reason to be angry?

For about a month, travel agents have been complaining about increases in their insurance premiums, so much so that it has become increasingly difficult for them to sell an insurance deal today because of the rates or conditions. Visibly blame it on the sanitation extensions, which continue to increase by around +30%, +40% or even +55% in some cases.

La Quotidienne conducted the survey on the spot with the various networks and the increase is indeed general. The situation is even more complicated at the level of excess, which sometimes rises up to 30% of the trip amount, for Covid-type cancellations.

All our interlocutors are disappointed” how to sell additional products that were selling on their own a short time ago with premium increases that represent today our margin from yesterday ! “.

A travel agent (who wishes to remain anonymous) confirms to us that his broker would have reasoned with him that it is because of the colossal number of files processed during the year 2022 in direct relation to the pandemic.

And faced with such an outcry, many leaders wonder; ” It is a profitable product and we break our wings in mid-flight while we were there to support them when we had to sell them. »

Paradoxically, other travel agents have not undergone increases or redesigns of their deductions for a Covid-type cancellation:

” We work with a broker who is not referred and he has maintained a deductible of €30 per person including for a Covid cancellation, the premiums have not changed and our broker has confirmed to us that they will not change in 2023.

As a result, we at the agency wonder how it is that our network is not able to offer us solutions when other brokers are able to today, it’s the world upside down! “.

After approaching certain brokers, they confirm that the increases in premiums and insurance reimbursements are mainly due to the leading insurance company in the market. It would have suffered significant losses directly related to the pandemic.

By taking on a large part of the cancellations and quarantines, this leading company has paid the costs.

” It is the insurance companies that have saved our tourism industry somewhere by offering solutions. But now is the time to take stock and we can understand that they are doing everything they can now to stop the bleeding to compensate for their loss.

This company has always offered us differentiating solutions such as price guarantees or cancellation without reason and without justification, so we hope that very soon it will find balanced results so that we can continue to offer their guarantees, but this can only be done with more reasonable prices and conditions”.

It should not be forgotten that this is a significant source of additional income for travel agencies, which is why tourism professionals follow all these changes closely, without hesitating to bring the competition into play.

Another travel agency tells us “the market abhors a vacuum, I have no doubt that solutions will be offered to us very soon at a lower price by brokers who have been able to find reasonable deals and which correspond to the needs of our clients“.