September 2009
Travel Industry Award
ASTA Honors Cynthia Perry, CTC, Vice President of Travel Insured Intl., as Allied Member of the Year
East Hartford, CT Sept. 14, 2009 – ASTA, the industry’s largest association for travel agents and widely known as the American Society of Travel Agents, has conferred its 2009 Allied Member of the Year Award on Cynthia Perry, CTC, the Vice President of Sales & Industry Relations for Travel Insured International. Perry, based in Orlando, joined Travel Insured International in 2006, and is a 13-year veteran of the travel insurance industry.
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ASTA President and Board Chairman Chris Russo announced the award to Perry on the opening day of The 2009 TradeShow, the industry event in Las Vegas hosted by ASTA in partnership with 35 industry co-sponsors, and cited the Travel Insured Vice President’s ongoing service to ASTA. “Cindy Perry has always given special support to ASTA and travel agents, whether it’s sponsoring continuing education for our members or backing the work that ASTAPAC performs each year on behalf of travel agents throughout the industry,” Russo said. “A stalwart ASTA supporter, she always goes the extra mile on behalf of ASTA and its members, encouraging others to do the same. Her dedication to our industry sets her apart and for it, we are very thankful.”
Perry, a native Georgian who is a graduate of the University of Georgia, began her travel industry career as a Florida regional sales and marketing representative for La Quinta Inns before becoming a sales manager for Palm Beach Cruise lines and its short getaway cruises to the Bahamas. As a proactive allied member of ASTA, Perry serves on the ASTA Allied Marketing Council, the ASTA Board for the Southeast Region, and the Advisory Board of the Travel Institute, where she earned her Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) designation in 1996 before joining the travel insurance industry the following year.
Travel Events
Insure Tickets for 2010 Winter Olympics or Oberammergau
Next year brings a calendar of major events attracting both tours and independent trips. Headline 2010 attractions are the XXI Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver from Feb. 12 through 28, and the Oberammergau Passion Play in Bavaria, Germany, to be performed daily between May 15 and Oct. 3. The Winter Olympics occur every four years, and the Passion Play is performed every 10 years, with tickets expensive and in demand for both attractions.
Agents can insure their clients’ prepaid tickets, even if purchased in advance separately from a tour package, as part of the overall insured cost of their trip. Ticket costs are reimbursable as part of a valid, covered Trip Cancellation or Trip Interruption claim. The client sends each insured’s unused ticket, along with documented proof of their payment, to Travel Insured’s claim department as part of the required documentation when filing their claim.
Advance ticket prices for the 2010 Winter Olympics are listed at between $25 and $100 per seat for about half of available tickets, and at over $100 per seat for the other half of the available tickets. The prepaid ticket investment could be substantial for Olympic visitors planning to attend a few events. Advance tickets for performances of the Oberammergau Passion Play are listed at between 45 Euros and 150 Euros (equal to $64 to $214 at press time) per person. When your clients are insuring their complete vacation package or independent trip, make sure the price of their tickets is included in the overall price of the trip for the type of Worldwide Trip Protector plan they select for coverage.
Agent Conference
Travel Insured Intl. to Present + Exhibit at Home-Based Agent Show
Travel Insured International will be once again be attending this fall the Home Based Travel Agent Show and Conference, co-sponsored by the Outside Sales Support Network (OSSN). The event takes place from Wednesday, Oct. 7, through Friday, Oct. 9, at the Taj Mahal Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, NJ.
Travel Insured’s Vice President of Sales and Industry Relations Cynthia Perry will speak in a seminar presentation titled “Behind the Scenes for Substantial Savings with Insurance,” scheduled to take place from 11 a.m. to 11:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 7. Perry will present insights for home-based agents on how they can boost their earnings and create a healthier home agency profit margin by adding travel insurance to their clients’ vacation bookings. Perry, along with Travel Insured’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Sales Manager Isaac Cymrot, are also looking forward to welcoming travel agents to Travel Insured International’s exciting new exhibit booth at the two Home-Based Agent Tradeshow sessions. The first takes place from 4 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday evening, Oct. 8, and the second session is from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday morning, Oct. 9.
We look forward to seeing you in Atlantic City and helping OSSN celebrate its gala 20th Year Anniversary… See you there!
