Online Travel

Selling travel insurance has never been so easy. Brokers can now offer their clients travel insurance without E&O exposure and at little to no cost depending on amount of customization and branding. Simply add the new TravelRater quoting tool onto a Web site and travel insurance is instantly available and trackable. “It’s a no-risk approach,” says David Rivelis, senior vice president of CanAm Insurance. “Brokers can now sell travel insurance with a simple interface for their Web site, then sit back and wait for their commission cheques to roll in. We assume the risk and the costs for this tool, other than a nominal fee to customize the tool for a particular brokerage.”

TravelRater has been developed by CanAm Insurance and built by Compu-Quote. It has the full power of the quoting tool similar to ezLeads Plus (now used by brokers for home, auto and motorcycle quotes), but with an added twist — clients can check out multiple insurance products and purchase online.

“Varying medical questionnaires have often created confusion for property and casualty brokers when attempting to match their client’s needs to the most applicable product,” says Rivelis. “This online tool allows brokers to direct their clients to their own broker Web site for the client to access multiple product offerings. The brokers get their commission, they prevent their client from going elsewhere for this product and we have a top notch claims record ensuring customers will be well taken care of.”

Navigating the intricacies of travel medical questionnaires is not part of a broker’s general focus, says Rivelis. By providing a tool that allows customers to navigate through this process themselves, the broker eliminates any miscommunication regarding existing medical conditions. “With TravelRater, the customer is responsible for answering questions and submitting information for coverage so the broker removes any E & O exposure,” says Rivelis.

CanAm Insurance has more than 15 years of experience and expertise in the travel health insurance industry. Headquartered in Windsor, Ontario, and with offices in Vancouver and Toronto, CanAm understands travellers need affordable access to travel protection and assistance.

CanAm offers a multitude of travel insurance products, including single trips, annual plans, all-inclusive packages, as well as plans for visitors to Canada and international students.

TravelRater is built so that brokers can easily integrate the quoting tool into their existing Web sites. Clients can now explore travel options from the comfort of their homes. “TravelRater is an exciting product for Compu-Quote because we can now assist brokers even more in the online world,” says Compu-Quote executive vice president Brian Schwab. “It secures the broker as the trusted advisor and CQ technology has been proven to increase business and add value to a broker’s Web site.”

Schwab says it’s a perfect way to increase traffic to brokers’Web sites. This might in turn allow brokers to reduce overall staffing and overhead costs. “It’s in the industry’s best interest that brokers have more products to sell and prevent the competition from taking business away,” says Schwab. “If the broker’s customers go elsewhere to buy travel insurance, you know for sure that competition will be eyeing the home and auto business as well.”

TravelRater is designed to take users through the insurance acquisition process quickly and easily, step-by-step, building policy details into booking flow. Users can create an account to save quotes for 30 days or purchase the same day. Each onscreen reply the user provides influences what the tool asks next. This way, each user receives a policy that’s specific to his or her needs. Because TravelRater issues policies in real time, paperwork and overhead costs are virtually eliminated.

“CanAm offers a wide array of travel product choices for all demographics — families, single travelers, seniors and even groups and associations,” Rivelis says. “Ten minutes on TravelRater could mean the difference between a $60 policy and a $60,000 hospital bill for consumers. Brokers have the chance to educate their clients and then provide them with travel insurance products without assuming any of the risk for selling such items.”

“Our current brokers point to our claims expertise with ACM (Active Care Management) as being a key reason they use CanAm’s services,” says Alex Bittner, director of sales for Eastern Canada. “Come claim time, a broker doesn’t want to hear negative feedback about travel insurance. They tell us that we far exceed the competition in this area.”

CanAm owns ACM, “which gives us a tremendous advantage,” says Bittner. “We are not at the mercy of a third party for emergency assistance, claims adjudication and payment. We control strict ‘back-end’ quality and service standards.”