Travel insurance for sports fanatics!

FA NEWS: What are the key features of your travel insurance product?

Ross: ACE Travel Insurance provides comprehensive cover for travellers. Our product offers market-leading cover at competitive prices, is easy for intermediaries to sell, and just as easy for individual travellers to buy.

FA NEWS: You have tweaked your offering to make it attractive for the ‘adventurous’ traveller… What additional covers can be included on the policy?

Ross: All ACE Travel Insurance plans include cover for ‘low risk’ sports – such as cycling, golfing and boating – at no additional cost. But it is not uncommon for a traveller to go overseas with the express purpose of going scuba diving, surfing or motorcycling… Some participate in triathlons while others try their hand at white water Canoeing/Kayaking or even bungee jumping.

We make it easy for individuals to protect themselves from the financial consequences of unforeseen sporting or leisure activity ‘events’. We offer an easy-to-use and pre-rated online system that provides quotations without the need to send information to the underwriters. Travellers partaking in sports that are not covered across the ACE Travel Superior and ACE Travel Plus plans can simply endorse the activities they wish to partake in at an additional cost.

FA NEWS: We take it the sport benefits are a ‘sweetener’ for an already comprehensive package of travel-related perils?

Ross: Our signature product, Travel Superior, includes features such as Unlimited Medical and Related expense cover, baggage loss cover of R30 000, cancellation and curtailment protection of R40 000 and a personal liability limit cover of R25 million. Evacuation in the event of political or natural disasters is provided, and even pre-existing medical conditions are covered for travellers aged 18 to 55 years.

FA NEWS: Tell us a bit more about the cost of travel insurance… How are premiums calculated? Does the cost of cover vary greatly from one client to the next? And how do you keep track of the insured risks on a particular policy?

Ross: We offer a suite of products to meet specific travel needs. The pricing will differ based on the plan selected, duration of a journey, the number of travellers, the age of the travellers and the sporting activities the travellers will partake in. The customer must specify the sporting and leisure activities at the point of purchasing the insurance and the policy will be endorsed accordingly.

FA NEWS: How is the product structured to accommodate families or groups of travellers?

Ross: Travel Insurance cover is provided for children from the age of six months and adults to a maximum age of 69 years under our Travel Superior, Plus and VISA plans. The Seniors Plan provides cover for travellers in the 70 to 79 years bracket. The following premium bandings are available:

• Individual

• Individual including up to 2 Children

• Individual including up to 5 Children

• Individual & Spouse

• Family up to 2 Children

• Family up to 5 Children

FA NEWS: Can brokers offer this cover to their client base? How easy would it be for brokers to place the business with ACE?

Ross: ACE has worked hard to make it easy for brokers to offer our product to their clients. Our system is designed to get brokers signed up and selling ACE Travel Insurance and other products with minimal fuss. We would like to hear from any brokers that are interested in taking our product to their customers.

Joe Average, a single male younger than 69 years, plans to bungee jump while overseas. He would purchase the ACE Travel Superior plan with endorsements for the extreme leisure activity. A typical premium for this policy, assuming Joe is travelling for seven days, would be R1200.53. In the event a person is injured while bungee jumping (provided the policy is endorsed accordingly) ACE will pay up to a maximum of R1 million for Emergency Medical and Related Expenses. The terms and conditions of the policy will apply in all instances.