Honiton based Travel Insurance specialist, World First Travel Insurance, celebrating rise in staff

2-Aug-2010

Honiton based Travel Insurance specialist, World First Travel Insurance, is celebrating the appointment of four new members of staff after seeing more than 400% growth in the business during the past 12 months.

Despite one of the most difficult starts to the year due to volcanic ash, cabin crew strikes and the collapse of tour operators, World First is reporting record growth.

Rothwell & Towler, parent company of World First, an independent travel insurance specialist, was established in 1973. The company, now managed by son of the founder, Martin Rothwell, has been making effective use of online technology and new media to help the business grow over the past two years.

The online strategy has seen World First increase its visibility on Google, resulting in visitor numbers to the website, www.world-first.co.uk doubling in the past 12 months. They also use social media platforms, including twitter, facebook and blogs to engage with customers.

The company has also been mentioned a number of times in national newspapers, being cited as “The savior for people over the age of 65 who can’t find travel insurance” by Gill Charlton of the Daily Telegraph.

In addition to the in house appointments, the overall business strategy is underpinned by an ‘in-house agency’ that has been developed by Martin Rothwell. This is a team of independent professionals including marketing, web development, training, research consultants, and specialists in Search Engine Optimisation and PR, who regularly attend board meetings.

Commenting on the business boom, Managing Partner Martin Rothwell said: “We are experiencing our best year yet at World First. It would seem that all of the travel chaos and disruption earlier this year has convinced people that they need to have good travel insurance, just in case something goes wrong.

“People have a choice when it comes to travel insurance, they can choose not to take it out and risk losing money if something goes wrong, they can go for a ‘one size fits all’ policy from their travel agent or as part of their bank account or they can choose travel insurance tailored to their specific needs and holiday. This is where we fit in, offering our customers policies designed to suit them and their holidays, as well as peace of mind when it comes to their travel plans.

“We have seen a huge increase in people booking policies designed specifically to suit them. We expect this trend to continue and want to make sure we stay at the heart of specialist travel insurance.”

The company has ambitious growth plans and intends to double the size of the business in the next 12 months. World First currently operate throughout the UK and have plans to launch products for travellers in 34 other countries within the next month.

The new appointments and company structure has been designed to help the business continue its growth and further secure their position as ‘the’ travel insurance specialist in the marketplace, a market that is estimated to be worth £700m in the UK.

Martin Rothwell continued: “We have a reputation as an independent brand leader who can insure medical conditions and holidays that larger brands won’t cover. As a family run business we are committed to our customers and many people have been booking policies with us for the last ten years. We make sure that we deliver the very best service and we are always looking for ways to get our customers the very best policies at the best price. This commitment is one of the reasons we are growing the business.”

A significant development for World First in the last 12 months has been an online medical screening system, enabling clients to provide details of their medical conditions, find a policy that suits them and be covered instantly once the online policy is activated. They also introduced an extension in age limits to cover travellers aged up to 100.

World First offers single and multi trip polices for worldwide travel and caters for groups, individuals, families, people with pre-existing medical conditions and older travellers. Single trip travel insurance policies are priced from £7* and annual cover from £18*. Visit www.world-first.co.uk for more details.

*This is not a definitive price. Actual price is based on individuals’ circumstances and eligibility for cover.

For more information, please contact:

Shelley Fletcher, Firegrass Communications

PR on behalf of World First Travel Insurance

01736 719222 / 07850 937419

[email protected]

World First Travel Insurance is part of Rothwell & Towler, an independent insurance group that was set up in 1973 to provide holiday and worldwide travel insurance cover.

World First is an independent, family run business with Martin Rothwell, son of the founder, the Managing Partner overseeing all company and policy development. The company has seen substantial growth over the past year and there are ambitious growth plans for the business over the coming five years.

World First Travel Insurance is a member of ATII - Association of Travel Insurance Intermediaries which represents intermediaries who specialise in travel insurance within the UK. Members work to the standards expected of professional insurance intermediaries, and adhere to the rules of the Financial Services Authority (FSA). They also commit to upholding the levels of customer care and integrity that the ATII believe are necessary to promote trust and consumer satisfaction within the industry.

World First Travel Insurance offer annual and single trip policies for destinations throughout the world and for individuals taking part in most forms of activities and types of holidays. World First is also one of the few travel insurance companies to provide comprehensive cover for pre-existing medical conditions and to insure people up to the age of 100.

World First policies are underwritten by the Professional Travel Insurance Company Limited (PTI). PTI are based in Gibraltar and began by underwriting the global travel and personal accident programme for the International Airline Passengers Association on behalf of its members. In 1995 they completed the purchase of Columbus Direct in London. Then in 1997, PTI were acquired by The Collinson Group Limited, which has offices worldwide operating in 24 global locations.

World First Travel Insurance is arranged by Rothwell & Towler who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Web: http://www.world-first.co.uk

Blog: http://blog.world-first.co.uk

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/WFInsurance

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/WorldFirstTravelInsurance