A few days ago Insurance Edge ran a Top 5 predictions for 2018 opinion piece, and one of the key developments many in the industry are tipping for rapid adoption is PAYG – Pay As You Go – Insurance cover.
It isn’t just motor insurance, other sectors are also about to change as consumers reject the concept of year-round cover, in favour of more flexible products. Now, one of the biggest players in the UK holiday market is launching its own travel insurance product. Here’s the news from Thomas Cook;
Thomas Cook Money brings all of Thomas Cook’s existing financial services under one roof, but will also focus on launching innovative new products to help customers plan, save, borrow and spend their holiday money, both at home and abroad.
Thomas Cook Money is launching in the UK with two new products, which it plans to roll out across other markets in the coming months.
Roam is a brand new product, which gives holidaymakers unique control over their insurance, with an app that enables them to tailor their cover on a per-trip, per-day and per-person basis. Developed in-house by Thomas Cook Money, Roam offers a fast and simple sign-up and the ability to manage everything via the app, right up to the moment of departure, giving holidaymakers on-demand control over their travel insurance, including refunds on unused days should trips end earlier than expected.
The second product, Lyk, represents a major revamp of Thomas Cook’s prepaid travel card offering. Lyk is an app-based service which gives customers a contactless payment card that can be loaded in ten major currencies and, as a Mastercard, is accepted worldwide.
Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook, said:
“Digital disruption has thrown down a challenge to every industry. The launch of Thomas Cook Money, under the leadership of Anth Mooney, is our opportunity to transform the world of holiday money by embracing the very latest technology, with an innovative and fresh approach.”
Insurance Edge Comment;
There is a world of difference between a solo cycling holiday in Croatia, a family package deal in Cyprus, or a luxury cruise around the Caribbean. But when you look at the T&Cs of the typical Travel Insurance policy, you’d think that everyone was on the same type of vacation. In a market where consumers `pick and mix’ their options and bolt-ons, from satellite TV packages to city breaks in European capitals, travel insurance looks set for some disruptice changes.
The Thomas Cook initiative is a major step forward, but it will probably be a smaller, more innovative rival that manages to offer something akin to Spotify for travellers; a genuinely bespoke, incredibly flexible and real-time method of managing your travel insurance needs – including the tricky business of dealing with claims and repatriation in an emergency – all via an intuitive smartphone interface.
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