The principle of reciprocity: tour operators will have a new insurance tool
In the context of a dynamically developing tourism market, issues of safety and protection of travelers are becoming particularly relevant. It is becoming more difficult for tour operators to provide financial guarantees using traditional tools every year. According to experts, insurance capacities are almost exhausted today, and commercial insurers themselves carry disproportionate risks, which complicates the implementation of this mechanism. An alternative way to obtain financing in case of emergency situations may be funds created on the basis of mutual insurance companies. How the new tool will work is described in the Izvestia article.
Collective responsibility
This year, the Russian tourism industry will be on the verge of a transformation in financial risk management: tour operators will have a new tool for ensuring financial responsibility to customers — mutual insurance companies.
The bill authorizing their activities was adopted in 2024, recalls Vladimir Yashchenko, security adviser to the director of the Turpomosh Association. The changes will take effect on September 1, 2025.
The OVS model has already been successfully used both internationally and in the domestic market, Turpomoshie points out. Globally, mutual insurance accounts for 27% of all insurance premiums (approximately $1.3 trillion). Such societies have existed in Russia since 1864, but their creation is an innovation for the tourism industry.
The mechanism is expected to complement other instruments such as commercial insurance and bank guarantees. Membership in the OVC will be able to confirm the availability of insurance.
— In fact, mutual insurance companies are consumer cooperatives. Their members form a mutual insurance fund and extinguish each other's insurance risks. Policyholders are the owners of such a company, while acting as insurers," explains Yashchenko. — This is expected to enable the implementation of insurance solutions tailored to the specific needs of the tourism industry.
To create a company, at least five legal entities are required, which, when combined, will form a mutual insurance fund. The minimum amount should be 50 million rubles. The maximum number of OVC members is 500.
After launching the mechanism, the initiative group will either begin negotiations with existing mutual insurance companies, of which there are more than 10 in Russia today, or organize its own insurance company after going through the licensing procedure, said Kirill Sgibnev, head of the Insurance Committee of the Russian Union of Travel Industry, Adviser to the General Director of Borovitsky Insurance Company JSC.
— To obtain a license, the company must have qualified specialists who meet the requirements of the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. Only if they are available is it possible to issue a license," the expert emphasizes.
After that, a decision will be made on the applicable tariffs and criteria for admission of tour operators to the company, he adds. Next, the necessary documents are developed — insurance rules, application form, risk assessment methodology, etc.
In other words, the new mechanism will be able to provide insurance to tour operators for the amounts established by law, guarantee payments to tourists and increase their share relative to the cost of the tour, says Sthibnev.
Expanding the toolkit
The main difference between OVS and traditional insurance instruments is the absence of irretrievable losses of tour operators who have become members of the company, Vladimir Yashchenko points out. The money that the company invests in the mutual insurance fund actually remains in its ownership.
— If the tour operator decides to withdraw from the company, he will take these funds. The money transferred to insurance companies and the cost of the financial guarantee in the bank cannot be returned," the expert draws attention to. Membership in the society will thus reduce the financial burden on tour operators.
Nikita Korostelev believes that it is impossible to talk about replacing traditional instruments such as the personal liability fund, insurance and bank guarantee, since the new mechanism is rather an additional one. However, expanding the list of security tools in the industry will benefit both tour operators and tourists, as the already significant financial burden on tour operators will increase in the context of avoiding preferential measures.
Kirill Sgibnev agrees that OVS will only partially be able to replace traditional insurance instruments. But this is unlikely to be applicable to the largest Russian tour operators, because the insurance amounts they need are too large.
— To ensure payments under such agreements, significant own funds will be required, which are difficult to generate only through contributions from tour operators, — says the representative of the PCT.
It is noteworthy that insurance companies are positive about the entry of OATS into the tourist market. This is due to the fact that the capacities in the insurance market today are exhausted by both large and medium-sized operators, said Andrey Tyurin, Deputy General Director of the insurance company Euroins.
— There is a large stratum of tour operators who need liability insurance in the range of 50-100 million rubles. And for them, solutions in the insurance market are far from always available. This is especially true for new companies in the industry," he explains.
Every year, major tour operators find it increasingly difficult to obtain insurance and bank guarantees for a number of reasons, including high risks in the industry, confirms Nikita Korostelev, Director of Government Relations at Tutu travel service. After all, in the event of a crisis, insurers will have to pay significant amounts.
In this regard, the entry of mutual insurance companies into the tourist market is logical and will be a good solution to the problem, because for tour operators it will be a diversification of risks, Tyurin believes.
At the same time, not all tour operators will become part of the OVC, he believes. Some will remain partners of insurance companies, preferring traditional alternatives.
Capital increase
The funds of the mutual insurance fund can be spent primarily on insurance risk coverage, says Vladimir Yashchenko.
— That is, if one of the members of the society gets into an insured event, the money will be used to compensate for the damage caused as a result of the actions of a particular tour operator, — he explains.
Potentially, the participation of several tour operators should reduce the level of significant losses in the event of crisis situations for individual members of the OVS, Nikita Korostelev is convinced.
For the time being, the company will place insurance premiums that have formed a mutual insurance fund in banks with the appropriate rating or invest in reliable assets, Kirill Sgibnev emphasizes. However, the money will be supervised and used strictly for insurance purposes.
— After the insurance contracts are completed, unused funds can be used to reduce premiums next year, voluntarily increase insurance amounts or for other purposes in the interests of society's members, — the expert clarifies.
In general, the effectiveness of the OVS will depend on the results of the general meeting of the company's members, which may decide on the redistribution of funds, he adds. For example, participants will be able to reduce the insurance premium, increase the insurance amount or carry out rehabilitation in case of problems of one of the members.
Protection of the regulator
Kirill Sgibnev believes that the main risk in insurance in the OVS is the insufficiency of the fund in the event of a major insurance event. In addition, if one of the participants goes bankrupt, especially if it is a large tour operator, the other members will be required to make additional contributions.
— However, the law on mutual insurance is extensive: insurance of tour operators is only a part of it. To reduce the risks, the OVC may engage in other voluntary types of insurance that are less risky. This will increase the company's assets and balance the fund," the Izvestia interlocutor is confident.
Another risk is that the mutual insurance company itself may go bankrupt, warns Vladimir Yashchenko. But the activities of the OVS will be regulated by the Central Bank. It is he who will determine the rules by which the company will operate and the procedure for its termination.
— The experience of creating mutual insurance companies in Russia exists in other industries, but it is completely new for tourism, so there is no need to talk about risk coverage statistics yet. However, given that the market for tour operators is stable today, serious problems should not be expected," the expert concludes.
The editorial board of Izvestia sent a request to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia. No responses had been received at the time of publication.
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