Giving Back
Travel Insured’s Summer Blood Drive is Resounding Success
Employees and friends of Travel Insured International rallied together to produce a major success for the greater Hartford community with the company’s first American Red Cross blood drive, held at Travel Insured International headquarters in East Hartford, CT, on August 5, 2009. More than 40 donors participated in a team effort that resulted in a remarkable 34 productive pints of blood captured by the American Red Cross workers at the half-day event.
The drive was organized, coordinated and managed by Travel Insured Customer Service Representative Ashley Gehris with the support of numerous volunteer colleagues. The results of the drive were estimated by Red Cross personnel involved to support the life-saving needs of 102 adults or 136 children thanks to the blood donations successfully collected.
The American Red Cross dispatched a Save a Life Bloodmobile to the Travel Insured building, where the vehicle served as the donation station in the absence of an appropriate office space to accommodate the number of volunteers, donors and Red Cross workers involved. “The Red Cross manager of the facility told us that even 20 productive pints of blood for the drive would have been an accomplishment,” said Ashley Gehris. “To raise 34 productive pints was a huge success, and all the Travel Insured employees who participated in this event are to be applauded.”
Gehris extended special thanks to the employees of Travel Insured’s neighbor company, Automatic/TLC and HOP Energy, based in East Hartford, CT, for their generous contributions. Additional generous contributions of food and beverages for donor refreshments were provided by two area restaurants, Subway of East Hartford, and Between Rounds, located in South Windsor. Gehris added that the drive is the first of similar future events which Travel Insured plans to organize and support.”
School Extension Coverage
Protect Prepaid Trips From School Makeup Days for Snow or Flu
Travel Insured International encourages agents to remind parents sending their children back to school this month that now is a good time to think ahead toward protecting their family’s next planned vacation. If the family getaway coincides with a recess on the school year calendar chances for disruptions are stronger this year. Remember that numerous school calendar extensions from makeup days occurred nationwide due to snow cancellation days last winter, and there is anticipation of some student flu outbreaks this year that could close schools. School makeup days may conflict with your client’s planned, prepaid vacation dates.
Travel Insured International includes School Year Extension as a covered reason for Trip Cancellation in its flagship, comprehensive Worldwide Trip Protector Plan, as well as in Worldwide Trip Protector Gold Plan designed for luxury trips, and in Worldwide Trip Protector Lite Expanded, designed for family and budget-minded travelers. Coverage may apply whenever the primary or secondary school where either you or your dependant children attend must extend its operating sessions beyond the pre-defined school year. The extended school sessions must be due to unforeseen events that took place during the period when your insurance plan was in effect, and your scheduled travel dates must fall within the period of the school extension.
Another family-friendly Travel Insured feature that makes the School Extension coverage even more attractive is “Kids are Free.” This feature is included in the comprehensive Worldwide Trip Protector plan, as well as in both the Worldwide Trip Protector Lite and Lite Expanded plans. In Worldwide Trip Protector all kids under 18 receive free insurance when they are traveling with a related adult who is the primary insured on the same plan. In the WTP Lite and Lite Expanded plans, one child under 18 receives free insurance per related adult who is traveling with them as the primary insured on the same plan.
Monthly Sales Tip:
Secure Flight Program Could Help Your Travel Insurance Sales
“I want to invoice the insurance but I just cannot do it because I don’t know the birthdates of my clients. It means I cannot quote them insurance until after they book their trip.” This was a dilemma for many travel agents until Thursday August 13, 2009.
Here is a government program called Secure Flight that can unintentionally help travel agents, even though it was never designed to help you sell travel insurance. It requires that birthdates and exact names of clients to match ID documents be provided in buying airline tickets. I have written in this space for two years that the best way to increase your travel insurance sales is to offer the policy as an opt-out and not an opt-in.
Invoicing the premium eliminates the price shock. It also allows you to avoid having to ask the client to buy insurance. You significantly increase your chances of selling the policy which benefits both parties. The client gets their much-needed coverage and you get your much-deserved commission. I hope you still do not think that you can include the exact insurance premium in the quote because you risk being higher then the competition.
