Head of Travel Insurance at Taurus Insurance Services
- Mark Allsopp, Head of Travel Insurance at Taurus Insurance Services, highlighted the evolution of product differentiation over the past decade. He emphasized the importance of evaluating criteria such as:
- A price-driven mentality in UK financial services.
- Product design to meet a specific price point.
- Offering products in the same way they have been for decades.
- Allsopp pointed out that little has changed in the last 10 years, with continued reliance on price comparison for differentiation. Current cover focuses on the perils being covered rather than what customers would like to be covered.
- In terms of cancellation of sports and activities, UK travel insurance typically covers fewer than ten defined perils alongside more than twenty exclusions. In contrast, Australia has ten defined perils with fewer exclusions.
- Customers often expect full cover for anything outside their control, but insurers may not always provide compensation. Despite higher costs, “cancellation for any reason” (CFAR) products are gaining popularity in the US, while Brits remain price driven.
- The three main types of travel insurance policies in the UK are:
- Single trip (typically up to 180 days).
- Annual multi-trip (unlimited trips of up to 31 days each in a 365-day period).
- Backpacker or gap year trip (up to 365 days).
