FGB, one of the leading banks in the UAE, has announced the launch of a new limited-time promotion which allows customers residing in the UAE to benefit from free travel insurance through a simple online enrollment process before June 30th 2014. When customers travel abroad this summer, they can benefit from free worldwide, Schengen compliant travel cover for one trip. The initiative has been launched as part of FGB’s ongoing efforts to increase public awareness about the importance of obtaining insurance policies, to safeguard against the unexpected and give customers peace of mind.

The free travel insurance policy includes worldwide cover (excluding USA ,Canada, Japan and the Caribbean) for medical expenses, missed events, lost travel documents, 24/7 Zurich Assist Helpline and also provides policy holders with the essential  travel insurance cover which satisfies the regulatory requirements in Schengen countries. Frequent travelers can also benefit from a 20% discount on annual multi-trip insurance policies from Zurich and there is no limit to the number of policies available under this exclusive promotion.

                                                                                                                                                          Commenting on the promotion, Girish Advani, Head of Mass Market Segment at FGB, said: “The FGB Insurance business is all about innovation and market leading propositions. The free travel insurance offer marks another first in the region, aimed at educating travelers about the importance of travel insurance. Enrolment is a hassle-free online process and can be completed within a minute. After a widely successful promotion where we offered free home contents insurance to all residents in the UAE earlier this year, this new initiative aims to reach frequent as well as holiday travelers from the UAE. We believe we should not just serve the customers with a breadth of conventional and sharia compliant products from the most reputed institutions in the world including Friends Provident, Zurich, Salama, Met Life Alico, LIC and more but also with value added offers which no one else in the market can match.”

According to the Travel Beacon – UAE Outbound Travel Trade Barometer, launched in January 2014 by Dubai-based consultancy firm, Market Vision, travel bookings from the UAE to world destinations increased by 13%, on average, in 2013 compared to 2012. The Barometer, and the majority of the travel trade, also projected continued growth in outbound travel from the UAE in 2014. Six in ten travel trade respondents in the Barometer survey projected an increase in bookings during Q1 2014, compared to the same period in 2013, while over eight out of ten respondents projected higher bookings in Q2. The UAE is also the 21st largest travel market in the world, in terms of outbound travel expenditure, with a total of USD15.1 billion spent on outbound travel in 2012, as per UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) statistics.

However, travel insurance penetration in the UAE remains low. According to a survey of 748 UAE residents, conducted by YouGov and released by Zurich last year, 58% of residents reported that they never purchase travel insurance for their trips, while a third (32%) only do so occasionally. Just one in ten (11%) UAE residents said that they always purchase travel insurance when travelling abroad, as compared with the 60 to 70% of people in the US, Canada, Europe and Australia, who buy travel insurance when they purchase an air ticket.

Mr. Advani continued: “Many UAE residents don’t purchase travel insurance due to a belief that they might never need to claim, exposing themselves to unnecessary risk every time they travel abroad. Hassle-free travelling with peace of mind is worth the investment.”

Customers can sign up to the free travel insurance policy online within minutes, by visiting www.firstinsure.ae or by calling Zurich on 800 1717.

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