TWO leading multiples are failing to give clients proper advice about travel insurance, a mystery shopper exercise showed.
Susie Tarver, who trains executives in presentation skills, visited Lunn Poly and Going Places as part of the research for her conference speech. She was looking for insurance for herself and an elderly mother with a degenerative disease.
“At Lunn Poly I got the impression there were only two travel policies – Lunn Poly’s and Thomson Holidays’. They didn’t go through the policy, but just advised me to read it, and said I would have to contact the insurer direct about my elderly parent who was travelling with me.
“My impression was that the agent was not interested in getting my attention as I was seen to be a captive audience.”
She said Going Places had a ‘terrific’ sales agent, who sold the multiple’s insurance very enthusiastically, but added: “It did cost one-fifth of the price of the holiday.” Again she was simply advised to read the policy.
Tarver also criticised direct-sell insurance companies that wanted to sell over the phone rather than send her their policies to look through before buying. “The documents they did send were not as good as those found on the high street,” she said.