Thai travel protection boosted by Cover Genius option

Agoda, the digital travel platform with a global network of over 2.9 million properties worldwide, has teamed up with Cover Genius to offer travellers comprehensive travel protection in a deal that will bring Agoda’s consumers protection that is curated for their itinerary and instant claims payments.

The deal follows the results of a recent travel insurance survey that shows that 44 per cent of Thai travellers plan to switch from their current travel insurance channel due to dissatisfaction with coverage and claims experiences. The survey was conducted by Momentive.ai, and commissioned by Cover Genius, and polled 543 Thai travellers to better understand sentiments regarding travel insurance, their preferred channels for obtaining it, and their experience when making a claim.

Why do Thai travellers buy insurance?

In comparing recent purchases versus future purchase preferences for travel insurance, 64 per cent 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 per cent prefer to purchase this way again. Findings show that while 69 per cent of Thai travellers got travel insurance to protect themselves from pandemic-related issues since March 2020, 8 per cent 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 per cent 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.”

Customer claims experience key to loyalty

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. 

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 per cent), the highest rate globally for this method of claiming.

“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.