Updated Protection Coverage Allows Suppliers to Help Travel Agent Partners Better Address Changing Needs of the Market

(TRAVPR.COM) UNITED STATES - November 25th, 2014 - The latest industry surveys suggest that adventure travel is a rapidly growing market. This offers an unprecedented opportunity for tour operators and travel agents to generate additional revenues by providing customized, branded travel protection plans that better address their customers’ needs, saysindustry expert Bill McGovern, president of McGovern Associates.  Citing recent studies, McGovern urges travel suppliers to review their current insurance packages to ensure they are best suited to meet the needs – and expectations – of modern travelers, who are younger and more active.

“Nearly every supplier offering an adventure travel product requires customers to take out insurance; and yet, they don’t always know what features are best to protect their clients as well as themselves,” said McGovern. “It’s important for cruise lines, tour operators and others to offer the right types of coverage, and that also means they must educate their travel agent partners about the best way to talk to their clients concerning their insurance needs.”

McGovern noted that adventure travel can be anything from bird-watching to climbing mountains, bicycling cross-country, shooting dangerous rapids and jumping out of planes. The needs of the extreme adventure enthusiasts are more obvious, but just because the adventure is “soft,” doesn’t mean that the risks are any less. Travelers are not always well-informed about their insurance options, and problems arise when they purchase “one size fits all” protection.

“We’re seeing increasing cases of disputes between travelers and their travel suppliers over what part of their insurance claims are covered under their policies,” said McGovern.  “For that reason, it’s important to review the wording in branded programs to ensure they properly protect all parties involved.  It begins with educating the supplier and their travel partners, and continues all the way to informing customers fully about their options and the scope of coverage provided by their protection plans.”

Adventure travelers are also typically younger, with an average age of 36, and often take multiple trips.  A travel agent who wins their loyalty is therefore practically guaranteed repeat business – and a customer for many years to come.

“In addition to helping them create the best itinerary, selling them the right protection plan offers an unprecedented opportunity for agents to build their business by fully meeting the needs of their customers,” said McGovern.

About McGovern Associates

With more than three decades of experience in the travel insurance industry, McGovern Associates is led by founder and President Bill McGovern, a veteran licensed insurance professional with experience exclusively in travel protection.  As account manager for the first-ever Tour Operator Protection program in 1984, he was a pioneer in the “white label” travel insurance industry in the United States, where he customized programs designed exclusively for the tour operator community.  Recognizing passenger protection as a new profit center for travel companies, cruise lines, OTA’s, vacation rental providers, and airlines, he offers a “one-stop shopping” solution that provides the full range of insurance services including comprehensive program reviews, RFP services, insurance plan consulting, optimization and redesign, and program management.   For more information, call 516-216-4626 or visit www.mcgovern-associates.com.

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