As I wrote last month, many study results have been published recently that reveal the consumer is coming back to the travel agent channel to book their vacation. Why are these people coming back to you? Because you provide a personal service that no one else, especially no web site, delivers to them. Showing these clients that you are concerned for their money and trying to help protect their travel investment is a great way to start that new relationship.
I know you cannot invoice the travel insurance 100% of the time. Price is a legitimate concern for many travelers, especially right now. However, if you commit to this change and start taking advantage of this perceived inconvenience the TSA Secure Flight program has imposed on people booking airline tickets, I promise you will see an increase in your insurance sales.
Think about the home electronics experience as an example of how easily insurance is rejected when presented separately. When someone asks you to purchase insurance at Best Buy for your brand new flat screen TV, what is your unconscious thought? “I don’t need to spend extra money on the insurance.”
The same situation holds true for travel insurance. You and I know that they really need insurance with their trip. However, they may have a set price budget for their trip or any other number of things. When you present a trip quote include every tax, airline fee, cruise fuel surcharge, agency fee, or any other possible pricing add-on, in the total quote because you are including the value of the service clients are looking for from a travel professional. The lower internet engine quote will include none of the extra taxes and fees, and your client’s real sticker shock will be finding that extra web quote charges come without any of the personal service you provide!
Making the change to one inclusive trip quote does not take much effort. Use a waiver form and put the total cost at the top of the form. Then break down the cruise, air, taxes and insurance components. Instead of quoting a client “$3,000 plus an additional $200 for insurance,” make the subtle switch to “$3,200 for your vacation including insurance.” A subtle change can make a major impact to your client!
Student Group Insurance:
Educational Tour Op Bankruptcy Teaches Tough Insurance Lesson
The widely-reported bankruptcy of a New England-based educational tour company last May left 42 high school groups across the country with cancelled prepaid summer trips to France. Losses were about $5,000 each for hundreds of students. Protection plans purchased directly from the tour operator were worthless because they did not cover that company’s default or bankruptcy.
Parents and teachers can learn valuable lessons from the experience of their peers. One is that most groups affected by the New England bankruptcy would have benefitted greatly by using the guidance of a travel agent professional who might have recommended a third-party insurance plan, such as a Student Group Comprehensive Plan from Travel insured. Most of these trips were arranged directly by teachers with the operator that subsequently failed.
Travel Insured International offers five great group plans for student groups of 10 or more members. They include Student Basic, Student Basic Cancel for Any Reason, Student Comprehensive, Student Comprehensive Cancel for Any Reason, and Student Post Departure Plans. The plans include Trip Cancellation, except for the Post-Departure Plan, and Trip Interruption coverage that can protect your student group when a supplier bankruptcy or default occurs more than 14 days following the insured’s effective date. Each plan also includes Trip Delay and Emergency Evacuation benefits, and the comprehensive plans add Emergency Medical Insurance, which is especially needed when traveling outside the U.S. where U.S.-based health plans normally do not cover. Students work hard to raise money for their school trips and deserve to enjoy the educational experience these journeys provide. Don’t disappoint them by allowing them to book their trip without a Student Group plan with bankruptcy protection!
Question of the Month From the “No Question is Dumb” Mailbag:
How Do I Insure Air Bought With Frequent Flyer Miles?
This month’s question comes from Heather H.:
Q: My client is booking their airfare using Frequent Flyer Miles/Credit Card Points. How do I and should I insure their air?
A: The use of miles and points is becoming much more common but also creates an interesting scenario for travel insurance. There is not an easy answer to the question because each mileage program and credit card policy is different.
There is a simple guideline to follow that will get you started:
• If your client has a frequent flier mileage program, he or she cannot insure the face value of the ticket, but can and should insure the fee to “re-bank” the points or miles if the client cancels the trip and wants the miles reinstated in their program account.
• If you client has a points program earned through the credit card company, the points have a monetary value and in these cases the monetary value of the ticket should be insured. If the credit card company charges a fee to reinstate the points to the program, then the fee can be insured.
• It is best for your cliens to first check with their airline or credit card program to learn the specific terms & conditions of their frequent flier mileage plan or card points program and make their travel insurance decision accordingly.
Do you have a question about policy coverage or how to handle a specific situation? This is your opportunity to ask the travel insurance experts at Travel Insured. Email your question to icymrot@travelinsured.com with “Question of the Month” in the subject line.