When cruise line passengers are looking for fun excursions when they arrive in port, the first thing on their mind isn’t which excursion operator has the safest or most insured tour. What’s on their mind is which tour is the best for their family, fits into their schedule and is lots of fun! 

If you are an excursion operator that wants to work with the cruise lines, it’s important that you meet all of the insurance requirements that the cruise lines have in place.  Having excursion insurance is an important factor in becoming a successful tour operating company, and investing the necessary funds in a high-quality excursion insurance package will more than pay for itself over time in increased tour sales revenue. But just because excursion insurance is a necessary investment doesn’t mean you can’t or don’t want to save money on it! Like many types of insurance, excursion insurance can offer savings on policy renewals when you show proof of decreased risk and increased safety. Here are five ways to save money on your excursion insurance renewal:

Maintain a Flawless Safety Record

Over time, a record of safety gives your company a sense of trustworthiness and credibility, which lower the risk perceived by the excursion insurance company. Strive to have zero accidents or incidents each year, and when you do, talk to your insurance company about a progressively lower rate to reflect your increasingly strong safety record.

Upgrade your Training

When cruise passengers participate in your tours, your staff members and tour guides are the first and only help they will have if something goes wrong. Showing that you require high standards of capability and training will help your excursion insurance provider see your operators as a risk-decreasing asset, especially training in first aid, water rescue, vehicle safety, and the like. Training your staff to a higher level of first aid or safety competence in a given year can make a case for lower insurance premiums in following years.

Improve your Transportation Safety

Most tours involve some kind of transportation, from boats to buses to bicycles. Improving or enhancing the safety features of these transportation vehicles can represent a decrease in risk for your excursion insurance provider. For example, upgrading the brakes, windows, seatbelts, and/or safety railings (if applicable) on your tour buses will show that your company’s bus tours are safer than before, which would be a negotiating point for less expensive excursion insurance.

Upgrade your Safety Equipment

Similarly, if you offer tours requiring safety equipment (zip line harnesses, life jackets, etc.), demonstrating an upgrade of older or well-used equipment will show decreased risk and help your insurance provider feel comfortable lowering your premiums.

Implement New Safety Policies and Plans

Finally, doing a comprehensive review of your customer safety policies and making improvements in areas where accidents or incidents have happened or almost happened in the past can not only help with the first point on this list, maintaining a flawless safety record, but also show your excursion insurance company that you are taking active steps to decrease your risk. Building in a new safety plan for each excursion can also show this initiative. The insurance company will appreciate these efforts and may be amenable to offering you a better deal.

As noted in other blog posts, sometime the name of the game is spending money to make money. Some of these upgrades will be investments in and of themselves. But not only will they help your company in saving money on excursion insurance renewal, they will improve your reputation with cruise lines, which will ultimately lead to increased business and higher profits.