Pandemic changes travellers’ perception of travel insurance
The shared experience of a global pandemic has changed the attitudes of older travellers towards travel insurance, with an emphatic move towards quality of cover, according to new research
The new AllClear study of 2,578 people over the age of 50 revealed that 49 per cent of holidaymakers said they would now be inclined to opt for the best possible quality of travel insurance cover, compared to just nine per cent that would still look for the cheapest premium.
Nationally, 40 per cent of survey respondents said picking the right travel insurance was more important to them now than it was before the pandemic – with 24 per cent saying it was a more important consideration when planning a holiday, and 16 per cent saying it was now significantly more important.
Further, when asked to consider which aspects of a travel policy mattered most, 21 per cent of respondents cited medical expenses cover. After this, 16 per cent of survey respondents rated the importance of cancellation cover and 15 per cent still expected good cover for Covid-related issues abroad.
Travellers are taking out insurance early
The heightened importance placed on quality travel cover is also reflected by many of this year's holidaymakers taking our insurance early, rather than shopping around at the eleventh hour, just before they set off on holiday. Nationally, 32 per cent of people said they would book their travel cover as soon as they booked their holiday, with 17 per cent looking to buy their policy shortly afterwards.
These findings come at a time when AllClear research also suggests that the over-50s will be leading the resurgence of overseas holiday travel this year, with 61 per cent of over-50s planning to spend more than £3,000 for multiple holidays abroad in 2022. Furthermore, the over-50s are also the age group least likely to say catching Covid abroad (12 per cent) or the war in Ukraine (15 per cent) have impacted their desire to travel in the next six months.
Chris Rolland, CEO at AllClear, commented: "After two-years when Covid has prevented millions of people from travelling abroad, it’s understandable that safety now tops the priority list for people booking holidays.”