June 21, 2022
Just Travel Cover: Their Smart Luggage Success Story
Case study: How the world’s first lost luggage parametric product has added value and boosted sales for Just Travel Cover
In August 2021, CPP and Blink Parametric launched the world’s first parametric lost luggage insurance product, Smart Luggage, in partnership with travel insurance provider Just Travel Cover (JTC) and underwriter Financial & Legal.
Since launching, the award-winning Smart Luggage has offered protection for thousands of holidaymakers as they travel overseas, and has provided real-time financial help for those unlucky enough to have faced one of the most anxiety-inducing travel scenarios: your suitcase not being on the baggage conveyor belt.
As we approach the first anniversary of Smart Luggage’s launch, we talk to Daley Gore, Director of JTC, on how it’s helped the broker to provide greater support to its customers, address one of the biggest travel pain points, and stand out in a crowded travel insurance market.
But first… what exactly is Smart Luggage?
Smart Luggage leverages parametric technology to offer real-time, automated support to airline passengers whose checked luggage cannot be located at the arrival airport.
Customers simply upload an image of their delayed luggage receipt at the airport, and the platform does the rest, accessing airport luggage worldwide tracking systems to identify where their luggage is. After 30 minutes of being unlocatable, customers receive an automatic £50 pay-out, with a further £500 if their luggage is still not located after 48 hours.
It sidesteps the traditional hassle (and delay) arising from claims forms – which can often take weeks after returning from a trip – making life easier for many distressed travellers.
An enhanced proposition & increase in sales
For JTC, Smart Luggage was a differentiator in what has become a saturated insurance market. It neatly addresses a huge problem in the travel sector and one that, unfortunately, is more common than people might think, with approximately 25 million bags mishandled in the average year.
As Daley put it, Smart Luggage “is an emotional product that people can relate to. We’re probably all familiar with that feeling in the pit of your stomach while you’re waiting for your suitcase, and this goes some way to alleviating that anxiety.”
And the added value it brings to JTC it evident too: “we’ve already sold over 10,000 Smart Luggage policies and it is rapidly increasing month-on-month, particularly for add-on sales. From Q1 2019 – the last reliable travel comparison pre-Covid – to Q1 2022, we’ve seen a 12.5% increase in gold policy sales, in which Smart Luggage is embedded, demonstrating its upselling value. It’s also our most popular ancillary product”, said Daley.
What do customers say?
Feedback from customers who have claimed via Smart Luggage or just purchased a policy has been overwhelmingly positive.
Nicola, A JTC Annual Gold policy holder, says:
“I used Smart Luggage and received an initial £50 to help purchase essential items for the night. There was absolutely no possibility of communicating with the airline about our missing baggage – their solution was to “file a claim online”.
“48 hours later there was still no sign of my luggage, and Smart Luggage, having tracked the process, declared it lost and paid another £500 straight into my bank account, as promised. This was without a doubt the easiest process during a traumatic saga and I am very grateful for registering when I did.
“The automatic payment left me feeling relieved – a little moment of calm when everything else was going wrong! I had just changed Travel Insurance providers and I’m glad I did. This was my first trip using Smart Luggage and I cannot recommend it enough.”
Mr McCoy, who purchased Smart Luggage as an add-on to JTC’s silver policy, also left a 5-star customer review:
“It’s very reassuring that I can receive an automatic £500 if my luggage gets lost […] let’s hope I don’t need to use it! Everything explained clearly. Will recommend.”
How was JTC’s experience of working with CPP Blink Parametric?
Smart Luggage has enabled Blink Parametric and JTC to form a ‘strategic partnership’, as Daley describes it, having collaborated closely along every step of the journey – from product development all the way to promotion.
“We’ve had an overwhelmingly positive experience of working with Blink Parametric”, he explains. “The team is friendly and knowledgeable and can think outside the box to find a quick solution, whether that is related to a product build or a common-sense approach when reviewing a tricky claim scenario”.
The partnership has not only brought positive commercial results to JTC and Blink Parametric alike, but also put the companies in the spotlight. In 2022 alone, they received joint industry recognition at the British Insurance Awards, where they were shortlisted as Broker Partner of the Year, and won the Yorkshire Financial Awards for ‘Innovative Product of the Year’.
What’s next for Smart Luggage?
While Smart Luggage is already available as an embedded or add-on product to JTC’s UK-wide network of insurance brokers, it will also be available to these partners to sell as a standalone product this Summer – just in time for the holiday season.
Its availability to a larger proportion of holidaymakers will hopefully mean less stress and a more enjoyable experience, as many look to make their first overseas trip since Covid hit.
– – – – – – –
Want to find out more about our parametric travel solutions?
Tags