Unbundling Travel Insurance – with Sasha Gainullin, CEO, battleface

The Insurance Coffee House

“We’re not the type of company to put lipstick on the pig”, says Sasha. “We want to fix the pig first, then make it pretty.”

Sasha shares his journey in to travel insurance in an emergency medical assistance role with Travel Guard to the launch of battleface, a full-stack global travel insurance company.

“A lot of policies were created decades ago. The travel industry has changed so much, but travel insurance hasn’t kept up”, as Sasha explains how battleface works direct with consumers or through affinity partners to enable customers and partners to easily select custom-built products and services that perfectly fit their needs.

Having grown from a team of 10 to 120 over the past year, Sasha talks about the challenges to business growth and maintaining the culture and values as the company continues to grow across the US, UK, Europe, Canada and Australia.

“We’re dealing with a lot of cultures and nationalities, you have to be extremely flexible.”

Highlighting the importance of uncomfortable conversations, Sasha says, “Every person in the company can challenge my opinion or each other’s opinion. It doesn’t matter what level of the company you’re at.”

Sasha talks about the value an insurance background can bring to the business, managing a team spread across multiple time zones and the foundations needed for growth.

“Flexibility, we’re changing all the time. We’re seeing what works and what doesn’t work. And even though we’re custom-building the insurance product, building systems that can be easily replicated is key.”

About Sasha Gainullin

With over 25 years of experience in the travel insurance industry, Sasha Gainullin is an innovative leader and industry disruptor. Launched in 2018, battleface unbundles travel insurance, being first to market in connecting travellers with customised insurance policies. Under his leadership as co-founder and CEO, battleface has grown to more than 120 employees spanning 11 countries across the globe.

Connect with Sasha on LinkedIn

About battleface

Backed by global partners and a commitment to delivering superior experiences, battleface face uses cutting-edge tech to make buying and using travel insurance a seamless process. battleface is on a mission to deliver peace of mind and relevant products to today’s travellers. Find out more

The Insurance Coffee House Podcast is hosted by Nick Hoadley, CEO, Insurance Search, the Executive Search Consultancy for growing Insurance and Insurtech businesses across the globe.

To discuss identifying & attracting the very best talent to your team or being a podcast guest, reach out to Nick via [e-mail] or connect on LinkedIn

Copyright Insurance Search 2022 – All Rights Reserved.