Follows research that reveals 44% of Thai travellers intend to switch to an alternative channel for Travel Protection due to dissatisfaction with pandemic-related insurance coverages and claims.
BANGKOK — Cover Genius, the leading global insurtech for embedded insurance, announced a strategic partnership with Agoda, the digital travel platform with a global network of over 2.9 million properties worldwide, to offer travellers comprehensive travel protection. Agoda’s consumers will enjoy peace of mind with protection that is curated for their itinerary and instant claims payments.
This partnership follows a recent travel insurance survey that shows that 44% of Thai travellers plan to switch from their current travel insurance channel due to dissatisfaction with coverage and claims experiences. This is according to a survey, conducted by Momentive.ai, and commissioned by Cover Genius that observed 543 Thai travellers to better understand
sentiments regarding travel insurance, their preferred channels for obtaining it, and their experience when making a claim.
In comparing recent purchases versus future purchase preferences for travel insurance, 64% who got insurance through their health insurer indicated a preference to switch to another source. Of those who purchased from their travel provider or agent in the past 18 months, 61% prefer to purchase this way again. Findings show that while 69% of Thai travellers got travel insurance to protect themselves from pandemic-related issues since March 2020, 8% of these travellers had pandemic-related claims rejected. This makes Thailand the global lead across the 20 countries polled for handling and paying out claims suitable to the times.
“Since the start of COVID-19, our network of travel partners have seen a 647% increase in attach rates, showcasing the accelerated need for protection,” said Arijit Chakraborty, Managing Director, APAC, for Cover Genius. “In today’s environment, the nation’s leading digital and digitally-enabled companies — whether airlines, OTAs, cruise lines or even banks and fintechs — need to lean on insurtechs for tailored protection suitable for their customers, rather than relying on traditional insurers and legacy systems to administer protection to their customers in their time of need.”
When asked to rate their claims experience, customers scored an NPS of +8 for all sources of travel insurance (travel provider/agent, online insurer, credit card or health insurer). Thai customers who obtained insurance from their online insurer rated their experience with a post- claims NPS of -2 and an average completion time of 9 days. Cover Genius’ post-claims NPS stands at +65, the highest independently monitored score for any insurance company worldwide.
The study also showed a correlation between NPS and resolution time for claims, suggesting that claims backed by faster payments, clearer policy wordings, online status updates, online filing and avoidance of data re-entry can all increase satisfaction rates. The majority of claims were still filed in less than efficient ways, in particular via phone call (42%), the highest rate globally for this claims lodgement method.
“As customers expect a digital-first experience, now is the time for major brands to step up and protect their customers with embedded, hyper-relevant products that reduce friction and are fit for a future where customers increasingly want their protection to come from their favourite brands,” said Chakraborty.
The study follows on from two groundbreaking reports that showed customers — universally because it’s more convenient — have a strong preference for bank-embedded protection based on transaction monitoring, and they want the peace of mind knowing that their favourite retailers can tailor warranties and shipping insurance to their underlying items.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales. She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
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