London, UK: The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has unveiled its Insurance Guidelines to rebuild global consumer confidence to help encourage the return of travelling.
The guidelines are designed to drive the return of safe, healthy and responsible travel and ensure the insurance sector is fit for purpose to operate for travellers in the ‘new normal’ of the COVID-19 world.
Insurance is a vital part of the Travel & Tourism experience, providing peace of mind and risk mitigation to consumers, suppliers, and organisations across the Travel & Tourism sector.
Detailed discussions took place with key stakeholders and organisations to ensure maximum buy-in, alignment and practical implementation, to set clear expectations of what travellers may experience.
WTTC divided the new guidance into four pillars including operational and staff preparedness; ensuring a safe experience; rebuilding trust and confidence; innovation; and implementing enabling policies.
Highlights of recommendations announced today include:
- All organisations to provide risk management plans, including how they aim to combat COVID-19, to insurers
- Organisations to make sure their plans are thorough, practical, and simple to follow
- All staff to be informed of protective measures being taken, which include insurance products that will cover them
- Insurers to ensure audits identify and plug gaps in and source the right partners and providers to ensure appropriate coverage
- Insurers to create blanket insurance and crisis management coverage to give comfort to customers
- Ensure there is enhanced awareness of the terms and conditions, restrictions, and coverage limits of insurance products/policies
- Insurers to provide a minimum base of mandatory coverage for risks posed by COVID-19
- Educate travellers who are unfamiliar with the risk they could be exposed to and what coverage to look for.
Backed by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the new protocols recognise businesses and governments worldwide which have adopted them to rebuild confidence among consumers, encourage the return of ‘Safe Travels’ and enable the Travel & Tourism sector to reopen for business
