Some new-to-the-profession travel advisors feel a little uncomfortable speaking to customers about travel insurance. Not so for the pros. High performers consider trip protection discussions essential to demonstrating professionalism, overcoming objections, safeguarding clients’ investments and growing a successful business. Their individual approaches help drive those objectives.
Some of the discomfort advisors feel about not bringing up insurance, or giving it short shrift, may stem from a lack of education on the topic or a belief that they risk losing a booking if they press the issue too hard. What they will eventually learn, say experienced travel professionals, is that developing a natural dialogue with customers is the easiest way to broach important topics, including trip protection.
Demonstrating professionalism
Travel advisors care about their clients’ welfare and travel experience but giving them options for protecting themselves financially and medically during travel should be standard operating procedure. Jill LaBarre, president of host agency Travel Agent Pro, a member of the Signature Travel Network, says a discussion about insurance “should be automatic,” so clients understand that it’s “part of the planning process” and premiums are “part of their vacation expense.”
How travel advisors talk about insurance is also crucial. “It's not surprising to me that my most experienced and top-producing advisors are the ones who have the highest closure rate for third-party travel insurance. It’s not a hard pitch; it's part of the standard service. They talk about insurance on day one. It’s not coming in out of left field as an add-on. They add value to the trip package, and clients will purchase it when it’s very well explained,” LaBarre says.
“The most successful advisors understand that travel protection is part of a broader conversation about planning well,” says Cory Sobczyk, vice president of Business Development, Arch RoamRight. “By discussing it early, asking the right questions and connecting coverage options to the client’s trip, advisors can turn what might feel like an insurance conversation into a natural extension of their service. That helps travelers make more informed choices while strengthening the advisor-client relationship and creating additional value for the advisor’s business.”
Sara Matuszak, owner of Have Ring, Will Travel and Have Celiac, Will Travel, describes how offering travel insurance is woven into professionalism. “Although I'm not the one to tell clients exactly what to do, they're the decision makers. I'm there with the guidance. I'm there with the number to call if they need help deciding between Plan A and Plan B, and I would question whether an advisor can be considered a true professional if they don’t offer travel insurance, because it is such an integral part of travel,” she says.
Many clients (including some senior travelers) aren’t equipped to navigate complex insurance conversations on their own. Thus, the advisor’s guidance and framing are critical. For example, professional travel advisors can explain there are multiple insurance types (trip cancellation and interruption, medical, evacuation, delay and lost baggage), provide quotations (many advisors have direct access to quotation engines as part of their CRMs) and offer educated opinions (clients with pre-existing medical conditions should research their options carefully). They can also assist with claims.
Matuszak views client education as a core responsibility of the advisor. “It’s what we do all day long,” she says, adding that when a client declines coverage, “it’s often a signal they need more education, not a reason to drop the topic.”
Getting past “no”
Because clients aren’t typically insurance experts, objections (I’m not planning to cancel,” “I’ve never needed it before,” or “I’m young and healthy,” for example) are common. Fortunately, experienced advisors can counter those demurrals with real-life accounts of missed connections, injuries, medical evacuations and doctor’s visits—both covered and not covered—that impacted their clients’ travel experiences.
Travelers often believe credit cards or existing insurance “have them covered.” However, LaBarre suggests advisors correct those misconceptions by pointing out the “fine print” of such coverage, which often details low limits, cardholder-only coverage, and coverage only for items charged on that card.
Melissa Eck and Sarah Riley, cofounders of Travel Squad Vacations, believe that being well-prepared, confident, and specific—with scenarios and personal stories—helps clients realize, “I’ve never thought about it that way before,” and “Maybe I do need this.” While Eck and Riley aren’t doing a “hard sell,” they do “strongly advise” clients so they can make educated decisions, they explain.
When talking about trip protection with clients, Riley also finds that a philosophical approach can help persuade them to consider their options. “Life can be thrown at you, and you don't know what's going to happen today, tomorrow or a year down the road when your trip comes up,” she tells them.
Eck suggests that buying insurance shouldn’t be a binary (yes or no) decision. There are many alternatives for travelers. For example, she says, there are different policies, providers and price points and “there are even options for travelers who are less worried about trip cancellation and more concerned about protection during the trip.” A conversation is precisely how advisors know what clients need and where their concerns lie.
Protecting client investments
Top performers see travel as a considerable financial and emotional investment that must be protected, not just booked. Some contextualize the cost of the premium to help clients understand the gravity of forgoing insurance. For example, Jill LaBarre asked a client, “Are you more comfortable losing $35,000 [the out-of-pocket cost of canceling the trip without trip cancellation insurance] or paying $800 for the cost of the premium?”
LaBarre also counsels advisors to normalize travel insurance costs. She cites car and homeowner insurance as examples of premiums people pay even though they seldom make claims. Trip insurance is no different than other types of insurance that “relatively inexpensively helps protect customers from incurring much larger out-of-pocket costs,” she says.
Matuszak believes in offering travel insurance to every client because, she explains, “You can't offer peace of mind to your travelers any other way. No single supplier offers a full cashback refund every step of the way. There’s going to be a penalty at some point.”
Growing and protecting the business
Discussing travel protection with clients not only demonstrates due diligence, but it’s a way for travel advisors to protect their businesses, LaBarre says. "Because we're in a very litigious society, smart advisors want to reduce the risk of a client later asking, ‘Why didn’t you tell me I should purchase travel insurance?’”
Eck says, “If a client cancels their trip and loses money because we didn't mention travel protection, it could get messy. That’s why we always bring it up, and we always make sure that when they decline, it’s documented.” Travel Squad Vacations customers must check a box (indicating they are declining trip protection) electronically when they make a payment.
Talking about insurance is an important business differentiator. For Jill LaBarre, the distinction is clear. “Do you want clients to see you as simply another way to book travel [similar to an online travel agent], or as a trusted advisor who answers questions, offers guidance and helps create the experience clients want?” she asks.
Commissions from travel insurance sales are also an important revenue stream for advisors. Because travel advising is a business,” LaBarre says, having the conversation about trip protection “gives advisors a better closure rate and rewards them financially.” Eck adds that not offering travel insurance “is leaving money on the table.”
Eck and Riley talk about trip protection across multiple customer touchpoints. “It’s a conversation we have at the beginning, middle and end of the planning process. We also have email automations that go out even after clients have booked.” Both admit they’re “very high touch about insurance,” and Riley says, “It’s typically why our insurance sales are on the higher side.”
Because business communication frequently takes place electronically, human conversations between travel advisors and customers are crucially important, Jill LaBarre says. “It may be easier to push a button to send a quote, or work back and forth via email, but travel protection needs to be part of a personal consultation. Advisors who take the time to explain why insurance matters are more likely to help clients understand its value rather than decline it.”