Squaremouth Pays Back

Like many travel companies, we immediately felt the impact of the pandemic. Despite a 90% decrease in business, we pledged to keep our entire staff at full pay. These 12 customers embody the resilience of travelers and represent one of the most pivotal days in Squaremouth history.

WHAT WE DID

Squaremouth is thanking the 12 customers who purchased travel insurance policies on April 12, 2020, the worst day in our company’s 19-year history.

In March 2020, nearly every traveler worldwide found themselves impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, and subsequent border closures, quarantine requirements, and health concerns. By April, the travel industry had reached a near-complete standstill.

At a time when no one was traveling, travel insurance certainly wasn’t top of mind. We wanted to learn more about these 12 people. Who were there? Where were they planning to go? And we wanted to thank them for trusting us with their business.

We were able to track down all 12 customers from all over the country, and as far as Brazil. Their initial skepticism subsided, and we spoke with each of them to learn about their travels, their families, their jobs, and how they were impacted by the pandemic.

We explained how their business helped us keep our company morale high when sales were low. And on April 12, 2022 – the two-year anniversary of our lowest sales day – we sent them each $1,200 as a thank you.

Who We Are

Squaremouth is a travel insurance comparison company that helps customers instantly search, compare, and buy travel insurance policies online.

Squaremouth prioritizes reputation over profits, with a core goal of helping every customer find the coverage they need for the lowest possible price. Founded in 2003, Squaremouth.com has helped more than 2 million travelers find the best travel insurance policy for their trip.

WHY WE DID IT

Like most companies in the travel industry, the initial impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our business was dire. For the majority of 2020 and the first half of 2021, we survived on reserves. 

Despite the decline, we knew both our customers, and our staff had never needed us more. 

We knew travel would rebound eventually, and with it, the need for travel insurance. We believed the only way for us to serve our current customers, and prepare for the future of travel, was with our entire team. 

In March 2020, we made a pledge to our employees that we would remain fully staffed –  with no layoffs or pay cuts. We understood that our employees, too, were navigating this new world, and we wanted them to know their salary wasn’t on the chopping block.

What we didn’t know was how bad the situation would get, or how long it would go on.

Together, our entire team watched our sales dwindle by over 90%, bottoming out at 12 sales on April 12, 2020. 

Over the past two years, our company has come together to create innovative ways to help our customers throughout the pandemic. Just as we appreciate our employees who stuck with us, we appreciate our customers who purchased from us. They didn’t know it at the time, but their business helped keep company morale high. 

Now, two years later, travelers have regained their confidence, and our industry has rebounded. On the two-year anniversary of this date, we thanked those 12 customers who were there for us amid the most uncertain times.

“I have to admit, I was teary eyed while hearing about the Squaremouth Pays Back campaign. Such a cool thing – and truly made my heart smile! Knowing that I work with extremely kind and forward thinking humans is the best perk of this job! Thank you for keeping us afloat.”

Macy McNaughton
Office Manager at Squaremouth

MEET THE APRIL 12

We wanted to learn more about the 12 customers who bought from us on our lowest sales day ever. Here are some of their stories.

Patricia  from Wisconsin
Patricia from Wisconsin

Destination: Mexico – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 04:20 PM

We love to travel & often travel with the Ya-Yas. The “Ya-Yas” started as a group of 4 nurses who practiced at the same hospital & became friends. Then we added a neighbor friend, a business executive, to the group. Over time our husbands became friends & the Ya-Ya husbands evolved.

We had recently retired, and the group was hoping a 2021 winter trip to Cabo to escape the cold would be feasible. Denny & I had just lost 3 parents in 13 months, but we felt we’d be ready to laugh again by then, and surely the pandemic would be better.

Covid cases were increasing daily. Schools were closed and we had become “teachers” to our house-bound grandchildren. The Ya-Ya’s stayed in touch & played electronic Euchre together via Zoom. Our healthcare colleagues were exhausted & struggled to meet the demand. Being from healthcare, we knew a vaccine would be coming. With fingers crossed, and travel insurance purchased, we were optimistic that it would be safe to travel in 2021. Who could have foreseen the challenges & hardships of the Pandemic? Not surprising, our trip didn’t happen. But I’m happy to say Covid cases are down, our grandkids are back in school and we did have our time in the warm sun in January 2022.

We love to travel & often travel with the Ya-Yas. The “Ya-Yas” started as a group of 4 nurses who practiced at the same hospital & became friends

Patricia J

John  from Florida
John from Florida

Destination: France – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 04:54 PM

My husband & I try to travel from our home state of Florida at least once a year. We would normally alternate, traveling within the US one year, and traveling Internationally the next year. On one of our trips, we met another couple who were in similar places in their lives, and also made travel an annual goal.

We began traveling together, and have since visited Italy, Peru, Ireland, and multiple domestic cities. They had a group of friends who wanted to travel to France, planning a trip for the Fall of 2020. We made all of our arrangements and reservations, booked our travel, then Covid shut down the World.

It was our frequent travel companions who first mentioned travel insurance to us. With everything on hold, unsure if the world would re-open in time for our Fall travel, an insurance policy seemed like a wise decision.

We still have not made our trip to France, but it’s still something we all want to do. We are all looking forward to exploring.

With everything on hold, unsure if the world would re-open in time for our travel, an insurance policy seemed like a wise decision.

John S

Tomer  from California
Tomer from California

Destination: New Zealand – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 5:24 PM

I’m happy that my purchase helped make the lowest sales day just a bit higher and that we are at more optimistic times now. This was actually the first time I purchased travel insurance!

We were a little too optimistic at the beginning of the Covid pandemic that things will go back to normal soon, so we were thinking about taking advantage of the extraordinarily low flight prices to travel to a dream destination.

