Australian travel insurer beefs up its European operations

An nib-owned travel insurer has announced a significant expansion in its European operations.

The World Nomads Group (WNG) has established a managing general agency (MGA) in Europe to directly manage its European travel-insurance business.

The new unit enables WNG to distribute and sell travel insurance in Europe as well as provide all claims and insurance services to its customers, including 24-hour emergency-assistance services.

"By establishing our own European MGA, we can take greater control of the entire customer experience, which we expect will drive growth and also allow us to better manage product design and pricing," WNG CEO Michael Callaghan said. "It means we'll take more control of the end-to-end traveller experience, allowing us to offer world-class products and services to more people than ever before."

The WNG boss reassured clients that the change will not impact their insurance policies.

"We've put transition agreements in place with our current European partners to ensure there are no interruptions to the traveller experience," Callaghan said.

As part of the establishment of the MGA, WNG has set up a new office in Cork, Ireland.

The MGA is now in place for the UK and Ireland and will also include the rest of Europe from early December.