Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Cook spoils the broth

As in Britain's venerable (and newly defunct) Cook Travel Agency:

"Hundreds of thousands stranded after travel firm Thomas Cook collapses"

The agency had grown substantially since it was founded in 1841, to include not just airline bookings but also operating "hotels, resorts and airlines for 19 million people a year." As it stands, some 600,000 travelers are out their booking fees and will likely have to cough up additional cash for new travel and lodging plans.

This caught my attention: the firm "will need the help of governments and insurance firms to bring them home."

So I reached out to our friend Peter Schulteis at Global Underwriters who told me:

"Yes sir, this is why you buy trip cancellation and interruption insurance.

I knew they were having trouble, but this is really bad. They were over extended and made some really bad business decisions that ultimately crippled them.
"

He also provided a link to their Trip Cancellation & Interruption Plan, and added:

"Henry, here’s an interesting fact – A new study by the U.S. Travel Insurance Association (USTIA), suggests that U.S. consumers are spending as much as $4 Billion on travel insurance annually."

Wow, that's a lot of travel insurance.

[Hat Tip: FoIB Michael Bertaut]
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