An Ontario tech company has partnered with a travel insurer to provide a travel-disruption app for its customers.

Sitata, based in Kitchener, ON, on Thursday announced it was working with Travel Insured International on the insurer’s mobile application, “geared toward reducing travel anxiety throughout a traveler’s trip”.

The Travel Insured app will make “buying and managing your travel protection plan easier”, the insurer said in a statement, and is “the perfect travel companion before, during, and after a traveler’s journey”.

Features in the app include health advice, such as recommended vaccinations or medications ahead of travel, as well as safety advice, hospital locations, and emergency numbers for all destinations on a traveler’s itinerary.

Sitata’s system, which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, also detects travel-disrupting events in almost real-time – pulling and sorting data from news sources and social media, and sending that information to app users.

“Whether it’s an incoming tropical storm, the latest disease outbreak, a violent protest down the street, or something as simple as a transit strike, all of Travel Insured’s policyholders will be notified if they’re at risk through the application and by email”, the insurer said.

Speaking to Insurance Business, Sitata CEO Adam St. John said the partnership with Travel Insured was hopefully the first of many.

“Our focus has always been on the business-to-business side, and we saw a natural fit with travel insurance. Travel insurance, these days, they [insurers] are looking to be more pro-active and accessible on demand, and they want to do more than just sitting in the background.

“Travel Insured International is the first that we’ve launched with – they were happy to scoop us up because they were looking for that differentiator,” he said.

“We’re definitely looking to expand this to other insurance carriers. We have things developing in the UK, Australia, and in the US as well. 2018 will be a big year for us.”


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