Allianz and Embark Debut “Conference Insurance”

Allianz’s new product gives travel agents—or their clients—a guarantee that if they are unable to attend a conference, they won’t be stuck paying for travel, registration, and conference fees.

Called Allianz Conference Product, the insurance will cover a company’s conference investment for 5.7% of the registration costs. Allianz partnered with Embark, LLC, to create the product.

“We see a market that has a number of people that register and attend conferences that don’t necessarily have a business behind them that might be able to sustain that kind of loss,” said Allianz vice president of strategic partnerships Pat Young.

Young also said that the company is open to working with travel agents—particularly corporate ones who book frequent conference trips for clients—to provide a commission on the new product.

Travel insurance is a huge potential market that is often overlooked by travel agents. According to the US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA), one in six Americans cancels travel plans for one reason or another, whether it be weather, illness, or natural disasters. Over 152 million Americans spent over $2.2 billion on travel protection in 2014.

— Daniel McCarthy

Pic: Kounosu