ACE takes travel insurance to a Superior level
In the modern world, corporate business travel is taken as the de facto standard. In turn, those businesspeople doing the travelling take it for granted that their company will ensure that their travel arrangements, baggage and health will be looked after during this time. But just how suitable is the insurance policy covering your trip? That’s a question which ACE Insurance has raised, pointing out that while the world has changed dramatically in the last ten years, travel insurance hasn’t.
Gary Jack, Manager for Accident and Health Insurance at ACE South Africa says it should go without saying that travel insurance is a vital cog in the travel plans of any businessman.
“Regardless of the nature of the business trip, the traveller will require a certain level of insurance cover to protect them in the event of cancellations, lost baggage and most importantly, potential medical and related expenses,” he says
However, while many insurers provide several levels of travel insurance, the offerings have remained pretty much stagnant for several years, with little in the way of improvement or development to adjust to changing realities.
Bearing this in mind, Jack explains that ACE is shaking the corporate travel insurance market up with the introduction of a comprehensive product known as Travel Superior. He states that this is not an improvement on an existing product, but rather a whole new offering.
Travel Superior, he explains, includes an increase in the overall limits of cover, the amount for baggage is upped – an essential factor given baggage loss concerns - and more than doubled the amount of cancellation cover. “The premiums on this product are a little higher given that the risks covered are more extensive, but we have worked to ensure sound value for money,” Jack notes.
There is more: As a further component of Travel Superior, ACE has entered into a partnership with security experts, which will provide travellers with the highest levels of security possible. “businessclass security assistance will not only put together a bespoke report on a particular country, pointing out what to do, what not to do and what the potential dangers of that particular nation are, but will provide hands on security where necessary,” Jack explains. “For example, if a traveller was stranded due to a natural disaster or security event such as Haiti and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a travel advisory or the Local Authorities declared a state of emergency, businessclass security assistance can be relied upon to provide evacuation services, and costs will be covered by the Travel Superior policy.”
The security company’s service goes as far as extreme cases requiring a personal security specialist. “An example is the recent Mumbai terror attacks, where travellers were trapped in their hotels. In such an instance, where businessclass security assistance think that the Insured Person’s life is in danger, a security specialist might be sent to help the traveller out of the danger zone and this cost indemnified by the policy. One really can’t ask for better travel cover than that,” Jack concludes.
