ITIC UK 2025 | The state of the European travel insurance industry – trends, challenges and opportunities
In the first session of the day, David Bowles spoke about the latest trends in the European travel insurance market following the Covid-19 pandemic
The ITIJ team are reporting live from ITIC UK in Southampton. Read all the reports here.
David Bowles, Manager, Finaccord
Travel and travel insurance: What did the landscape look like before the pandemic?
Bowles began his presentation by reflecting on travel trends before the pandemic. He highlighted findings from Finaccord data on 10 European countries – the UK, Germany, Poland, Spain, Austria, France, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and the Netherlands – revealing that 357 million outbound overnight trips were made by these nations in 2019. The UK and Germany accounted for the highest percentage of outbound overnight trips. Bowles noted that Spain, Italy and France were more likely to travel domestically.
In 2019, the total gross written premium (GWP) for standalone travel insurance policies – excluding those bundled with payment cards or bank accounts – across all 10 countries amounted to €3.4 billion, according to Finaccord’s data.
Travel trends: has outbound travel recovered?
Bowles confirmed that by 2024, general travel had returned to pre-pandemic levels, with a modest increase of approximately 0.6% compared with 2019. However, business travel remained 2% below 2019 levels. He noted that outbound travel from each country is recovering at varying rates, with Austria experiencing the fastest rebound among the European countries included.
What does that mean for the travel insurance market?
Finaccord found that premiums rebounded more quickly than outbound travel, with total GWP in 2024 6.3% higher than in 2019. Notably, premiums had already surpassed pre-pandemic figures by 2022. Bowles attributed much of this increase to inflation, estimating real market growth at around 1%. However, he drew attention to Italy, where premiums rose significantly despite slower travel recovery, attributing this to a shift towards more expensive holidays and increased overall travel spending.
What does it mean for travel insurers?
Bowles finished by highlighting that while international brands continue to lead the market, largely by securing major multi-country deals, the market has become less concentrated, opening up opportunities for others. In 2018, insurers outside the top 10 accounted for around 35% of GWP; by 2024, this share had risen to 41%. He noted that UK brands are particularly significant due to the size of the UK market.
Bowles pointed to additional Finaccord research, which found that the majority of respondents said they were more likely to purchase travel insurance following the Covid-19 pandemic.