TIC (Travel Insurance Coordinators) was one of Canada’s biggest travel insurance companies. TIC only sold travel insurance – unlike a bank or general insurance company. However, in 2015 they were merged into Allianz Global Assistance which took over the operations of TIC, and folded the business under the Allianz branding.
While many Canadians might remember the TIC company name, effectively the company is gone as many of the people behind the scenes that played important roles for TIC (both management and claims administration) have moved onwards and are no longer part of the current Allianz Global Assistance crew. 2015 was way before the pandemic, and corporate changeover happens. However, as in all aspects of ‘change’, there still are advantages and disadvantages:
Advantages
- Allianz Global Assistance took over, looked through the business of TIC and made changes. One of the most important changes was to simplify the medical questionnaire – making it much simpler to answer (less consumer mistakes), and easier to get a good rate!
- Same large scale professional staff, call center, and deep understanding of all things travel insurance. Like the need for post-departure purchases.
Disadvantages
- There has been a bit of product loss. For example, Allianz Global Assistance no longer sells expatriate insurance like TIC did. Rates, of course, are always moving especially post-covid, so no comment there.
- Allianz Global Assistance did run into some issues with lengthy claim processing times during the pandemic – but that has now been resolved as they stopped acting as a Third-Party (claims) Administration (TPA) on multiple corporate accounts (i.e. credit card or bank travel insurance plans) so they have enough bandwidth to handle their own claims more efficiently now.
Want to Compare Rates?
The quickest way to compare rates with other companies is to use a price comparison website.
Comparison websites, like BestQuote Travel Insurance, let you compare quotes for travel insurance from several different companies at once. Type in a few details about your trip, and compare policy coverage and prices to help narrow down your choice.