Jamie Biesiada
It should come as no surprise that sales of travel insurance and similar products are up these days.
Between the Iran war, February's cartel-related violence in Mexico and long TSA wait times at some airports over the past month, it makes sense that travelers are increasingly looking to protect their trip expenditures and themselves.
Global Rescue, which offers medical, security, evacuation and travel risk-management services, found that security and travel membership purchases from Jan. 1 through March 5 increased 29% compared to the same period last year.
"Travelers are clearly signaling that uncertainty and instability are influencing how they plan international trips," Global Rescue CEO Dan Richards said. "More people want professional support behind them before they travel -- access to intelligence, crisis response teams and the ability to get help quickly if conditions deteriorate."
I haven't seen any hard evidence to this end, but I would guess that travel advisors' clients are leading the charge to purchase insurance.
Covid was a wake-up call for many travel advisors; if they didn't sell insurance before, they were selling it after the pandemic. I've heard from many advisors that require clients to buy insurance or sign a waiver stating they're declining trip protection.
It's a good business move. Not only will most insurers be well positioned to help should an emergency arise, but insurance also pays a nice commission, and almost immediately after a policy is sold.
Industry attorney Mark Pestronk, who is Travel Weekly's Legal Briefs columnist, offers a free template of a general disclaimer. It includes an entire section encouraging the purchase of insurance.
If you're having trouble persuading clients, I've written about ways to introduce the product and tips for dealing with common client arguments.
If you haven't updated your insurance pitch lately, now is the time. In a time of global upheaval, offering insurance is not just a smart business move; it's important for clients' -- and your -- peace of mind.