A new Australian travel insurer says it wants to bring brokers a bigger share of the market.

TravelCard gives customers an insurance payment card that enables it to make “real-time” payments to them on their trips.

It will be Steadfast’s travel insurance provider from June 30, and says it has signed up with 270 brokerages and 2000 brokers in the first two months of operation.

TravelCard, which has partnered with Hollard to underwrite its policies, focuses on broker clients, providing cover for corporate and leisure travel. It says its “business class for employees” cover gives corporate-style benefits for leisure travel.

The company is part of the UK-based PassportCard group, which has more than 1 million travel insurance cardholders worldwide. It says it wants to “create a paradigm shift in bringing… activity from the travel agents’ domain to insurance brokers”.

TravelCard says brokers will have opportunities to source new customers through the “business class for employees” product and take advantage of “passive revenue streams”.

“Brokers make the commission every time their client travels with TravelCard travel insurance,” a spokesman told insuranceNEWS.com.au. “The experience of our parent company is that customers have an 86% return rate.”

TravelCard says its offering in other markets has increased brokers’ travel insurance market share from 6% to 40% in six years.

As well as real-time payment, TravelCard says it offers market-leading policy benefits, an Australian-based customer support team, no excess on all claims and no age restrictions.

It says other markets have shown that more than 85% of claims can be paid in real time, and it uses Big Data to verify claims and prevent fraud.

“The Australian travel insurance market is a huge opportunity for brokers because the number of travel insurance policies sold annually is more than twice that of all general insurance policies combined,” TravelCard Chairman Alon Ketzef said.

“This is an excellent vehicle for brokers to not only increase their revenue but also to expand into new market segments – using TravelCard as a door opener.”

CEO Michael Tauber says he is “delighted” with brokers’ support so far, “and the very positive feedback brokers have given us”.