Even more nice as 1time integrates travel insurance into services
1time is living up to its promise of ‘More Nice. Less Price’ by providing the option to include travel insurance when you book your ticket. It has done so by integrating a specifically designed service from global travel insurance specialist ACE Insurance into its online booking system, allowing you to cover your baggage, ticket and time with a single additional mouse click.
According to Anya Potgieter, 1time marketing manager, the airline is always looking for ways of adding value to its clients, but without forcing them into spending more. “Our commitment is to provide More Nice. Less Price services to your 1time experience, without adding cost to the bottom line, thereby keeping the price of tickets low. Therefore, we like to give our passengers the option of choosing what we call ‘Bells and Whistles’ (valuable services which some people want to add to their booking, but which others choose to leave out. Choice means that you pay for your own extras and added cost to other passengers who don’t want the extras, is eliminated.”
Travelers looking to include insurance with their airfare can do so seamlessly when reserving their 1time seat through the airline’s website, http://www.1time.co.za/. After choosing flights and entering passenger details, the Bells and Whistles section is presented. In addition to ‘Meal Voucher’ and ‘Premier Lounge Access’ options, ‘Travel Insurance’ now also appears. Select that, and for an additional R25 per leg of your journey, you are insured.
Ross Waterford, Consumer Lines Manager at ACE Insurance, explains the schedule of benefits: “In designing this product, we looked at what it is the travelers’ want to protect most. Therefore, we offer Personal Belongings insurance of up to R10, 000, trip cancellation for the value of the flight and up to R3000 for delays.”
He adds that travelers want this protection, but without the fuss of filling out forms or payment of high premiums. That’s why, in addition to the affordability of the service, Waterford says ACE Insurance specifically designed the system in alignment with 1time’s already simple booking system. “We live in an age of convenience. Booking flights has become very straight forward, so we wanted to make it equally easy to add your insurance to the booking. That’s why it is a ‘1click’ option for the 1time customer, with everything else being taken care of behind the scenes.”
The behind the scenes activity involves some serious technology that connects the back-end information systems of 1time with those of ACE Insurance. That’s important but not a worry for the 1time customer, though, Waterford notes; rather it is the outcome that matters. “And that is insurance backed by a global specialist.”
Potgieter adds that additional information, such as the schedule of benefits and the policy document are available on the 1time website for review, in a simple ‘drill down’ sub-menu, accessible when ‘Bells and Whistles’ is selected.
“We’re pleased to add this offering, especially at such a low cost. We think it’s a perfect demonstration of More Nice with Less Price,” she concludes.
