Despite the coronavirus having wreaked havoc on the travel industry, InsurTech Blink Parametric has unveiled a new solution for weary travellers.
The Irish startup’s new Blink Luggage solution offers travellers an immediate pay-out if luggage is delayed and offers service options ranging from lounge access to care benefits based on the travellers outbound or inbound transit status. Moreover, if it is officially confirmed that luggage is deemed lost after four days, travellers receive an additional immediate pay-out.
The news comes as the the travel industry has been pushed into a grinding halt because of COVID-19. Several big players in the industry has been affected, with PropTech giant Airbnb announcing a $1bn raise earlier this month to tackle the downturn.
Insurers have also found themselves facing a lot of pressure as many customers are struggling and trying to leverage their policies to ride out the downturn. Although, some InsurTech stakeholders have argued that the global crisis could provide the InsurTech industry with unprecedented opportunities as it might force insurers to embrace innovation in the future.
Paul Prendergast, co-founder and CEO of Blink, seemed to share that optimism. “Although travel is very tough right now and everyone is dealing with personal and business difficulties, we are bullish and continue to invest to allow our partners to innovate at speed,” he said.
“With the COVID-19 pandemic triggering a massive influx of claims across the travel sector worldwide, we face a major turning point opportunity for the travel insurance industry.
“Claims processing delays and system inertia are the ultimate proof that a major shift in how claims are paid is now critically important for the long-term future of the sector. We are working with our partners to deliver parametric solutions to address these challenges efficiently as Blink can process more than 60,000 claims per hour and today’s consumers demand and expect immediate remedy which we can deliver.”
The InsurTech landscape has matured over the past five years. Between 2015 and 2019, the average deal size grew from $13.7m to $38.2m, according to FinTech Global’s research. US-based InsurTech companies attracted $7.8bn of that amount during that period, making the country the global leader in FinTech investment.
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