NEWS


Protected Trust Services gains 162 members in a year


Ben Ireland


Protected Trust Services (PTS) says it is recruiting members “by the day” as it revealed 162 travel companies had joined in the past year. There are now 291 travel firms in


the group, more than half of which have joined since March 1, 2020. In total, PTS has 188 tour


operator members, 96 travel agents with a combined 163 retail outlets (including homeworkers), and seven flight-only businesses. Head of business development Jacqui Cleaver said members were


joining “at a rate of knots” because of heightened awareness of trust accounts as a result of Covid. In December, PTS rolled out the


latest version of its Financial Track and Trace system, which allows customers to see confirmation of when their money is in trust. Cleaver said this had led to companies joining “by the day” in recent weeks. “The consumer can see exactly


where their money is at any time,” she said. “Everyone in the industry has suddenly realised what we’ve built.” Cleaver described PTS – which launched to agents with at least two


Jacqui Cleaver


Daniel Landen


years’ experience three years ago – as “scaffolding” for travel firms, rather than a traditional consortium. Managing director Daniel Landen


said the company’s “Amazon store for travel” concept meant consumers could track payments online and “know exactly where their money is”. He said its “simplicity” gave firms


confidence and attracted members ranging from £30 million turnover businesses to individual homeworkers. Landen highlighted two selling points that appealed to new and


prospective members. He said PTS had not had to issue any refund credit notes in the past year, because money was covered via its trust account model, and refund monies paid back by suppliers were forwarded on to members within a day. However, Landen accepted that


money paid upfront to low-cost airlines still carried some risk to agent members as fares had to be paid via agents’ credit cards, but he pointed out holidaymakers’ money would still be fully-protected in trust.


‘Failure insurers will come back’ Juliet Dennis


Agents worried about future financial failure cover because of insurers pulling out of the sector are being urged not to give up hope. Following the recent withdrawal


of some insurers amid the pandemic, agents have been left to find new insurance companies to protect clients’ money should their company fail. To adhere to the Package Travel


Regulations, agents must protect consumers’ money against failure of their businesses by either taking out financial failure insurance, buying a bond or operating a trust account managed by an independent trustee. Increases in insurance premiums and bonding costs are expected.


travelweekly.co.uk Lawrence Assock, commercial


underwriter and product developer for Atlas Voyage Secure, part of All Seasons Underwriting Agencies, said new companies were now entering the market to plug the gap. “There are solutions,” said


Assock, whose firm provides financial protection insurance for the trade. He admitted agents would have to accept higher premiums, which he said had risen by between 75% and 100%. “Insurers were not getting


the right premiums before the pandemic,” Assock added. “With Covid, they see travel as a big risk.” Established insurers are expected


to return to the travel sector although many want to wait until the industry has revived, said Assock.


He said Atlas Voyage Secure had


secured an insurer, approved by Abta, to offer financial failure cover to agents, with another in the pipeline. The company has also partnered with one of the UK’s largest trustees


Lawrence Assock


in the travel sector to manage the early release of a defined proportion of booking funds from the trust account to allow an agent to pay a supplier early if required, prior to funds being released from the trust on the customer’s return. In this scenario, the agent would pay the supplier and receive the money from the trust immediately after proof of payment. Should the agency fail, the funds released from the trust would be covered by its insurance. Assock claimed the new trust


and insurance model was a “game changer”, making trusts more attractive to agents as they could pay suppliers early without losing working capital while consumers’ money remained fully-protected.


25 FEBRUARY 2021 7


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