We were concerned about the possibility of the trip not happening. Squaremouth helped me realize the spectrum of travel insurance products. In particular, the “cancel for any reason” option, which seemed perfect to give us peace of mind and allowed us to grab tickets to New Zealand for the whole family (my wife, 4 kids, and myself!).

Eventually, the trip didn’t happen, and New Zealand remained closed. We did end up traveling to Israel a year later, which we insured again!

We were concerned about the possibility of the trip not happening, so we were searching whether there was a way to protect it.

Tomer A

 Fernanda  from Brazil
Fernanda from Brazil

Destination: USA – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 6:20 PM

I’m Brazilian and love to travel, learn, and experience different cultures. In 2018 I went to the United States for a 2 years exchange program, to work and study.

In January 2020 everything was planned to go to France in June 2020, I had booked flight tickets, French classes, a hotel, and a Squaremouth policy for 3 months.

By March 2020, everything was canceled due to the pandemic and I wasn’t able to leave the United States. Since I was not able to go to France, I decided to make a road trip through the West Coast.

By May, my plans were postponed again and I wasn’t able to travel at all, not France or the West Coast. So in 2021, I decided to go back to Brazil, wait safely for everything to get better, and enjoy my family. A few plans were canceled, others just postponed, but little by little I’m coming back to travel and explore the world.

I’m Brazilian and love to travel, to learn and experience different cultures.

Fernanda

Richard  from Arizona
Richard from Arizona

Destination: Portugal – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 6:30 PM

I purchased a policy from Squaremouth to provide supplemental health coverage for a trip to Portugal that my wife and I were planning to take in late May 2020. We had to cancel the trip due to Covid and rebooked it for May 2021, which was also canceled, and rebooked again for April 2022.

I am glad you were able to retain all of your staff at full pay since so many people have suffered greatly during this pandemic.

In the spirit of “paying back”, Richard donated his $1,200 to the team member who helped him with his purchase, Cecilia. She is an Air Force Veteran and mom of two. Here’s more about her.

I joined Squaremouth in November 2017, and immediately fell in love with the culture of exceptional customer service and work-life balance. Coming from a call center background, Squaremouth’s way of treating the customer as if they were the only customer in the world was refreshing and inspiring. For the first time, I had the opportunity to provide the type of customer service I could really be proud of.

When the pandemic hit and everything was uncertain for the entire world, Squaremouth’s leadership provided stability in an unprecedented time and were quick to assist any employee with easing our concerns and fears. They kept all of their team employed throughout the entire pandemic, and for that, me and my family are forever grateful.

In the spirit of “paying back”, Richard donated his $1,200 to the team member who helped him with his purchase, Cecilia. She is an Air Force Veteran and mom of two.

Paige  from Pennsylvania
Paige from Pennsylvania

Destination: USA – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 9:09 PM

My name is Paige and my career is in Human Resources. The Covid pandemic has made a large impact in HR that is difficult to be explained. While it came with its challenges and long hours, it also brought a lot of attention to HR as a department and made companies truly understand that we can actually impact the business in a strategic way.

As a family (including my dogs) we typically take a trip every year to Myrtle Beach. We have grown to love the area and plan to hopefully purchase a beach house there one day.

We have always purchased travel insurance because with kids and dogs, you never know what will happen! Squaremouth was highly recommended to us and we have never looked back.

We are in disbelief that this is happening to us! This will pay for our annual trip and we couldn’t be more grateful.

Paige K

Todd  from Colorado
Todd from Colorado

Destination: USA – Purchased 4/12/2020 at 11:28 PM

My daughter Kai Lin was so excited for the opportunity to travel with her high school marching band to Orlando, Florida. In March of 2020, the band had been invited to perform during an evening DisneyWorld parade. She had been fundraising and working odd jobs for months to save up for the trip and had her bags all packed – then Covid closed down most of the United States. The trip was postponed just days before they were to leave.

In April of 2020, the band was working with a local travel agency and Disney to rebook the trip for October 2020, and even better, the trip would take place on her birthday. An exciting celebration. Living in southern Colorado, we are always worried about weather delays and travel interruptions. In October, you can find hot summer conditions one day, followed by a winter blizzard the next morning. Travel insurance was a must, and we were grateful that Squaremouth was available for the tickets. We purchased a travel coverage plan and hoped for a quick economic and public health recovery.

Unfortunately, Covid continued to rear its ugly head and an uptick in cases forced the theme park to keep parades and music showcases closed. The trip was canceled, along with a lot of other activities that fall. Locally, Covid took a toll on the city. School went back to remote learning, restaurants closed in in-person dining, and our local community even instituted strict gathering policies to stem the surging Covid outbreak.

The disappointment from the canceled trip faded quickly. The community recovered, school reopened, practices went back to normal. The band took a trip in-state this past fall. I’m thankful that my family stayed healthy during the pandemic. Senior year for both my son and daughter seemed to merge into a new normal and they are heading off to university life in the fall. My daughter will study psychology, and my son plans to study aeronautical engineering.

This is unexpected. And with 2 kids heading to college next year - much needed. My daughter will study psychology, and my son plans to study aeronautical engineering.

Todd S

By the Numbers

12
Number of policies Squaremouth sold on April 12, 2020, the lowest sales day in company history
37
Number of employees Squaremouth pledged to keep at full pay throughout the pandemic
$14,400
Total amount of money Squaremouth sent as a thank you to those 12 customers - $1,200 each
<1%
Percent of sales through Squaremouth.com on April 12, 2020 compared to the 2022 daily average
>90%
Percent decrease in Squaremouth business at the height of the pandemic compared to the year prior
188%
Squaremouth growth in the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021

Are you a member of the media?

Our team is on hand to answer your questions. Please contact us at SQMpaysback@squaremouth.com, or call us at (727) 619-7262.