Travel insurance is one of the most important investments for a traveler, particularly for traveling abroad, as travel insurance covers numerous risks such as medical risks, travel risks, flight disruptions, etc. Thus, numerous travelers today prefer to buy a comprehensive travel insurance policy while planning their journey. At present, there are many travel insurance providers available in the market. However, distinguishing itself with more than two decades of experience, Seven Corners is one of the best travel insurance solution providers around.
Incorporated in 1993, the Carmel, Indiana-based company is an innovative and service-focused travel insurance and benefit management company that serves a global market. The company was co-founded by two young travel insurance industry professionals —Justin Tysdal (Co-founder and CEO) & Jim Krampen (Co-founder and Executive Officer)—with a mission to protect travelers while building loyal customers, inspiring team members, and driving value for its partners.
Specialized Services and Solutions
Beginning with a single travel insurance product, Seven Corners today serves the needs of hundreds of thousands of members worldwide through its diversified portfolio of products and services. The company offers a plethora of travel insurance plans including travel medical plans, student plans, annual plans, visitor plans, group plans, etc. Besides these plans, it also offers customized services such as medical assistance, including emergency medical evacuations and repatriations and medical case management. The Seven Corners team services their customers through several different communication tools as well as an online portal that allows them to view their purchases, extend and cancel plans, and check the status of a claim.
Furthermore, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seven Corners designed specialized COVID-19 travel medical plans. The company accomplished this by adding a specific benefit to its existing plans and rebranding plans with ‘plus,’ to clarify the expansion of the plan. This new benefit covers medical expenses if a customer contracts COVID-19 on their trip. Moreover, the coverage is not tied to travel warnings. Seven Corners also launched the “Right Way to Travel”—an initiative to improve service via new communication tools and additional self-service options for customers.
Ensuring a Customer-centric Culture
The team of Seven Corners believes in community, and the company culture is centered around extending a sense of community to its customers regardless of where they are. This varies from guiding a customer to choose the best benefits for his/her needs, to managing an emergency medical evacuation halfway across the globe. The team works with company values at the heart of its efforts.
Seven Corners’ team is led by the two co-founders who ensure these core values remain at the forefront of the company operations. Justin is involved in developing the company’s strategic direction and long-term planning and works on processes and operations, while Jim handles sales and growth. Both the veterans have different skillsets and personalities, which they have leveraged to provide a well-balanced approach to the business and drive the company towards growth.
Pivoting to Meet the Changes
The pandemic presented numerous challenges for businesses in the travel insurance industry. For Seven Corners, the major challenge was the inability of folks to travel internationally. However, the company had an excellent marketing plan in place before the pandemic hit, which resulted in record sales in January and February of 2020. The organization continues to manage that plan nimbly, pivoting quickly to meet changes in the market. “Our team has also reviewed expenses, instituting cost-savings measures when it made sense and evaluating partner relationships to ensure the value we need is there,” Justin added.
Upholding Communication and Values
In response to the pandemic, Seven Corners initiated remote work for team members in early March. Most of the team still works remotely although the company has provided options for anyone who wishes to work from the office. Moreover, Seven Corners’ motivational mantra is based on communication and company values.
“If you don’t know there is a problem or gap for customers, you can’t fix it,” asserts Justin. The entire company meets virtually every Monday where updates from all areas of the business are reviewed. In the meeting, performance metrics are covered and if needed, the next steps for improvements are also discussed so that Seven Corners is ready to face the upcoming challenges post-pandemic.
Anticipating the Changes
The pandemic has impacted the travel insurance market significantly. For most companies, sales were up in the first quarter of 2020 and tumbled when the pandemic hit. As people get more comfortable traveling post-pandemic, Seven Corners anticipates a strong return to travel towards the end of the second quarter with travelers purchasing travel insurance more frequently than they did previously.
Throughout the pandemic travel crisis, consumers have learned how travel insurance works and now have a better understanding of travel insurance and the difference it can make for a traveler who encounters both small and large obstacles while traveling. Seven Corners promises to continue to aggressively review its products and services, checking in with customers to identify their wants and needs. “We believe travel will return in a big way, and the steps we take now will make a difference once folks can travel again,” adds Justin.
Perseverance and Sustainability
Having successfully led a company for more than two decades, Justin believes that perseverance and the ability to hold on to the dream are crucial to success for any entrepreneur. Citing his own experience, he added that both he and Jim had second jobs to ensure they had the income to carry through until the company was self-sustaining. Whenever they hit roadblocks, they found a way through or around them and moved on. These, according to Justin, are the keys to success for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Read more: The 10 Foremost Risk Management Companies of 2020
