Zurich UK in January 2019 announced it was backing London, UK-based travel insurance startup Pluto. Pluto targets Millennials, an under-insured segment when it comes to travel insurance, with up to 60% of them traveling without insurance. The underwriting engine blocks people over the age of 46. Zurich provides underwriting and claims management; Pluto brings mobile-oriented software that gives clients a standard insurance quote in around one minute, or three

Generali Global Assistance (GGA) in September 2018 appointed Philippe Gervais as President of GGA’s Travel Insurance company. Gervais, located at the Travel Insurance headquarters in San Diego, California, reports to Chris Carnicelli, CEO of GGA North America, who oversees the travel insurance and assistance, identity theft protection, and medical risk management business lines. Prior to joining GGA, he was CEO of Europ Assistance Belgium. Generali operates its assistance businesses

Zurich Canada in August 2018 appointed John Thain as Vice President, Travel, Accident & Sickness. He is based in Toronto and reports to Greg Irvine, head of Specialty Products for Canada. He will be responsible for launching personal leisure travel, business travel accident and supporting accident and sickness products in Canada. Zurich Canada expects to begin selling personal travel products by the start of 2019. According to Zurich, the

Zurich in July 2018 acquired Blue Insurance, a travel insurance intermediary in the U.K. and Irish markets. The acquisition was made through Zurich’s Cover-More subsidiary, which provides travel insurance and medical assistance services, for an estimated €70 million. Blue Insurance offers direct-to-consumer travel insurance distribution capabilities through online brands in the U.K. and Ireland. Blue Insurance will be part of Cover More’s Europe and UK business, led by Judith

A July 2017 report by Research Nester indicates that the corporate travel insurance market expects to see robust growth from 2017 to 2024 at a rate of 8.6% per year (CAGR  – Compound Average Growth Rate) over the forecast period, thanks to an increase in business travel. The European region accounts for the largest market share in the global corporate travel insurance market, followed by Asia-Pacific, while Europe is

The Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR) in late May 2017 released its Travel Health Insurance Products Position Paper detailing final recommendations to the issues it identified in travel health insurance, to enhance consumer protection and confidence, including: Development of common standardized definitions and terminology Improvements to the application, screening and claims process Simplifying and improving disclosure documents Ensuring adequate controls and oversight mechanisms are in place throughout the