RETAILING Travel Insurance - A Win-Win for Your Customers and Your Dive Shop – by Jeff Cinciripino, JeffCinciripino.com, Former Owner of Scuba Shack, Rocky Hill, CT
A couple of years ago we were about to embark on a long-awaited dive trip. Everyone was excited about heading to this warm water destina- tion. Less than a week before our de- parture, we received a call from one of our guests letting us know that
Shelli Wright from Divers Alert Network advises that indi- viduals take a good look at the differences between an annual plan and an individual trip policy by running different scenar- ios on their website tool. For more expensive trips that are in more remote areas of the world, an individual policy for that trip may be the best option. Unlike DAN dive accident insurance, individuals do not need to be a DAN member to purchase insurance. Shelli ad- vises that travelers should get their policy as soon as they book their trip. And while you can acquire travel insurance up to
they were unable to make the trip. There were some serious and legitimate reasons why they had to cancel. Unfortunately, they did not have travel insurance for what would have been
a covered circumstance. Their investment was not protected. Dive shops are in a unique po- sition to educate their cus- tomers on the benefits of travel insurance, offer them ac-
one day prior to your departure, Brandon suggests that you ob- tain coverage 21 days before the trip commences. For trip cancel- lation or interruption to be cov- ered, a policy must be in effect
cess to these insurance products, and generate additional rev- enue. A definite win-win for the customer and the dive shop. Many divers have long understood the value of getting dive accident insurance, and most look to Divers Alert Network to purchase their yearly plan. As dive professionals, we have ensured that our scuba divers recognize there are inherent risks in diving and that normal medical insurance will not pro- vide the fiscal protection should they require medical atten- tion while diving. Dive accident insurance, however, should
prior to a named storm, either a hurricane or typhoon. This can be tricky, so the advice of getting a policy in place early is advisable to avoid any pre-existing exclusions. Another misconception is that having both medical cover- age and trip investment protection is cost prohibitive, espe- cially for older divers. In discussing with Brandon, he indicated that this was not the case. As a rule of thumb, travel insurance without medical coverage is normally about ten to twelve percent of the trip cost. As we worked through a sce-
not be confused with travel insurance. Dive retailers should understand the difference and be versed in the basics of travel insurance to ensure that their clients are fully aware of how they can protect themselves financially should they experience covered issues before and while on a dive trip. By under- standing and offering these insurance products as an affiliate, the shop can also receive a commission on the sale.
nario, a policy including medical and evacuation coverage was significantly less than that percentage. Shelli also dis- cussed how both the DAN dive acci- dent insurance and travel insurance would complement one another for ad- ditional protection. It is easy to offer travel insurance to clients by having affiliate links on your website. For DAN, a free business membership is necessary. Business
First, let’s start with two different travel insurance products: annual plans and individual trip policies. While both offer travel protection, including medical coverage, there are some differences in what and how much of the trip is covered. Brandon Hughbanks, lead agent at Travel Insurance Center in Omaha, indicated that annual plans are well suited for in- dividuals who are doing multiple trips to domestic locations, where the policy contains basic wording with basic benefits.
members can set up a custom link for referral rewards, down- load a banner from that web page, embed their custom link in the banner, and use these banners in emails, QR codes, newsletters, and on their website to earn referral rewards. Dive shops can also establish an affiliation with the Travel Insur- ance Center by signing up on their website using the travel agent option. Once approved, custom links can be set up for referrals that will earn commissions.
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