbursed. In addition to reimbursable costs, workers reported spending an average of £68.20 per day on unclaimable extras, such as activities to pass the time while away from home.

The findings are published in Roomex’s new Reinventing the Journey – Financial Services Report and is based on a survey of more than 1,400 UK workers, including 101 financial services staff who frequently travel, and 105 workers who book travel at scale for businesses.

In a further indication of workforce travel arrangements in the sector, 70% of financial service workers, including mobile insurance professionals handling claims and inspections, admit they either struggle with a limited choice of hotels, transport options, or healthy food options when travelling for work, and 2 in 5 (39%) experience poor work-life balance from frequent travel.

1 in 4 (23%) feel their employer could implement better travel planning to avoid last-minute stress, with 45% feeling there could be better or more support when it comes to travel policies.

These findings highlight the broader toll workforce travel is taking on financial services staff, with 54% admitting they’ve either left or considered leaving a job due to how travel is handled.

Garry Moroney, CEO at Roomex, commented: “The financial services industry has to scrutinise regulatory detail and cost control every day, yet many businesses within the industry seem to overlook the cost their staff are absorbing when travelling for work. When auditors and relationship managers are front-loading the cost per trip and then chasing reimbursement for weeks, frustration in the workplace will climb, morale slips and high-class talent risk walking out the door as a result.”

The report suggests that last-minute bookings, inconsistent expense processes, and a lack of visibility over spending are contributing to both financial inefficiency and growing frustration among staff.

Following the report, the platform is calling on employers in the sector to review how travel is managed, particularly for insurance claims teams, assessors, and field support staff who are frequently on the road. As well as consider tools that can remove the burden from workers while improving control and oversight.

Roomex is a free-to-use workforce travel platform which offers the largest selection of workforce-suitable hotels worldwide, exclusive discounted rates, robust expense management, and real-time visibility into travel spend, helping companies lower costs by an average of 18% on accommodation annually.

For more information on how Roomex can help streamline workforce travel and to try it for free, visit Roomex.com.