Mondial Assistance to introduce e-commerce travel insurance business in India

France-based Mondial Assistance Group, one of the leading global providers of travel insurance and travel medical assistance services, will now enter the e-commerce travel insurance sector in India. The company has signed a global deal with a leading Indian carrier and is also in final negotiations with a number of international and local OTAs (Online Travel Agents) having a presence in India. Mondial Assistance will introduce its e-commerce travel insurance business in India providing a complete end- to-end online travel insurance solution to OTAs, airlines, hotels and tour operators by the third Quarter of this year. The company will also provide XML gateway for subscription and payments online through Mondial’s E-magin solution for travel insurance. The solution will enable the company to deliver multiple services online like products, quotation, payment handling, travel insurance policies, online statistics and sales and invoicing reports.� �

“We have been approached by most domestic airlines and OTAs along with a few hoteliers and tour operators to enable online travel insurance solution for them,” said Rajesh Sethi, CEO – India, Mondial Assistance Group. While refusing to disclose names of any airline or OTA, he further added, “We have already started the work of integrating the e-commerce business with two of the business partners we have signed up. I think by Quarter three of this year, we will start operating our e-commerce-enabled travel insurance business in India, the first of its kind in India.”

Explaining the interest of Mondial Assistance in India, Sethi said, “The Indian e-commerce sector is growing at the rate of 300 per cent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate), whereas other Asian countries are still nearing 100 per cent. Thus, the opportunities for e-commerce platform in India are more and the Indian CAGR is still on the rise.” With the increasing penetration of Internet, booking for air tickets online is on the rise. “With the rising number of air ticket bookings, hotels will also sell packages online, which in turn will fuel the growth of travel insurance. Since clients are buying travel products online, travel insurance has a great future in the online market,” added Sethi.

“We already have established business in India for roadside assistance services for car manufacturers like, Ford Roadside Assistance, Honda Care Roadside Assistance, Volvo Roadside Assistance – services provided by Mondial India and are now launching our e-commerce travel insurance business,” said Sethi. Headquartered in France, Mondial Assistance is a 100 per cent subsidiary of the Allianz SE and realised a turnover of over 1.51 billion Euros in 2007. Mondial Assistance was officially registered in India on the 16th July 2007, under the name Mondial Services (India) Private Limited, and the official operations were commenced in November last year.

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