With the booming tourism sector, 2023 will definitely witness the metamorphosis of travel assistance & insurance from a prerequisite to a trip essential. “Stay protected, so that you can be rest assured and do what you’re meant to do on a trip – Explore the world with peace of mind!” says Mr Dev Karvat, Founder & CEO, Asego.
The travel trade witnessed a massive upsurge in travel volumes as compared to 2021. Thanks to the enhanced mode of transportation and regulatory changes introduced by the Indian government to boost tourism. I am confident that 2023 will only amplify this emergence with recent technological advancements shaping the new market dynamics in India.
Today, India’s tourism and travel insurance industry is experiencing a strong period of growth, driven by the burgeoning overseas, domestic and inbound travel. You will be surprised to know that over 75% of Indians who travelled to Dubai, Thailand and Maldives last year purchased Travel Insurance, which was not the case earlier. Not just that, on analysing customers’ recent buying patterns, we realised that they have now grown highly product sensitive.
They now seek more value, rather than just going for undervalued and inexpensive ones. They are willing to pay more for their products, provided the price of the product justifies the value they offer. And thus, travel insurance is now also being considered as a huge revenue-generating variable and offered as a very lucrative travel ancillary service option by many of our prominent travel partners.
Well, having said that, I cannot thank our travel agent partners enough, as they are one of the most vital pillars of this great Indian travel insurance revolution. They want their customers to have a holistic experience and therefore provide a complete travel package including travel assistance and insurance to their customers. This change in the mindset has enabled us to lead as experts in this domain, and it is now much easier for us to reach out and understand their customer needs, to design tailor-made benefits for them. Additionally, we are equipping our partners with personalized marketing support to increase consumer awareness, cutting-edge technology for increased operational efficiency and dedicated relationship managers to help them boost conversions.
To further kindle this growth, we are also reintroducing the ‘Travel Agent’s Engagement Programme’, one of the biggest initiatives that we commenced almost a decade ago with a vision to enrich pioneering minds in the industry. Today it is known to be a platform to enable our clients to tap various ancillary revenue generation opportunities that enables them to upsell.
Now, with the recent spurt of COVID-19 cases in China, Japan, the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and Brazil, travellers have become more cautious and are seeking relevant protection plans with higher sum insured and value-added services that cover unforeseen medical expenses and ensure them a hassle-free experience, throughout their trip. With ‘Duty of Care’ at the core of everything we do and as torchbearers of the travel assistance and insurance industry, we consider it our responsibility to enable it for each traveller.
Asego’s array of travel assistance and insurance solutions safeguard travellers against various medical contingencies such as Covid-19, emergency hospitalisation, dental treatments, out-patient care etc. and other non-medical eventualities such as missed/delayed flights and hotel/ flight cancellations while on a trip.
With millennials reinforcing the global travel insurgence, we also offer special covers for travel risks such as loss and damage of gadgets, cyber security issues, identity theft, credit/debit card fraud, etc. along with specially curated protection plans for senior citizens, cruises, extreme adventure sports and other niche travel experiences. Additionally, our range of assistance services adds value and serves as a sigh of relief for every traveller, especially the ones who conclude their journeys without filing any claims.
We recently rescued a trekker struck by acute mountain sickness from the Everest base camp to the nearest medical facility through an air ambulance, where she could recover and recuperate from the unforeseen medical condition before returning home. We’re glad that the trekker had opted for our Extreme Adventure sports cover, which helped relay details of the incident to all concerned parties in no time and the emergency evacuation team could kick into action immediately.
All said and done, even the most meticulously planned trips could fall prey to unforeseen hurdles and result in a great deal of financial, physical, and emotional burden. Hence, I genuinely advise every traveller to first understand and identify their travel requirements and then opt for a travel protection plan that checks all their boxes, so that they can be rest assured and do what they’re meant to do on a trip – Explore the world with peace of mind!
Responses by Mr Dev Karvat, Founder & CEO – Asego
