Devitt, part of the Winterthur Group, has won the contract to run the professional indemnity (PI) scheme for the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).
The scheme, Travel Agent's Professional Indemnity Cover, will enable agents to meet the requirements stipulated under the new regulatory regime of the General Insurance Standards Council (GISC).
ABTA has lobbied the GISC to amend some of the proposed regulations, but failed to make the regulator change its stance on the £1m indemnity that covers agents for errors or omissions such as misdating paperwork, giving incorrect visa advice or mis-selling a policy.
Mike Monk, head of financial services, said: "We have always recommended our members take adequate PI cover and this policy is flexible enough to meet the needs of all our members, whether they choose to register with the GISC or not."
The 12-month PI policy will also offer public liability insurance for agents who act as occasional tour operators, covering customers for accidental injury while on a trip packaged by the agency. It also includes cover for accident or injury to customers while on agency premises.
In one recent case, a travel agent sold a Devitt policy to a customer but omitted to ask if the customer had a medical condition. The holidaymaker suffered from a recurring heart problem and was hospitalised in the US for four months at a cost of £16,000.
