Company plan covers unforeseen travel disruptions
IAN STALKER
FocusPoint International says it clearly covers all the bases when it comes to ensuring that clients won’t be left high and dry when encountering unforeseen disruptions to their travel.
The company — which flatly states that it’s not an insurance firm but rather a company that works to “fill the gaps in traditional travel insurance products” — cites its CAP Assistance Plans as underscoring how it differs from insurance companies, noting its customers won’t encounter a claims process, it doesn’t insist that clients suffer a loss; doesn’t require deductibles, out-of-pocket expenses or reimbursements; and points out that CAP does not subrogate to another insurance product.
What it does do is provide coverage for a range of travel setbacks that most travellers wouldn’t likely even think of if they were weighing possible vacation disruptions.
“We’re the best product nobody knows about,” says FocusPoint CMO Stephen Anderson. “You don’t need us until you need us.”
Anderson adds that FocusPoint products don’t eliminate the need for travel insurance but fill in “gaps” that can occur in standard insurance coverage, from mishaps as small as losing a passport or forgetting medication to as big as needing an air ambulance to bring a traveler back to his or her home country, without any cost to that individual.
Its CAP Tripside Assistance Plans cover 10 different security threats and 14 medical benefits.
A CAP Advantage portal/mobile app is included with its plans. The app features destination-based health, safety and security alerts and advisories; a one-touch assistance button; pre-travel advisories and country entry and exit requirements; real-time GPS tracking and incident monitoring; health and welfare check-in features; country and city risk reports; and 24/7 access to medical and security professionals.
FocusPoint adds that the CAP Plan provides a “fully funded service guarantee, with no hidden costs or out-of-pocket expenses for travellers impacted by a qualifying medical or security event.” Plan pricing includes security/medical advisory services, security/medical evaluation services and technology services.
Those who subscribe to the service are a mix of avid and once-a-year travellers.
“We’re on the hook. We’re the one that pays upfront (if an emergency such as medical repatriation arises),” adds FocusPoint’s VP of Global Operations, Manny Fernandez.
Indeed, FocusPoint has 5,000 vetted medical and security professionals worldwide who are able to assist FocusPoint clients needing help. There are a handful of countries — such as North Korea – where CAP benefits are not available.
Fernandez — formerly with the U.S. Secret Service — notes that one of his crisis response officers was able to safely escort tourists vacationing in Peru to their flights home during recent political unrest in that country.
“We get asked that a lot — ‘Do we need that?'” Fernandez says of coverage for some incidents that seem unlikely to happen. “You’re never going to know when something (unwelcome) is going to happen.”
Among cases Fernandez cites of FocusPoint programs coming to the assistance of clients was a boater whose vessel failed and needed a pricey tow to a Bahamian safe haven, and people who become victims of violent crimes while on holiday.
The CAP Tripside Assistance Plan provides an app that features both general information on a visited country and news alerts if any crises suddenly materialize.
Meanwhile, FocusPoint has several partnership programs, all designed to protect travellers and “provide a significant additional revenue stream for a travel agency or organization.
