Travel Insurance License Regulation Isn’t All Bad
A travel agency owner explains why moderate regulation can be good for business.
Editor and freelance writer Marc R. Kassouf
Regulation is a broad spectrum, from rules that provide basic governance in order to form a foundation to burdensome laws that make it impossible to function in a business or industry. The key when approaching a particular item is to accurately analyze where it falls on this broad spectrum.For the travel agency community, regulation takes many forms and not all of them are burdensome. After all, regulation is responsible for the state Seller of Travel requirements, among others, which help provide a basic foundation for consumer trust and accountability. As an agency owner, I believe that the requirement for an insurance license to sell travel insurance is a benign regulation. For example, California’s requirements for obtaining a license to sell travel insurance are simple:
- • File and pay a $22 licensure fee per year for a two-year license.
- • Pay a one-time fingerprinting fee of approximately $50-$70.
- • Pass an FBI and DOJ criminal background check.
Renewing agents need only to pay the same fee every two years ($44), an amount easily recoverable with one average policy sale. Preferred insurance companies may also reimburse all fees. While a bit tedious, this requirement serves a purpose. The licensure ensures that, at the very least, there is some form of consumer accountability (the state’s Department of Insurance, for example, mediates complaints). Licensure also denies access to those with certain criminal backgrounds, which is only a small barrier to entry that ensures a general standard.
Other types of insurance often require rigorous requirements, including examination and demonstrated competence in the subject, while travel insurance requirements (at least in California) simply require the above and a sincere desire to know and sell the insurance product. Indirectly, the licensure process ensures that only travel agents who can see the profit potential and who have taken the time to familiarize themselves with insurance products are the ones who opt in and make the effort to get licensed.
First published in TravelAge West magazine, July 16, 2012
http://www.travelagewest.com/Tools/Travel-Articles/Travel-Insurance-License-Regulation-Isn%E2%80%99t-All-Bad/
Editor Marc Kassouf owns Pride Travel agency. He holds numerous travel industry certifications and has received one of the travel industry’s most prestigious awards, the WAVE TrendSetter, four times; the TrendSetter recognizes excellence and exceptional achievements of travel agencies and their executives. Kassouf sat on two board committees of the International Gay and Lesbian Travel Association, has traveled to nearly four dozen countries and has sailed on more than 60 cruises.
