International Travel & Health Insurance Journal

Global travel demand is reaching record levels, but growing exposure to extreme weather, geopolitical disruption, overcrowding, and rising costs is putting greater pressure on tourism businesses to build resilience.

Great Eastern has partnered with fintech company Monee to make its travel insurance products available through e-commerce platform Shopee in Singapore. Monee, the financial services arm of Shopee’s parent, Sea Limited, will distribute Great Eastern travel insurance through the platform, extending the insurer’s reach through a digital channel that consumers already use for everyday purchases.

US travel insurance comparison platform Yonder has added Faye to its provider panel, expanding the range of policies available to travellers through its online marketplace. The partnership will allow customers using Yonder to compare three Faye travel insurance options alongside products from other providers on the platform. Faye’s proposition combines travel insurance with app-based servicing, 24/7 assistance, real-time travel information, and digital claims support.

Employee relocation challenges are putting overseas assignments at risk, with 38% of employers citing employees’ difficulties settling into a new country as the main reason assignments fail, according to research from international benefits specialist Everywhen. Feelings of isolation were the second most commonly cited factor, reported by 36% of employers with overseas staff.

Kenya has confirmed its first Ebola case and death after a Kenyan national living in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for seven years died in Nairobi. Health Minister Aden Duale said the patient developed symptoms about a month ago and was treated at several hospitals in the DRC before travelling to Kampala, Uganda, and then flying to Nairobi. He underwent routine airport screening before being taken to hospital by a relative.

Canadian brokerage group SIB Corp. and US-based CREST Insurance Group have announced a partnership that would create an insurance distribution business operating across both countries, with more than US$2.5 billion in gross written premium. The proposed combination would bring together more than 2,000 employees, 500 insurer relationships, and over 230 locations in Canada and the US, according to the companies.

Canadian travellers heading to the US for extended winter stays are being reminded to check how government travel advisories, pre-existing conditions, and trip duration could affect their insurance cover. The approaching ‘snowbird season’ – when many older Canadians and retirees escape the colder winter months by spending extended periods in warmer US states – brings particular considerations for travel insurers and brokers.

Thomas Cook has partnered with Cover Genius to introduce embedded travel insurance for UK customers, expanding the online travel agency’s ancillary offering. The partnership introduces two opt-in protection products during the purchase of Thomas Cook UK holiday packages: Travel Comprehensive and Trip Cancellation.

Losing a smartphone, laptop, or other device is the leading technology concern for international travellers surveyed by Global Rescue, highlighting how much essential trip information now depends on a single device. Twenty-one per cent of respondents to the company’s Traveler Sentiment and Safety Survey selected device loss or theft as their biggest travel technology fear.

US authorities are continuing a search for six people aboard a Latitude Air Ambulance aircraft that disappeared while conducting a medical repatriation flight from Bermuda to Boston, Massachusetts. The Gulfstream G100 departed L.F. Wade International Airport in Bermuda late on 2 October and was scheduled to arrive at Boston Logan International Airport in the early hours of 3 October.