Almost 60 per cent of Americans more likely to buy travel insurance
Insurer Generali Global Assistance (GGA) has published its Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey, which shows that 58 per cent of Americans are more likely to buy travel insurance now
The study surveyed 1,138 US travellers between 26 October and 5 November on their upcoming travel plans and preferences. According to the findings, 74 per cent of US travellers who indicated they would be travelling in 2020 are planning to travel during the upcoming holiday season and 47.6 per cent of US travellers are likely to purchase travel insurance for their trips in 2020.
“The average person’s willingness to travel is increasing and, while there’s still plenty of pandemic related uncertainty, according to our Holiday/2021 Travel Sentiment Survey, most Americans are planning to travel domestically during the upcoming holiday season,” said Chris Carnicelli, CEO of GGA. “The pandemic has also impacted the average consumers’ willingness to purchase travel insurance, with almost 60 per cent of US travellers indicating they are more likely to buy travel insurance now compared to their willingness to buy before the Covid-19 pandemic. Consumers’ demands around travel will continue to change in the wake of the pandemic and our team is consistently looking for ways to enhance our offerings in response.”
US travel intentions in 2020 and 2021
All of the consumers surveyed indicated that they were planning to travel in the next 18 months and 73.6 per cent of travellers who said they would be traveling this year indicated they were planning to take a trip during the upcoming holiday season. About 85 per cent of the survey participants who said they would be travelling in 2020 indicated they’d be traveling for leisure in the remainder of the year, while 24.6 per cent indicated they’d be travelling for business.
In 2021, 78.5 per cent of travellers indicated they were planning to travel in either the spring or summer 2021; 90 per cent of the surveyed participants indicated they’d be travelling for leisure in 2021; and 17.5 per cent indicated they’d be travelling for business.
More people will be buying travel insurance
Due to the pandemic, consumers’ confidence towards international travel remains low in both 2020 and 2021. This means 64.5 per cent of those travelling in 2020 plan to travel domestically while 22.1 per cent of them plan to travel internationally. However, 53.9 per cent of the US travellers surveyed indicated that they will only be comfortable travelling internationally again six months after a vaccine becomes available for Covid-19.
Additionally, the pandemic has significantly impacted the average consumers’ decision to purchase trip protection or travel insurance. Almost 60 per cent of the survey participants said they were more likely to purchase travel insurance for all trips going forward, and 32 per cent of them are planning to purchase travel insurance for their trips in 2021. When deciding which company to purchase travel insurance from price, online ratings and reviews and plan coverage are three key factors for the average consumer.
Despite the American Hotel & Lodging Association conducting a survey across 2,200 Americans in early November and finding that 72 per cent are unlikely to travel for Thanksgiving and 69 per cent are unlikely to travel for Christmas, GGA’s survey gives hope for a slightly brighter future for travel insurers.