Partnering with Wanderwell: The Travel Insurance Affiliate Experience
Your customers come to you for an epic vacation. They want adventure. They want to eat well. Beautiful sites must be visited, laughs shared, and memories created. These customers want the time of their lives – and they trust you to handle the backend stuff, like vetting hotels and knowing which food markets are worth visiting. They certainly don’t want to think about finding seat upgrades and vetting travel insurance. That’s no surprise, given that 54 percent of travelers have never even considered purchasing travel insurance, even those that travel abroad.
As a boutique travel company, keeping your clients safe and happy is priority number one. Travel insurance is one of those boxes that must be checked before taking off – but with so many vague plan descriptions and difficult-to-reach customer service agents (not to mention quotes that don’t match the final price), it’s frustrating to find the best option.
There is a better way forward.
This is why Wanderwell exists — to bring decency and honesty to the travel insurance space and alleviate the stress of wondering what happens when travel itineraries don't work out as planned. We are the world’s first values-based, eco-conscious travel insurance company, a small boutique firm whose Portland-based staff cares about the same stuff you do.
In short, Wanderwell is Travel Insurance for Good.
Our validation comes from the small, customer-and-planet-focused businesses that choose to partner with us. If you’re reading this, it’s likely because you operate — or work for — a values-first, ethics-based travel company.
You’ve landed in the right place. Below are the stories of three Wanderwell Affiliate Partners. If you identify with what these operators are doing, we’d like to extend a warm welcome to the Wanderwell family.
Why partner with Wanderwell?
The Wanderwell Affiliate Partner Program is a value add not only for conscious tour operators and travel agencies but for the clients they serve. Here is the story of how Wanderwell helps three of its affiliate partners stay true to their mission of wholesome, community-minded travel – even when it comes to often misconstrued details like travel insurance.
But don’t take our word for it.
“Wanderwell looks at the big picture, they’re looking at it holistically,” says Jake Haupert, co-founder of the Transformational Travel Council, a travel trade organization advocating for regenerative travel practices, of which Wanderwell is a member. “They understand that there is an opportunity to bring a higher level of integrity to the space, with a bigger commitment to transparency, and a bigger commitment to caring, not just for their clients but for the travelers that ultimately purchase the insurance.”
Explorer X
“We started Explorer X because we firmly believe in the idea of transformational travel, and specifically, in the power that travel can have to create change in our lives,” says co-founder Michael Bennett, Ed.D.
Bennett and co-founder Jake Haupert launched Explorer X in 2017 with the goal of bringing small group and customized personal travel experiences to adventurers. With trips spanning from Australia to Ecuador to Croatia and everywhere in between, and the recent launch of a “Destination Unknown” program that sends travelers on surprise trips, offering a reliable travel insurance service provider that provides comprehensive plans and service is a must.
“We talk a lot about travel better, live better. Wanderwell is such a heart-centered, well-intentioned business, and our model of taking action to have transformative experiences segues perfectly into how they operate.”
Three principles that define Explorer X:
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Design travel to have a positive impact on the places and people you visit and meet, in addition to yourself. Explorer X engages with its travelers to learn why they travel and what they hope to gain, and incorporates this into the itinerary-building process.
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Travel better. Learn what you can in advance to ask better questions and learn the basics of the language to be able to say things like “please” and “thank you.”
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After travel, use tools and resources to implement the transformational changes learned during travel, big or small, in their lives.
How Explorer X works with Wanderwell:
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Strongly recommends travel insurance. After booking, travelers receive an email with a toolkit for their trip, which includes a recommendation for Wanderwell and an offer to personally connect with a Wanderwell Support Team member.
“With Wanderwell, there’s such an alignment philosophically in terms of what travel can do not just for the traveler but for the community and using that for growth.”
Giving back:
Explorer X offers each traveler the option to donate $100, which the company then pools together to give to environmental non-profits at the end of each year.
Traverse Journeys
Based in Austin, TX with a global, remote team, Traverse Journeys creates small-group, self-guided and custom itineraries to 25+ countries across six continents.
“If your values align with cultural immersion, giving back, and intimate, small-group experiences, it’s very aligned to travel with us. We'll give you that insider’s look,” says founder Ashley Blake.
