You’ve been with Generali Global Assistance for over 13 years. Can you tell us about your current role?

I am currently the Vice President, Travel Insurance Operations. My direct span of control includes our travel insurance claims and customer service teams, as well as our emergency assistance departments.

What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the industry since you started?

I still remember starting with the company as a claims representative and adjudicating the claims we received that were 100% paper files. We were using actual sticky notes to bookmark or notate important pieces of information, bundling evidence via paper clip, opening buckets of mail to start customers’ claims, etc. Seeing how transformational technology has been in the industry over the last decade has been remarkable. The focus on utilising the advanced technology to better service our customers and make travel protection a seamless and easy process for them has been one of the biggest changes I’ve experienced. From guided electronic filing paths to automatic electronic payments, the industry’s tech focus is stronger now than it has ever been.

As a traveller now, you can be confident that we are continuously working to improve your ability to find a product that truly gives you peace of mind on your trip

Additionally, the expansion of what travel protection offers in terms of coverage has been exponential. We’ve seen the addition of vacation rental damage coverage, increases to baggage coverage, and focused products on emergency medical coverage. As a traveller now, you can be confident that we are continuously working to improve your ability to find a product that truly gives you peace of mind on your trip.

Generali Global Assistance works with some of the largest accident, health, property and casualty insurers. Why are these partnerships so important and how do you maintain close collaboration?

At Generali Global Assistance, our staff truly believe in and work to exemplify our ‘We Care’ motto. In doing so, we look to partner with companies who share a similar passion for improving the lives of people around the world. In collaborating, we increase our ability to reach a greater portion of the population and provide experiences that our customers need and are asking for. Sharing a vision allows us to have transparent discussions on how to continue to raise the bar in the world of travel and travel protection. Our partners are aligned on key goals, maintain consistent communication, and hold clear expectations regarding what we aim to achieve.

Efficient claims management is becoming increasingly important for clients. What is Generali Global Assistance doing in this sphere?

Truly understanding exactly what the customer expectation is, relative to claims processing, is key to being able to exceed those expectations. As the world of travel and technology has grown, so have expectations for how claims are handled. We believe you can’t have an efficient and easy claims process for your customers without starting off on the right foot. We utilise key technology during our claims filing process to allow for easy claim filing, while still gathering necessary documentation to make quick and accurate claims decisions. We are diligent and exhaustive in our communication to our customers regarding their experience, so we can make sure we put our time and effort into solving efficiency issues that are truly at the heart of customer satisfaction.

As the world of travel and technology has grown, so have expectations for how claims are handled

Do you think the international insurance industry can further adapt in the future to better serve its customers? If so, how?

With any growing industry, there is no such thing as staying stagnant in your performance. You are either adapting with the change of the world, implementing new solutions and preparing for future needs or falling behind. The travel protection industry has done a nice job of recognising the evolving needs of customers, and we must continue to be thorough in our assessment of what exactly is needed now, and work to predict what needs will be present in the future. We will need to adapt our processes not just to ‘do what has been done’, but also to build new processes our customers didn’t think were possible.

What new tech innovations are next for Generali Global Assistance?

It is an exciting time for the world of technology, and we are working hard to identify key opportunities to most positively impact our partners and customers. Leveraging the evolving artificial intelligence (AI) applications to get answers to our customers faster and more completely than ever is definitely a key priority. We are also exploring new communication programmes to better be able to communicate with our customers in the exact way they prefer. Additionally, we are exploring AI-generated data analysis options to be able to provide better pricing with better coverage to our customers. Generali Global Assistance will be at the forefront of using AI to further exemplify our vision ‘to be the most reliable care company in the world’.