Firms bullish on travel insurance business

With the increasingly growing unforeseen incidents overseas, including the outbreak of swine flue, tour and travel operators are now aggressively promoting travel insurance as part of their packages.

Speaking to Business Standard, Amit Nagpal, assistant manager, Thomas Cook, said companies were really thrusting on travel insurance business and that insurance business was up about 70 per cent this year, as compared with the previous year.

Travel insurance is insurance that is intended to cover medical expenses, financials, and other losses incurred while travelling. Travel insurance often offers coverage for a variety of travelers. Student travel, business travel, leisure travel, adventure travel, cruise travel, and international travel are all various options that can be insured.

Gurinder Bawa, business head of Chandigarh-based International Travel House Limited (ITH), said even as ITCH was doing the business of travel insurance for quiet some time, it had started promoting it aggressively right now.

At present, ITH is insuring more than 80 per cent of its clients going abroad. “We are reasonably bullish on the travel insurance business as we have started aggressively focusing on this market,” he said.