Kellee Irwin, a Travel Insurance Leader, uses her immeasurable experience to provide an insight into the Canadian market
You’ve worked in the insurance industry in different roles since the mid-1990s. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen in the Canadian market?
The most obvious are in technology, data analytics and the accelerated increase in digital. From a technical perspective, the challenge for insurers now is the approach to digital business and the drive to become more sophisticated with how we model and manage risk, with customer-focused outcomes.
Being able to evolve, stay flexible and make data-driven decisions focused on better protecting Canadian travellers are the keys to growth and market leadership. We as an organisation ask ourselves, ‘What are their expectations?’ ‘What are the new fears and anxieties when planning travel?’ and ‘How do they want to interact with us and at what time in the journey?’ By understanding who your customers are and what they need, you can transform your organisation to better protect travellers – ultimately resulting in future success.
What hasn’t changed is that insurers that focus on better protecting their customers and doing what’s right for them will continue to win.
It’s recognising the fears and anxieties of travellers in a post-Covid world, making sure the products provide protection and confidence
What does your current role at Orion involve?
I lead a dynamic team of travel insurance experts who genuinely care about protecting the safety of Canadian travellers. My role encompasses partner management, product, pricing, underwriting and operations, along with brand and risk management.
What are Orion’s primary distribution channels and share of the Canadian market?
Established by a partnership between two CAA Clubs, Orion Travel Insurance focuses on the needs and safety of Canadian travellers – they are at the heart of everything we do. In fewer than 10 years, Orion Travel Insurance has grown to become a top-three travel insurance company in Canada. We provide protection and peace of mind.
Orion distributes individually sold products through CAA Clubs across the country, and employee benefits coverage through brokers and third-party administrators who align with CAA values.
What is the biggest challenge that the Canadian travel insurance sector is facing at the moment – is it regulatory, meeting the needs of an increasing elderly and medically impaired travelling population, or designing new products that adapt to a new generation of travellers?
It’s recognising the fears and anxieties of travellers in a post-Covid world, making sure the products provide protection and confidence for every step of the evolving travel experience.
At the height of the pandemic, Orion was the first travel insurer in Canada to extend its Virtual Emergency Medical Assistance to include in-province, providing easier access to emergency medical assistance while on the road in their home province. Pandemic restrictions highlighted this gap that had been previously overlooked by insurers. We felt it was important to add Virtual Emergency Medical Assistance to in-province travel, to help travellers preserve as much of their vacation as possible if faced with a medical emergency. The service is free of charge and was automatically embedded into Multi-Trip Annual Plans and Multi-Trip Annual Vacation Package Plans.
How is Orion using latest technological solutions to improve the sales and claims processes for customers?
Online quoting systems for travel insurance have been traditionally designed with business requirements at the forefront, rather than reflecting what customers actually need to confidently purchase appropriate protection.
As an organisation built with the best interests of travellers in mind, Orion embarked on a journey to change the way insurance is accessed online.
To inform this work, a team of anthropologists helped unpack how Canadians think about travel and safety. They researched opinions online, analysed media and sat down with individuals to document their feelings around travel and safety.
Using this research, the project team built and tested a few online user designs that were aligned with how people felt about, interacted with and purchased travel insurance.
The end result of this in-depth work is the launch of a reinvented online travel quote and purchase system, making learning about and buying travel insurance an easy and seamless experience.
Everything Orion Travel Insurance Company and CAA Clubs do is designed to keep members and travellers safe, ensuring they are protected in their moment of need. We are proud to be the first company in the market to go beyond the traditional approach to online sales that sometimes leaves customers feeling confused about insurance coverage and costs.
Are you seeing the number of travellers seeking trip insurance recover to pre-Covid levels, and is there a spike in interest in insurance from travellers who might have previously gone off uninsured, as they are more aware of its benefits?
We are glad to see a greater awareness of the importance of travel insurance and, yes, we are definitely seeing a change in behaviour. Our recent studies show that, pre-pandemic, 35 per cent of Canadians travelled without insurance. This number has decreased down to 15 per cent.
While it is reassuring that 20 per cent more Canadians are now travelling insured than before the pandemic, we know there is still more work to be done to inform and educate.
How has marketing changed since you’ve been in the industry?
One of the big areas where travel insurance marketing has changed is the use of technical insurance jargon. Orion has made it a priority to educate and inform consumers in language that is easier to understand and consumer friendly. We believe it is important for companies to appreciate how customers want to take in information and communicate.
Trust comes down to whether the customer is confident in your ability to help them when they need it the most.
Our incredible marketing team at Orion really helps us get to grips with what travellers want to know, so we deliver the message in a way that makes them feel assured, wiser and educated.
Insurance as a whole industry has an image problem, with consumer trust in the sector scoring relatively low in most surveys. What do you think insurers can do to improve the customer experience?
As a specialty travel insurer and part of the CAA family, our goal is to ensure that we are always looking for ways to better protect Canadian travellers – and that starts with trust.
Based on my years of experience, trust comes down to whether the customer is confident in your ability to help them when they need it the most.
To do that, we must build a bridge by demonstrating to travellers that they are never alone, and we have their back when they need help. It means becoming the ideal travel companion, there to offer advice and clarify how travellers are protected in a clear, concise manner, free from fear-based language.
By explaining how they are protected in an easy-to-understand way, and demonstrating how it supports their vision of protection, travellers feel wiser, confident and assured, because they can make informed decisions on insurance. This translates into confidence and trust in the company and their interaction with it.
