A new insurance scheme for agents selling rail tickets has been launched by the Association of Train Operators (ATOC), in conjunction with the Guild of Travel Management Companies (GTMC) and Advantage Travel Centres.
The new ‘Travel Agents Reserve Insurance Fund’ (‘TARIF’), offers TMCs an alternative approach with an industry-level insurance scheme. Membership of the scheme is based on TMCs paying a levy into a central fund which is used to pay for commercially-procured credit insurance.
Representatives from train companies, ATOC, Rail Settlement Plan (RSP), GTMC, Advantage Travel Centres and The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) will sit on a joint board formed to oversee the management of the scheme.
Around 150 TMCs, representing around £340m of rail sales, have already elected to join the scheme. The cost of the scheme should come down over time, delivering further savings to TMCs compared wiith the cost of a bond.
The scheme has taken a year to develop after close collaboration between ATOC, RSP, the GTMC and Advantage Travel Centres.
Anne Godfrey, Chief Executive of the Guild of Travel Management Companies said: “I would like to thank GTMC and Advantage members for their hard work, over many months, without which this solution would not have been reached.”