TravelMole interview: Beth Godlin, senior vice president, Access America

Perhaps contrary to popular belief, you don’t need to know much about insurance to sell it to travel clients, claims Beth Godlin, senior vice president of Access America. “Travel insurance can deepen relationships with clients, and be one of the most profitable products sold by online travel agencies,” she told TravelMole. She said since late last year when Access America unveiled its AgentMax, software specially designed to help travel agents be more productive, participating agencies have seen sales increases of more than 30%. “Cruise lines sell insurance off their brochures. So you don’t have to be an insurance agent to sell it. You only have to know enough to explain the value of protecting your trip,” she said. For those who think insurance is expensive, she points out it is less costly than taxes for a trip. Interested travelers — and estimates are that up to 20% of travelers buy insurance – can purchase from independent companies, but travel agents are better sources, according to Ms Godlin. “Agents are right there selling the trip. They have their customers right in front of them,” she said. “We’ve found in our research that customers often take the recommendation of travel agents, so they’re more likely to buy it from them,” she added. She outlined the case for travel agents to sell insurance earlier this year at the Online Travel Conference in Miami, and went into more detail during an interview with TravelMole. The market for travel insurance has grown dramatically since 9-11, which also spawned a demand for coverage against terrorism, according to Ms Godlin. Access America is a company providing travel protection services to millions of travelers each year. It is a travel division of World Access Service Corp which provides insurance products and emergency assistance services.