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Consumers seek better insurance
Jennifer Morris
jennifer.morris@
travelweekly.co.uk
Agents are selling more comprehensive, “higher-end” travel insurance policies as consumers’ fears about security persist.
Consumers are “more conscious about cover” in the current climate, according to Ashley Close, head of travel insurance partnerships and business development at Holiday Extras, which sells 90% of its insurance product via the trade. The trend has emerged as Abta
revealed it was seeking a review of travel insurance regulation following a “worrying rise” in people travelling without cover. Close said agents who were
“already doing a good job of selling lower-end policies” were “shifting to policies which offer more cover”. “People are more conscious of
making sure they are protected,” said Close. “If they are going to areas that may be risky, they want to make sure they are covered.” Andrea Clayton-Norris, sales
director at Citybond Suretravel, agreed consumers were “moving towards the higher-end,
22% of Brits travelled uninsured in summer 2014
more flexible policies”. To sell or advise on travel
insurance, agents must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) or be appointed a representative of an authorised firm. When the UK financial services
regulator introduced “burdensome regulations” on agents selling travel insurance in 2007, Abta warned fewer agents would sell it. Abta is now seeking a review
of UK regulation of insurance in light of the EU’s new Insurance Distribution Directive which views “low-risk insurance products” such as travel as exempt from regulation. The directive will be implemented in the UK in 2018. The industry body wrote to economic secretary Harriet Baldwin and acting tourism minister David Evennett last week to request support, citing a “worrying rise” in people travelling without cover and a “marked decline” in agents and operators selling it. Abta figures show in 2012, 23%
of insurance packages were sold through agents and operators, down from 43% in 2004, and 22% of holidaymakers travelled uninsured in summer 2014, up from 19% in 2013.
Riley (left), Richardson
and Sherborne
P&O and Cunard boost sales setup
Hollie-Rae Merrick
hollie@travelweekly.co.uk
P&O Cruises and Cunard are embarking on their biggest sales team restructure for a decade as they look to offer the trade a more “tailored and personalised” service.
The sister lines announced
plans this week to increase the joint sales team headcount from 31 to 42, with “a significant number of the 42 roles open to internal and external applications”. A 30-day consultation period has begun with staff but parent company Carnival UK said it was unclear whether there would be any redundancies. Sales vice-president Alex White said the new structure, which will see all sales roles change, was “more logical”, but insisted the changes weren’t being made because the “current model was wrong”. He said the lines’ targets had changed and the focus was now on increasing prices as no new capacity is planned. He did, however, admit that the current structure was “too hierarchical”. The proposals will see the
creation of three teams: national partnerships, managed by Nathaniel Sherborne, retail partnerships, led by Shane Riley, and sales operations, headed by Natasha Richardson. Sherborne and Riley will manage at least three business managers, and the national and retail partnerships teams will also have field-based staff, with greater focus on building regional business. Richardson’s team will oversee
training and sales support. The new structure will include
dedicated resources for Cunard for the first time, giving the line a “greater share of voice”, White said. Under the proposal, agencies
would be grouped and managed based on whether they are retail or national accounts. White said the new structure
would mean the two brands would work “closer than ever with agents”. “The proposed structure will mean we can offer a more tailored, more efficient and customised approach to the trade,” he said. “We will have more resources.
The new structure is much more logical in that it helps agents who don’t currently sell a lot, as well as supporting our key partners.”
18 February 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 5 3 STORIES HOT
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