“In my haste to get away on my first sunny holiday in over two years, I forgot to sort out travel insurance! Your company was the only one to consider insuring me after I had arrived at my destination.” – Ann, Trustpilot review
Ever wondered why you can’t buy travel insurance when you’re already abroad?
It doesn’t make much sense, right? You can buy car insurance when you already own the car. And home contents insurance when you’re already living in a house full of possessions.
So, why not travel insurance?
At battleface, we pondered that mystery and decided to do things differently.
home or abroad
Our UK product can be purchased from the comfort of your own home months before you travel. Or from your foreign destination once your trip is already underway (with cover starting after 24 hours).
And people seem to appreciate that. From the absent-minded city breakers who suddenly realise they’re not covered in Budapest to the worried mum ensuring her backpacking son won’t be saddled with medical debt in Argentina.
And these are anything but rare cases. Prior to the pandemic, research by The Travel Association, ABTA, found that 21% of Brits had travelled without insurance in the previous 12 months. Of those who found themselves shelling out money for additional holiday costs due to being uninsured or not suitably insured, more than a third (34%) had to spend between £500 and £4,000.
That means families enjoying a week or two in the sun, adventure-seekers going wherever the trail takes them, and couples enjoying a weekend away – unprepared for a minor hiccup or a major crisis.
How many of that cohort regretted their decision to not take out cover? And how many presumed – wrongly – that the ship had sailed by the time they’d left British soil?
Transforming travel insurance
This unique approach to selling travel insurance is part of a broader effort by battleface to transform the relationship between insurer and the insured. To not only offer products that reflect people travel but also how they purchase those products.
Travellers are tired of rigid and unsuitable cover that assumes a knowledge base usually reserved for professional underwriters. They want clear information, flexible options, and the ability to make changes if their travel plans change – because whywouldn’ttheir travel plans change?
As traveller confidence returns in the wake of COVID-19, we can expect many more last-minute trips, casual weekends away, and intrepid backpackers looking to take on the world.
And at battleface, we’re ready for them.