Tripbod develops insurance product for its local guides

Tripbod develops insurance product for its local guides

Online local experiences marketplace tripbod.com will start offering its registered guides and experts an insurance product to cover them for any potential liability

Online local experiences marketplace Tripbod will start offering its registered guides and experts an insurance product to cover them for any potential liability.


Sally Broom, one of Tripbod’s founders, told a Small Fish Big Ocean business pitch evening at World Travel Market in London that a policy will be made available from next week.


She said the bespoke policy has been created for Tripbod by one of the biggest names in the insurance industry, although she would not reveal who.


“We have been working for six months creating a bespoke policy for Tripbod which costs half what you normally have to pay as a guide. That will be available through Tripbod.com next week.”


Broom told the 140 guests that since the site was re-launched a month ago to allow its army of ‘bods’ to register and promote their knowledge its site had been “crawled nicely” by Google.


“We are positioning ourselves in this long tail niche of experiences. They are being searched for,” Broom said.


“This is a chance for everybody everywhere to share their passion for where they live, maybe people who are not particularly empowered to become online entrepreneurs.”


Tripbod is allows consumers to get local experts’ input on their trips or to link up with someone who can act as a guide to offer an authentic experience.


In November last year the company brought Rough Guides founder Martin Dunford onto the board to spearhead the next stage of its development.


Tripbod began life as a global online community that sought to put travellers in touch with knowledgeable locals and help them to avoid using middle men.