The failure of members to arrange to sell travel insurance under a new regulatory regime could result in their inability to offer clients travel insurance and the loss of valuable revenue, the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) has warned.

As the regulatory regime is set to begin in January, the travel association said it was concerned that members have not made arrangements to sell the cover to clients even in a worsening market situation.

Travel insurance sold by the trade had been overseen since 2005 by ABTA, but from January 2009 it will become the responsibility of the Financial Services Authority under the new rules.

With many agents yet to make any arrangements, the ABTA does not know how many will stop selling travel insurance from January or will continue to sell.

Based on the new regulations travel agents intending to sell the insurance cover must adopt one of three options.

The first is that they must be authorised by the FSA. Second, they must act as an appointed representative of an FSA-authorised company. Three, they must register as an Introducer Appointed Representative and pass the client on to an insurance supplier.