Cover-More steps beyond insurance with an AI-driven itinerary planner
Published: 22 October 2025, 8:30 AM
Cover-More Travel Insurance has rolled out an AI-driven itinerary planner inside its app, moving from protection into inspiration and planning. It's a clear play to sit earlier in the customer path and hold attention longer-before, during, and after a trip.
The move mirrors a wider trend: single-service travel brands are expanding their scope. Airlines sell hotels, hotels sell tours, and now insurers are building end-to-end experiences that blend planning, booking, and protection.
What Cover-More shipped
- In-app planner that matches experiences to user interests-anything from sumo matches in Japan to food tours in Rome.
- Suggestions adapt to solo travellers, couples, friends, and families.
- Planned updates: accessibility and fitness filters, local transport details, plus a "wildcard" option for spontaneous picks.
"Travel isn't just about the days you're away; it's also about the anticipation and inspiration that happen before you go," Cover-More chief sales officer Todd Nelson said. "By integrating an itinerary planner, we can help our customers dream, plan and book great experiences all in one place."
The app already includes travel discounts, destination info, real-time risk alerts, 24/7 emergency assistance, and in-app policy access. Anyone can use it, while policyholders get added support that ties directly into their cover.
To drive adoption, Cover-More is running a campaign in Australia and New Zealand inviting users to try the planner and share feedback for a chance to win a $250 gift card. The app is available on the App Store and Google Play.
Why this matters for insurance leaders
- Move up the funnel: Being present at the inspiration and planning stage yields more frequent engagement and lower reliance on price-only decisions at purchase.
- Richer first-party data: Interests, trip intent, and activity choices can inform underwriting signals, advice, and safer-trip nudges-when used with explicit consent.
- Claims prevention: Pair planned activities with risk alerts to reduce incidents and improve assistance response times.
- Attach rate and LTV: More touchpoints create chances to bundle add-ons, micro-covers, and context-aware services.
- New revenue streams: Inventory from tours and activities opens up partner and affiliate income while strengthening retention.
Operational watchouts
- Consent and privacy: Be clear about data use, retention, cross-border processing, and opt-outs (think GDPR/CCPA-level standards).
- Coverage clarity: Planner suggestions must not imply coverage. Map high-risk activities to guidance, eligibility, and exclusions in plain language.
- Duty of care: Build guardrails so recommendations factor in local advisories, accessibility needs, and traveler profiles.
- Liability and content quality: Moderate supplier content, verify partners, and flag risky experiences with up-front disclosures.
- Vendor and API risk: Have redundancy plans for inventory providers and keep strict controls on third-party data sharing.
Product snapshot (for benchmarking)
- Now: Interest-based experience suggestions; segments for different travel party types.
- Next: Accessibility and fitness filters, local transport info, spontaneous "wildcard" picks.
- Ecosystem: Discounts, destination info, risk alerts, emergency assistance, policy access-all in one app.
- Go-to-market: AU/NZ promo with feedback incentive; open to all users, with extra capabilities for policyholders.
KPIs to track
- Engagement: Monthly active users, sessions per trip, completion rate of itineraries.
- Commercials: Planner-to-quote rate, quote-to-bind uplift, attach rate for add-ons, LTV.
- Risk outcomes: Changes in claims frequency/severity for planner users vs. control.
- Trust and compliance: Consent opt-in rates, data deletion requests, complaint ratio.
- Experience quality: NPS/CSAT on suggestions, refund/issue rates with activity partners.
What to do next (practical steps)
- Run a pilot: Start with one region and a short list of activity partners. Use holdout groups to measure lift.
- Wire coverage logic into the planner: Real-time prompts that explain what's covered, what's excluded, and how to stay eligible.
- Add prevention cues: Tie planned activities to timely risk alerts, documentation checklists, and local assistance info.
- Set governance: Clear data policies, model monitoring, accessibility standards, and escalation paths for partner issues.
- Train frontline teams: Sales, assistance, and claims should read the same playbook customers see in-app.
This move fits a broader push to build integrated travel experiences that keep customers in one place from inspiration to protection. For context on how incumbents are building these models, see industry analysis here: McKinsey: Travel insights.
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