The Appropriate Insurance Coverage
People are traveling like wildfire in the Ontario area. Plenty of families are planning their first or even second vacation across the world. While many of these families truly don’t know what to expect, they usually turn to the experts like travel agencies to inform them and help prepare them for the wild adventure ahead. Becoming a travel agent or opening a travel agency can be truly rewarding and exciting at the same time, but this doesn’t mean that the job isn’t without risks. For instance, what happens if your client spends $3,000 booking your professional services and they end up on the wrong flight, in a different country, or just didn’t think the experience lead up to what you promised?
Well, they are going to come looking for retributions from you and your company. They might even try to sue you. Unfortunately, this happens more than you could imagine and this is exactly why professional liability insurance was invented. Also known as travel agency insurance and errors and omissions insurance, this insurance can protect your business in the above-mentioned situation. It will cover any financial losses that your clients experience due to wrong bookings, misinformation, or pure negligence. It can also pay for court costs, lawyer fees, and lawsuits.
Always keep in mind, it is a horrible idea to under insure your business just because you want to save a few bucks. If you are price sensitive, we would recommend comparing quotes from multiple brokers. This will allow you to get a comparison of numbers and recommendations of the amounts of coverage you should have as a professional. Following that, you would be able to make a sound judgment about the cost that you will be paying.
Do you need any additional coverages? Yes.
While it might not seem like it, travel agents are truly posed with a lot of risks on a daily basis. And, unfortunately travel agency insurance won’t be the only type of coverage that you need to acquire. Fortunately, there are a variety of specific policies that can protect you, your company, and your employees in certain situations.
General Liability Insurance
As a travel agent, you will have a place of business where your customers come in and book their wildest experiences. While this might eliminate your need for commercial auto insurance, it does raise the risk of in-house accidents. For instance, one of your clients or even a mail carrier could slip and fall right outside your door and suffer severe bodily harm. What if a customer trips in your office and breaks their cellphone or laptop? These are the types of situations where general liability insurance can come in handy. In addition to this, it also protects your travel agency against advertising fraud. Any individual with a physical commercial property would be wise to get at least a $1,000,000 e&o policy.
Cyber Insurance
Travel agents have access to some of their client’s most personal information. For instance, on your computers you will probably record your client’s home address, business address, name, phone number, and billing information. What if someone steals your computers or breaches your data? This could be detrimental to your client and they are going to look to you for a solution. Cyber insurance can protect you in these exact situations. You might be surprised to learn that some large healthcare provides invest as much as $100,000,000 in cyber insurance. While you probably won’t need this much, $500,000 to $1,000,000 should suffice.
Fraud Insurance
If you are going to hire employees, you will need fraud protection, because there is always a chance that they might abuse your client’s information. If you employee steals your client’s credit card and overspends on it, you are going to be responsible. Fraud insurance is perfect for this very situation and you should expect to get at least anywhere from $500,000 to $1,000,000 in this coverage.
What Will Travel Agency Insurance Cost?
It is true that every insurance provider is different and each travel agency might have to spend a little more or less on their own personal coverage, but there are certain premium amounts that you expect to pay when considering professional liability insurance coverage.
- General Liability Insurance – The cost of general liability insurance can vary depending on the number of claims that you have made in the past. However, for a $1,000,000 policy you can expect to pay anywhere from $600 to $700 a year.
- Cyber Insurance – As far cyber insurance goes, you can probably expect to pay premiums of $25 to $50 a year.
- Fraud Insurance – Fraud insurance is going to cost you right around $50 a year as well.
- Workers compensation – Depends on your company, payroll, coverage, employee needs, and more.
How To Apply
Fortunately, applying for these policies will be the easiest thing you do all year long. All you have to is access our website, get your free quote, and wait for your application to be approved by a Canadian insurance company. If you had rather speak with an online agent or live individual, you can also contact us by e-mail or call our toll-free number.
Travel Agent Disability Insurance
You biggest asset in life is your earning ability. If you are unable to work, you will need to rely on either your savings or borrow money to sustain your lifestyle. When these unfortunate circumstances occur, dependents and spouses are also impacted financially and emotionally.
Disability insurance coverage will provide you a monthly income benefit, usually totaling 70% to 80% of your income, when you are unable to work for a period of time due to injury or illness.
Types of disability insurance
- Long-Term Disability Insurance (LTD)
- Short-Term Disability Insurance
- Key Person Disability Insurance
- Self Employed Disability Insurance
- Mortgage Disability Insurance
- Temporary Disability Insurance
- Supplemental Disability Insurance
FAQ before purchasing travel agency professional liability insurance
- How much professional liability insurance do I need for my travel agency?
- How do I get a travel agency insurance policy?
- What does travel agency professional liability insurance cover?
- What is the difference between claims made & occurrence form of coverage?
- When will I need to be insure my travel agency?
- What other professions need this type of insurance?
Other useful posts you should also read
- Canadian insurance companies that provide professional liability insurance for travel agencies
- How does the claims process work if I get sued because of my travel services?
- What is the cost of travel agency professional liability insurance?
- How do I apply for a travel agency professional liability insurance policy?
- How do I qualify my travel agency for insurance coverage?
- What is the purpose of insuring a travel agency?
- How long will it take to get an insurance quote for my travel agency business?