Dan Keon, VP, Market Management,
Allianz Global Assistance.
Dan Keon, Vice President, Market Management at Allianz Global Assistance, echoes the sentiment expressed throughout the year of COVID regarding growing consumer reliance on travel advisors in stating that “it has never been more important for Canadians to have trust in their travel agent’s ability to meet their health and safety standards for travelling that will extend beyond COVID-19 as a new normal.”
Allianz has launched two additional tools which can facilitate the travel process: an online Claims Portal and a Virtual Care Platform providing customers with support from a medical doctor in real-time via video or tele-conference.
Both services are now embedded within all products offered across Allianz’s national distribution network of travel agency partners.
“The global pandemic has shone a spotlight on health and safety standards. The true value of travel insurance is realized when customers and partners place their trust in our ability to provide unmatched assistance and support during a travel emergency or when in need to quickly and efficiently submit a claim,” says Lucy Hathaway, Chief Sales Officer at Allianz Global Assistance.
Allianz’s online Claims Portal can be accessed 24/7 from any device or browser.
Virtual Access To A Certified MD While Abroad
Virtual Care, which is part of Allianz's Guided Care platform, can be accessed through a customer’s mobile device, tablet or laptop. Services may include a consultation, medical advice, confirmation of a diagnosis and issuance of a prescription, which is sent directly to the pharmacy nearest to the patient’s location.
“The addition of Virtual Care provides our medical team with yet another treatment option for customers with less urgent medical conditions or milder symptoms,” says Kyle Sparkman, Chief Operations Officer at Allianz Global Assistance.
“This means more flexibility and convenience for our customers, while eliminating long wait times associated with unnecessary emergency room visits, which is particularly relevant to our customers given the experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic this year.”
Online Portal For Claims Submission
Through Allianz’s online Claims Portal, available at www.allianzassistanceclaims.ca, customers can:
- Access the mobile-optimized portal 24/7 from any device or browser.
- Create a secure account to submit claims for all benefit types, including non-medical travel benefits (i.e. trip cancellation, interruption, flight delay and baggage loss) and out-of-pocket emergency medical expenses.
- Upload documents instead of sending them in via regular mail. Photos of documents taken with a mobile phone are also accepted.
- Identify documents they may have missed.
- Save and return to a claim submission they have started but not yet completed.
- Check the status of their claim online.
“If a customer’s trip doesn’t go as planned, we want to make the claims experience simple, seamless and understandable. Like our Virtual Care offering, our new Claims Portal leverages digital services to make life easier for our customers,” Sparkman says.
“We will continue to develop new ways to improve and simplify our customers’ experience at every step of their journey, so they can truly travel with confidence once travel rebounds.”
Anna Kroupina Journalist
Anna is OJ's newest member and she joins the team as a writer/reporter. She co-writes the daily news and covers events. Although she's new to the industry, pursuing a career path in travel/tourism has been a goal since her first family road trip to the Florida Keys sparked a desire to discover the world and this exhilarating, fast-paced industry.
