TOPP or TTA?

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Permalink Reply by Darren Cronian on March 18, 2008 at 12:22am

I have no knowledge of working within the travel industry, but I am writing this from a travel consumer perspective so forgive my inexperience.

As a travel writer of a consumer blog, my advice to consumers is to check for association logos, like TTA, ABTA etc. and check the appropriate membership number on the association site.

I've not heard of UK Trust or TOPPS as a consumer but can consumers check companies membership and also information about what part of their holiday is protected?

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Permalink Reply by Bettina Schwarz on March 12, 2008 at 10:55am

Hi Keith
I see that you have made your decision with regards to how you would like to put your financial protection cover in place, and that’s great. I thought I would still post a little reply here outlining topp, albeit after you have made your decision.
The point has been raised that the topp Policy is not all that well known in the market as yet. It is worth considering that Travel & General has been providing financial protection solutions to the Travel Industry for over 25 years. The topp Policy itself has been running for two years now and has gained a lot of interest and support, thus growing dramatically in the number of Operators actually using it. topp’s Forerunner, TOFC, was offered for over eight years before this Policy was introduced in order to expand the capabilities of the product. When we developed TOFC and then topp, we remained very conscious of the smaller Tour Operator’s needs and concerns, not least of which of course being one of cash flow.
Instead of a long sales essay, let me jot down a few points regarding topp and some of our other services:
- topp is a flexible pay-as-you-go option to complying with your regulatory requirements
- It is aimed at UK registered Tour Operators with a UK operational base
- The Tour Operator must be principle to contract in the majority of business conducted, rather than being predominantly an agent
- The products and packages offered should be aimed predominantly at the UK market (bear in mind that this is a method of complying with the UK Package Travel Regulations)
- We aim to continue providing a one-point-of-contact service in terms of your Third Party ATOL application and that for the financial protection, i.e. you will not be required to have any direct negotiations with the CAA as we will handle such on your behalf
- The CAA’s application and grant fee for the licence are discounted if the application is made via this route
- Licensable (flight inclusive) and non-licensable (no flights in the package) turnover can be covered by one policy
- For your customers’ reassurance and peace of mind you are provided with logos and wordings to be displayed on invoices and promotional material
- The RBS Group and tgic have joined together to create a preferential scheme of rates and service for topp policyholders needing merchant service facilities and also banking facilities
- The topp RBS Scheme means you can protect 100% of your customer prepayments through the topp policy
- We cannot guarantee the provision of a merchant facility via this arrangement, but if 100% of turnover is covered by topp, then the likelihood of a declined application is slim
- Our interactive online service allows you to submit applications and provide information as well as your monthly declarations via the extranet. Declarations are made at the beginning of every month for the bookings taken the month prior
- There are no application fees or membership fees to tgic, though a monthly administration fee may well apply to the policy
- As a valid Combined Liability Policy is a pre-requisite for the topp Policy, our Liabilities Expert will be more than happy to approach the market and source quotations on your behalf
- Travel & General is also a specialist Travel Insurance provider. Depending on the Tour Operator’s needs the travel insurance can be sold by referral, earning the Tour Operator a commission, or, as we are the underwriters, a specific package can be tailored in accordance with the customers’ needs. You might like to refer to this introductory site http://www.travel-general.com/promotions/1/index.html
Although my aim was not really to give a full sales pitch here, I did want to try and respond to the various points raised throughout the thread. I hope that this has been helpful and provides a further insight to what topp and tgic as a whole can do for Tour Operators.
If I can be of any further assistance, please feel free to contact me directly on bettina.schwarz@travel-general.com.
Thanks and regards
Bettina

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Permalink Reply by Bettina Schwarz on March 18, 2008 at 12:07pm

Hello Darren
If cover is granted under the topp Policy, logos and wordings are issued. These are required to be incorporated into all documentation which advertises products, i.e. brochures, promotional material and websites. Booking forms with terms and conditions as well as invoices must also display said logos and wordings. These are designed to provide the consumer with the required comfort, however if a doubt or question still exists, consumers can also confirm directly with us.
Thanks
Bettina

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Permalink Reply by Sue Hillman on April 9, 2009 at 1:30pm

Keith,
I was looking back at this topic and wondered how things were going and year on? I'm just setting up (also UK inbound) so would love to hear what you decided and whether it still feels like the right decision.
Ta, Sue

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Permalink Reply by Daniel Le Merle on May 22, 2009 at 6:15pm

I read above comments that TTA is more expensive than TOPP. Well that depends on a number of factors in particular average revenue per pax.

It is probably true that the TTA have higher monthly 'admin' fees for trustee services (perhaps £700 more per year depending on what T&GI offer the operator which will vary)

However TOPP charge a % premium on the holiday value while TTA have a flat rate per pax. In effect if your holidays are of a high value you could be paying many times more per pax for TOPP than for TTA.

As each business model differs you need to take both the admin fee & the per pax charges into account in your projections and see at what level of business TOPP actually becomes more expensive than TTA.

The other thing to bear in mind is that Travel & General Insurance provide just that, insurance. They can only underwrite so much risk so can't/won't take on all comers, particularly in the current climate.

If you are looking for a Small Business ATOL the CAA now require between £10-40,000 bond depending on number of years the ATOL has been held. T&GI, I pressume, have a ceiling on the total level of risk they can underwrite. They will therefor take on new operators or renew existing policies based on their commercial criteria (risk vs return) and like all of us will want maximum bang for their buck. So will favour those operators that they feel will generate maximum premiums at the least risk. Something to consider when negotiationg terms. If your model/company is perceived to be high risk or low return (to them) they might not want you!

My understanding is that the nature of the TTA's trust system means that they are not faced by the same risk profile so perceived issues with a company or its business model are less important and their bigger issue is fraudulent behaviour on the part of the operator's management.

There are other factors in the decision making preccess like effects on cashflow or administration but to say that one is cheaper than the other is over simplifying things.

As a buyer do your research & then do what is best for you just as they will be doing what is best for them!

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