Itineraries are designed to bring together travelers’ interests - such as nature, hiking, cooking, or yoga -- with the highlights of each destination. Blake and her team work to make people-to-people connections and cultural education a cornerstone of each trip. In the always-changing face of travel in today’s world, insuring these trips offers peace of mind to both Blake’s team and their clients – even when it’s difficult to find the right plan. The ability to connect directly to a Wandwerwell Support Team member and those working on plans gives Blake confidence that what she presents to her clients is the best possible option
“The more I read about Wanderwell's commitment to their customers, to the planet, I wanted to partner with them,” Blake says. “They're very aligned with our values. They’re also so accessible with answers, both for us and our clients, and that makes them the perfect partner for us.”
Three principles that define Traverse Journeys:
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We create experiences with people, planet, and purpose in mind. 3% of sales from each trip are donated to a non-profit or NGO partner in each destination.
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Sustainable tourism in practice, for example visiting a regenerative farm and eating local, seasonal meals along the way. Also, ensuring guides and partners are paid fair wages in ethical working conditions
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Emphasizing cross-cultural connection and understanding throughout the trip and providing cultural education about the destination(s) to the traveler before they ever leave home
How Traverse Journeys works with Wanderwell:
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Strongly recommends travel insurance and works with travelers and Wanderwell to find the perfect plan for their specific trip.
Giving back:
3% of trip sales go to a local non-profit where the trip is based.
Elsewhere
In 2022, Elsewhere was acquired by Lonely Planet, the world’s leading travel guidebook company with a growing digital media brand.
“We chose to work with Wanderwell because of their commitment to sustainability and excellent customer service," says Alexis Bowen, co-founder of Elsewhere. "Wanderwell is the only B Corp in the travel insurance space and we were won over by their commitment to make the world a better place. We were also convinced on Wanderwell because they go above and beyond for their clients. Unlike large insurance entities, we knew our customers would be able to speak to a real person about their situation, and that they would be represented and taken care of. This is a true outlier in the insurance business!”
“We see travel insurance as a huge revenue stream for us, and we talked about it a lot because our margins are really small. But we wanted to work with Wanderwell because the quality is better.”
Now under the Lonely Planet umbrella, Elsewhere is aiming for dramatic growth and to become a fused core part of the publication’s website.
Three principles that define Elsewhere:
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Turning travel into a positive force for change – through carbon offsets, supporting local economies and guides, and being mindful of environmental and cultural protection.
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Providing access to unknown places and experiences.
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87 percent of trip dollars stay in-destination
How Elsewhere works with Wanderwell:
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“Our customers want to be recommended to something – that’s part of the reason why they come to a tour company. They want the quality, and from A to Z they want the choices made to be filtered for them. Our travelers trust us, and so we recommend Wanderwell because we trust them.”
Giving back:
Currently supporting 44 projects in 39 destinations across the following verticals: environmental, health + education, community engagement, and education + career. Elsewhere is climate neutral and partners with the Eden Reforestation Projects and PlasticBank.
Tying it all together
“We came together on our shared values,” says Haupert, speaking of the Transformational Travel Council’s initial meeting with Wanderwell. “(We shared) a shared commitment to helping people travel better and live better.”
With the above stories in mind, several themes present themselves. As a boutique – bespoke, even – travel insurance agency, Wanderwell runs its day-to-day much like its partners: A small, dedicated team of passionate travelers working to provide a service that its customers need, and in many cases, shouldn’t hit the road without. The policies offered to Wanderwell’s partners allow them to do the following:
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Each company featured here works only with local operators and designs its tours to provide maximum economic and social benefit to the destinations in which they serve.
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Insurance is not the most exciting aspect of travel. Wanderwell fills that niche in a manner that means its affiliate partners don’t have to stress about insurance for their clients.
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Each avoids chains whenever possible, and incorporates a give-back aspect to local nonprofits.
“There’s a lot of people drawn to the travel space because they love to travel,” says Haupert. “And while the insurance space isn’t as exciting or inspiring as the rest of the space, it plays a really critical role in this post-pandemic, next generation of travel and tourism. There is so much more awareness around the need to protect your trips and insure your travel. I’m thankful that Erin and Wanderwell are filling that niche with grace, honesty, and care.”
If this resonates with you and your business, please consider joining Wanderwell’s Affiliate Partner Program today.
Learn more about becoming a Wanderwell Affiliate Partner
written by Tim Wenger, a TTC Media Herald dedicated to elevating integrity in travel journalism