Empires on edge? Time to focus right and grow
The Phocuswright Europe 2019 Empires on Edge event last week was an eye-opening and rewarding experience. One of the main topics discussed was “New Experiences: How tours and activities disrupt the European tour operator market and challenge destination marketers”. From my point of view, that’s because the disruption is accompanied by the need for millennial-friendly insurance products, which are aligned to the disruption that the travel market is undergoing.
First consider the statistics. European consumers are focused on leisure travel. The percentage of adults who travel annually in Europe’s three largest markets is 59% in France, 61% in Germany, 60% in the UK. An annual growth of roughly 3% in Europe’s travel market will deliver a €320 billion market in 2022.
That’s a huge potential market for e-businesses such as OTAs to grow. By leveraging the right solutions and technologies that deliver the best experiences to consumers, any online interaction can also be an opportunity for an insurance transaction, thereby monetizing the market opportunity and ensuring a win-win-win situation for consumers, e-businesses and insurers.
Why are such online insurance transactions a win-win-win for all? For consumers, they are simple and trustworthy solutions to real travel concerns, providing worry-free and hassle-free insurance with immediate compensation; and most importantly no need for any claims process. For insurers, they offer a new distribution channel – automated insurance processes that maintain full control of possible risks and eliminate the possibility of fraud. And for e-businesses, they generate ancillary revenue and improve conversion rates alongside enhancing consumers’ loyalty.
Phocuswright was a great place to share ideas and gain insights. And for us at Setoo, it was rewarding. Winning two awards – Travel Innovator of the Year and Homeaway Travel Innovation – proved to us that we are “focused right”. It confirmed that our mission to empower e-businesses to turn insurance into products consumers love is exactly what the market is demanding, enabling innovative OTAs and other e-businesses to create a delightful insurance experience for their consumers through simple, personalized and claims-free insurance products.
About the Author
Elana Marom is a full stack marketer who believes that marketing is about being present, relevant and adding value, alongside understanding how customers want to buy and helping them to do so. As Director of Marketing at Setoo, she’s leveraging her extensive marketing experience in start-up and enterprise environments to raise awareness about the paradigm shift evolving in the insurance industry and drive business growth.