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Terrorism, Bankruptcies and Emergency Assistance: New Travel Insurance Association Holds First Meeting
WASHINGTON, DC - January 18, 2005 - The US Travel Insurance Association, newly formed in April 2004, will hold its first annual conference to address key issues facing the travel insurance industry, including how to manage terrorism, bankruptcies, emergency assistance and claims fraud. The conference will be held March 3-6 at the PGA Resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
"Travel insurance is of growing interest to Americans, especially in today's environment of terrorism, natural disasters and looming bankruptcies," said Jon Ansell, UStiA Founding President. "Along with the growth comes unique challenges of how to deliver to customers' expectations and sensibly and reliably manage a business fraught with increasing risk. The first UStiA conference will feature an array of experts with in-depth experience in handling these issues and more."
Conference sessions include:
- Travel Supplier Bankruptcies
- Insurance Regulation
- Tsunami: Assistance Companies in Action
- Claims Fraud
- Selling on the Internet
- An Outside Perspective of Our Industry
Along with many UStiA member executives, scheduled conference speakers include: Peter King of the Federal Maritime Commission; regulatory lawyer William Woodyard; investigative consumer journalist Ed Perkins; Nadine Godwin of Travel Weekly; Jane Woodridge of The Miami Herald; claims fraud expert Robert Morrow; Robert Thompson of Lindblad Expeditions and Lorraine Sileo of PhocusWright.
About the U.S. Travel Industry
Approaching $1 billion in annual revenues, the U.S. travel insurance industry protects tens of millions of Americans who travel at home and abroad every year. Travel insurance is unique within the insurance industry in that it offers an unusually broad range of benefits and services. Bundled together to meet travelers' distinctive needs, travel insurance can include assistance services such as worldwide emergency hotline services and medical evacuation, along with insurance benefits for cancelled or interrupted trips, medical and dental emergencies, lost or damaged baggage and rental cars, travel supplier bankruptcies, and more. Travel insurance is distributed by travel agents, airlines, cruise lines, tour operators, credit card companies, insurance brokers and over the Internet.
About UStiA
The leaders of seven of the nation's largest travel insurance organizations joined forces in April 2004 to create the US Travel Insurance Association (UStiA) with a mission to foster ethical and professional standards of industry conduct, cultivate effective state and federal government relations, inform and assist members, and educate consumers.