A Brisbane-based travel technology platform is preparing to launch what it claims could be the most significant shift in travel insurance distribution in a generation.
Built by travel agent Luke Ballard, Odyssys is set to go live globally on May 1.
The company is in advanced discussions with a major travel insurance provider about an exclusively embedded partnership that would make insurance a mandatory, structured step in every travel agent quote.
Mr Ballard said the platform was designed to remove the friction agents face when recommending insurance.
“Every travel agent I’ve ever known has fought the same battle, getting clients to take out insurance, managing the conversation and dealing with the aftermath when they don’t. We built a workflow that removes that friction entirely. Insurance isn’t an afterthought in Odyssys. It’s structural,” Mr Ballard said.
Unlike traditional agency arrangements where agents are typically accredited with two to four insurers and often skip the insurance conversation entirely, Odyssys embeds insurance as a non-negotiable step in the quote workflow. Travel consultants cannot send a quote to a client without first addressing insurance.
Mr Ballard drew a direct comparison to Cover-More’s 33-year embedded partnership with Flight Centre Travel Group, which covered approximately 10,000 consultants. Odyssys is targeting 1.3 million travel agents globally.
Since announcing its pre-launch registration drive, more than 500 travel agents have registered in seven days, ahead of a 2,000 pre-launch target.
A global pre-launch event will take place on April 30, with the platform launching formally the following day.
