Interview with Marc GUERIN:
- “Hello Marc, how did this first Grand Tour de France for Formations Assurever go?
Marc : Excellently well! A real success! And we understand why: after two years of health crisis, the recovery was a source of fears and doubts: the insurance and assistance guarantees having evolved without forgetting the new guarantees having been created especially for the CoViD, there was enough to lose your Latin!
Some travel agents have traveled almost an hour and a half to attend one of our training sessions! In some cities, travel agents even refused to take a break to learn as much as possible! And some sessions that were supposed to last 3 hours were finally extended by at least an hour. You can imagine how much these trainings were more than expected!
- For those who unfortunately were unable to attend your training sessions, could you tell us what were the three most frequently asked questions during your tour?
Marc : But of course ! First of all, in annulment, there is confusion between -Any JUSTIFIED Cause- and the formula -Serenity WITHOUT JUSTIFY-.
Cancellation for Any Justified Cause means that the insured has canceled for any GUARANTEED reason, independent of his will, JUSTIFIABLE and truly preventing him from leaving (eg traffic jam on the highway, vehicle breakdown), I invite you to read our article published in Tourmag on 02/20 which deals with this subject.
THE difference with Serenity WITHOUT JUSTIFICATION is that the fact of being able be reimbursed for the same reason GUARANTEEDindependent of his will and genuinely preventing the insured from leaving WITHOUT HAVING to provide proofWhich allows it management of his sinister file faster et plus simple ! I’ll give you an example: I’m a policeman, my leave is canceled (it’s a guaranteed reason) but my employer is unable to provide a certificate of cancellation of leave. Serenity WITHOUT proof will reimburse me because the reason is guaranteed, it prevents me from traveling but unfortunately I do not have the appropriate proof.
- The 2nd most frequently asked question has been a recurring topic for two years: do bank cards cover CoViD?
Marc : Well, the right questions to ask about this are – to what extent do bank cards cover the reasons related to CoViD? with what limits (or what coverage ceiling)? and on what guarantees exactly (cancellation before departure? assistance during the stay?)
We invite, in this case, agency customers to read very carefully the details of the guarantees of their bank cards. Quite generally, they do not cover contact cases or the absence of vaccination in cancellation; and assistance, please note that most credit card contracts do not cover hotel costs following quarantine. But these are just a few examples of unsupported ones, there are more…
- Finally, the 3rd most frequently asked question concerning health protection, will we soon no longer need it?
Marc : On the contrary, it is more topical than ever! We have highlighted our new epidemic guarantee with the CoViD, since it has been THE subject for two years and this in order to reassure our policyholders that they could book and travel in complete peace of mind despite the current health context, but this guarantee covers all epidemics, not just CoViD, and unfortunately we are not immune to future similar events. But I obviously do not wish it on us, neither on our tourism professionals, nor on our insurers.
- A few more practical questions: who can attend these training sessions? And what is their cost?
Marc : All tourism professionals can attend our training! Whether they are our customers or not! In integrated or independent network! Among our trainees, there are specialists in group travel, business managers, tourism, coach operators, ticket agents, it is precisely the mixture of sectors of activity and networks that enriches the training and allows everyone to broaden their knowledge: the sharing of experiences and know-how of each increases the expertise of all.
- A little last: is a 2nd Tour de France planned soon?
Marc : Yes quite ! this first Tour De France was a refresh after two long years of health crisis (the basics of insurance, assistance, how to open a claim file and allow faster compensation, which formula to take out, etc.). Reviewing these basics has allowed travel agents to regain their self-confidence. And in view of this initial success and the very positive feedback recorded in our satisfaction questionnaires completed after each session, travel agents are very clearly in demand for additional information, more targeted training on specific topics, on guarantees in particular and on our niche products.
We are therefore planning a much wider range of our modules that we will offer “all public”, or more personalized, or by sector of activity (coach operators, group operators, business platforms) according to the wishes of our customers and we will also offer the possibility of creating tailor-made modules, “à la carte” for mini-networks that would like to offer the most suitable training to their employees, for example!
In addition to the 18 major steps that we did in May-June 2022 and that we will reposition, we also plan to go to cities closer to travel agents in order to allow them easier and faster access to training. Finally, the trainees will be given a diploma that they can display in the agency, which will reassure the customer about the expertise of their travel advisor.
- Thank you Marc for all these details, enough to make future trainees want to learn more and register quickly for the next sessions!
Marc : Thank you to each of you and we look forward to sharing our knowledge soon »
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