About The Unsold Group

Founder

Al Ste-Marie

Al's path to founding The Unsold Group began long before his first Antarctic voyage. Growing up in Quebec and working as a night auditor at a hotel outside Quebec City, he discovered a natural instinct for guest experience — learning that composure, empathy, and attention to detail are the bedrock of exceptional hospitality.

After studying business and management, Al spent years in consulting and then took on cross-cultural management at a yoga retreat center in Nicaragua — sharpening his ability to work across cultures and deliver exceptional service under pressure. Throughout, he quietly built his travel agent credentials, helping friends plan destination weddings and complex itineraries.

Then came Antarctica. Al experienced the continent firsthand — at 60% off — and had an epiphany: more people should be able to go, right now, for less. That insight became Unsold Antarctica, and the broader philosophy became The Unsold Group.

Running Unsold Antarctica exposed a friction point that no one had solved cleanly: travel insurance. Expedition operators require specific coverage before guests board — but refuse to sell it themselves due to the complexity of operating across dozens of jurisdictions. Guests, meanwhile, face a maze of 30-page PDFs, buried exclusions, and policies that standard insurers quietly void the moment a ship crosses into polar waters.

In January 2026, Al launched Expedition Insure — polar and safari travel insurance built around a simple idea: simplify the process by pre-vetting policies against the exact requirements of 22+ expedition operators. Currently operating B2B, Expedition Insure is expanding into preferred-provider partnerships with tour operators — embedding compliant coverage directly into their checkout flow, so guests are protected before they ever have to ask.