| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 07/08/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 5 |
| Copyright: Other |
Reap benefits of commission
AGENTS should look to sell added extras to 80% of their clients and even the smallest retailers could earn as much as £10,000 a year in commission.The figures have come from Euclidian Risk Management director Steve King, who said agents should not forget that some added extras, such as insurance, pay 40% commission on some sales.
Despite the opportunity to earn extra commission, insurance sales through the trade are falling.
Ketteridge general manager sales Doug Weston said: “Travel agents’ sales generally are going down because of competition from places such as the Post Office, Tesco and the Internet.”
Sterling Travel Insurance sales director Elaine Jones hasn’t noticed any significant increase in the number of policies sold since airlines started to cut commission.
“The realisation of what is happening has not set in but it will,” she added.
“Agents will start to realise how important ancillary products are.
“There are opportunities to sell more insurance and they are missing out on them,” she said.
Preferential advises agents to either upgrade policies, for instance by adding business cover, or tailor them to the clients needs.
Sales director John Buckingham said: “An agent might secure a sale by deleting baggage cover.”
However, there is a worry that a training manual produced by the Association of Travel Insurance Intermediaries and ABTA is not being used by agents.
Called Be Sure About Insurance, the training manual attempts to explain the ins and outs of policies but there is widespread agreement that the trade has not bothered to look at it.
AGENTS’ quotes
“We ask clients to sign a disclaimer and give us their policy number if they refuse insurance. It usually triggers a sale.”
Alison MacCarty, manager, Bath Travel
“It is important to maximise commission opportunities from every customer. Our agency is very good when it comes to selling airport parking, although our insurance sales could be better.”
Vanessa Adams, Thomas Cook, Bicester
“It is down to how much an individual agent wants to push a sale but everyone needs travel insurance so we might as well sell it.”
Jean Hall, Bath Travel, Bournemouth
“As an industry we are not as good as we should be at selling ancillary products but we are better than we were.”
Malcolm Saul, Thomas Cook Plus, Leeds
SUPPLIERS’ quotes
“Agents should remember that 5% of something is better than 10% of nothing.”
Doug Weston, general manager sales,
Ketteridge Group
“The discipline is not there to ask the basic question: ‘How are you getting to the airport?’ It really is that simple.”
Stephen Lawrence, managing director,
ABC Holiday Extras
“Revenue is walking out of agents’ doors. We are all losing out.”
John Briggs, general manager, Suncars
“There has always been a bit of fear among agents about travel insurance.”
Elaine Jones, sales director,
Sterling Travel Insurance