Greg Lawson , Head of Travel Insurance at of Collinson Group, spoke to Mandy Langfield about moderating at the upcoming ITIC UK.
ITIC UK is taking place from 8-9 May in Bournemouth.
ITIC UK is always a great opportunity for networking, but what are you most looking forward to from the agenda this year?
Given the state of the UK travel insurance industry this year and the economic and political travel climate, I feel we have a series of well-connected, relevant and thought-provoking topics this year and, if we can get the audience engaged and contributing to sessions, it will be a lively and potentially valuable day’s work for the industry.
With 200 attendees, I’m expecting the usual challenges around price and profitability, of standalone versus embedded and comprehensive versus deconstructed products.
Hopefully, we can share and debate possible solutions, whether they be through human or machine design, and maybe make some material long-term changes that benefit all..
The session you’re moderating is about how the industry is coping with the increase in neurodiverse travellers. What is your experience of insuring and assisting this group of customers?
I hope this will be an interesting afternoon session that draws on the earlier topics of customer experience and product design, but with a focus on those in society that our current products do not always address, from ease of user experience and readability of policy documentation, to how our claims and assistance teams interpret circumstances where the customer’s neurodiversity (from mild to severe) may have influenced the outcome.
For example, does a digital journey often focused on minimising the number of steps to purchase, and relying on tick boxes and hyperlinks to important documents, best serve a neurodiverse customer with dyslexia, dyspraxia or ADHD? Was it right to change Policy Summary to IPID? Is Consumer Duty the catalyst to resolve this clarity and what is the ‘right’ price to deliver ‘clear and fair’ access to customers?
Lots to discuss…
The ongoing battle between what customers expect from the travel insurance sector, and what is realistic for companies to provide, is also under discussion at ITIC UK; where do you stand on this?
In the UK particularly, the industry has done well to reflect customer needs, from medical screening to annual multi-trip policies, and we have a fantastic 80+% penetration rate of the product despite it not being mandatory like car or home insurance.
However, insurers have struggled to achieve consistent profitability, customers are wanting more activities and sights to share on social media, yet our products have not really evolved and price remains a key driver of conversion rather than quality.
So, in our session, we’ll be asking how do insurers create, and how do customers recognise, the value of more accessible and relevant products? How can assistance companies deal with cases from stress and confusion to depression, schizophrenia and bipolar, for example, and how should we interpret claims for such when someone has declared their history versus when they have not (or could not)? There are no simple solutions, but never has there been a better time to widen the debate.
What does ITIC UK mean to Collinson as a company?
I think my first attendance was in Brighton over 25 years ago and the value I get now and what I take away is probably a bit different but it remains one of the most relevant and respected forums for discussion and debate in our industry. The focus has always been more around specific UK and Ireland industry, processes and products compared to other ITIC events, but our industry is approaching £1 billion in GWP, so we need that self-reflection in my humble opinion.
As Collinson has evolved and grown in that time, the team and I have very much enjoyed listening, learning and getting involved with our peers and industry experts, from the stage or in the audience, and I hope that our audience next week will do the same.
Looking forward to meeting up with colleagues, new and old(er) and seeing what we can do together.