Travel insurance has an extensive history, with James G. Batterson generally attributed to introducing travelers’ insurance to the United States in the 1860s. Needless to say, travel insurance has been around for a long time -- but over the years it has gained a somewhat negative reputation in the U.S. of being slow and bogged down by bureaucratic processes.
As of 2023, most Americans do not purchase travel insurance for their trip. For many, using travel insurance can be cumbersome and confusing -- something that Elad Schaffer, co-founder and CEO of Faye Travel Insurance and Daniel Green, co-founder and CTO of Faye, aim to change.
By leveraging a different approach to look after travelers and using the best that technology can offer, these two friends have built a thriving travel platform that combines insurance, care and financial solutions to rapidly turn this legacy industry upside down.
How Faye came to be
Interestingly, as a business rooted in travel insurance, Faye actually traces its origins to the COVID-19 pandemic -- when travel was largely shut down on a global scale.
“The pandemic helped a lot of us realize that travel is essential to our well-being,” Schaffer says. “At the same time, though, it really helped put in perspective that a lot of the processes involved in traveling can be complex and stressful. And that is especially true of travel insurance, where policies are often filled with jargon and red tape that make it hard for people to understand and use it effectively.”
As a frequent international traveler himself, Schaffer had seen firsthand how beneficial travel insurance could be -- but also where the industry as a whole stood in need of significant improvement. As serial entrepreneurs with extensive tech experience, the idea for Green and Schaffer to combine their technology expertise with their passion for travel seemed like a natural fit.
In their view, travel insurance has not lived up to its promise for too long -- it’s slow, manual, unclear and distant. But even if travel insurance paid claims quickly, was easy to understand and fully digitized, insurance alone would only solve part of the challenges people face when they encounter travel hiccups.
They make a compelling argument -- when you miss a connecting flight, getting reimbursed for your losses is nice, but doesn’t actually solve your problem. Getting you on the next flight to your destination as soon as possible will. Helping travelers solve their problems -- not just paying for losses -- is what the duo set their eyes on.
How Faye leverages technology
“Technology is at the core of everything we do at Faye,” Green says.
“Today’s travelers take their smartphone with them everywhere on their trips. So when starting our company, it was only natural that our focus would be how we could make travel insurance something that was easily integrated with this device that everyone already uses. This doesn’t just make it easier to set up coverage for a trip; it also enables us to go beyond typical insurance offerings and become a support platform that is available 24/7. And not just for emergencies, but also for tips on how to navigate a tight connection or where the closest pharmacy is.”
This full-fledged technology integration starts in the quoting process, as travelers need only submit a few pieces of information via the company’s website or app. Based on travel dates, destinations and basic traveler info, the Faye platform can generate a quote in as little as a minute. Policies are explained in straightforward, jargon-free language so travelers can quickly make a purchasing decision.
As a 100% digital platform, Faye enables travelers to submit a claim for assistance at any point on their trip through the app. The app features a digital payments card, known as the Faye Wallet, that can be connected to users’ Google Pay or Apple Pay accounts to facilitate a quick reimbursement after a claim is approved, with some claims processed within an hour.
The Faye app also provides local emergency numbers and medical facilities, destination-specific app recommendations and facilitates 24/7 support from the company’s team, offering assistance for a wide range of travel-related concerns. Thanks to the co-founders’ prior experience building a business together and keen understanding of this space, getting the app to function in a streamlined, user-friendly manner has been not only a priority, but a success.
Not just another app
Technology has played a major role in how Schaffer and Green have been thinking about their mission of looking after travelers when they’re on the road.
Green, who grew up in Australia and is a self-proclaimed travel nerd, explains “The app is at the core of the customer experience, but we have actually built an entire suite of products from the ground up, together forming a platform for travel insurance, care, intelligence and financial solutions.”
He adds, “We decided to build a travel management platform, a policy administration system and a claims administration system -- forgoing the off-the-shelf solutions others use to build a truly interconnected system.”
In addition, Green’s R&D team has built a suite of distribution platforms to enable seamless integration of their travel platform to distributors, such as an API to embed Faye into travel websites, a platform for travel agencies to offer insurance to their customers and a website to service consumers who want to purchase directly from Faye.
“Our goal has always been to be more than just a way for travelers to get reimbursed,” Schaffer says. “Early on, we enabled our app to pair with a user’s trip data to offer real-time itinerary alerts and other helpful information based on the stage of their travels. Since then, we’ve been able to add access to a telemedicine network of 20K+ medical professionals so people can get the help they need when abroad within minutes.
“And we provide immediate reimbursements on many common travel snafus like flight delays, making funds available to travelers when they’re still in-trip so they can avoid paying for things like a new change of clothes or a pricey airport meal out of pocket. With this level of service and automation, we’re able to become a true companion throughout each person’s trip, and do it at a scale to serve millions.”
Looking ahead
Schaffer and Green both view Faye as the player that is evolving the travel insurance ecosystem into what it should be -- a must-have essential part of every trip, rather than an afterthought. “Eventually all you’ll need to bring on your trip is Faye and your passport,” Schaffer says.
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