Seven Corners reports rise in purchases for H1 2023

US-based Seven Corners Travel Insurance has announced that travel insurance purchases in 2022 for trips within the first half (H1) of 2023 are up 20.7 per cent, compared with the same period in the previous year.

It added that the largest year-on-year increase in travel insurance sales is for the month of May – in which in which the number of trips planned by its customers for that month has ‘nearly doubled’, compared with those who purchased policies in advance for May 2022.

This follows a slight dip in sales for those planning to travel in April 2023 – mirroring which Seven Corners says mirrors sales trends from before the pandemic, ‘giving further proof that the travel industry is returning to normal’.

The company stated that the overall ‘unpredictability’ of the wider economy, and the travel industry in particular, ‘is likely contributing to people’s willingness to purchase travel insurance’. It added that ‘having protection from trip insurance can make a big difference [to] whether travellers lose their investment, or are reimbursed for pre-paid, non-refundable trip expenses’.

“You can’t put a price on peace of mind, but more travellers are finally understanding that investing in trip protection is a worthwhile expense,” said Angela Borden, Product Strategist at Seven Corners.. “The cost of travel insurance can be significantly less than what you would lose if your trip is ccancelled and you don’t have protection.”

The top four destinations remain the same as last year

Seven Corners also reported that the most popular destination for those purchasing travel insurance in 2022, for a trip in H1 2023, was Mexico. This was followed by Italy, the UK and France. as the next most popular destinations. The company noted that these top four destinations are the same as last year – albeit with France and the UK shifting rankings.

“This list shows that a renewed interest in European travel following the pandemic wasn’t a short-term trend,” said Borden. “Americans were eager to get back to Europe as travel restrictions eased, and that excitement has remained, likely helped by the strength of the dollar.”

While Caribbean destinations were popular with US travellers in the aftermath of the pandemic, due to the relative leniency of their Covid border rules and geographical adjacency, the popularity of the islands has reduced as more destinations have opened their doors in the past year.

Most notably, Turks and Caicos ranked as the seventh most popular destination in 2022 – but has now dropped to 45th place. The number of Seven Corners travel insurance plans sold to travellers visiting the country has declined 250 per cent year-on-year. The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, British Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands, Sint Maarten, Bonaire, Saint Barthelemy, and Puerto Rico have also seen reduced interest.

By contrast, Israel has increased in popularity as a destination, with the number of travel insurance plans sold for 2023 up 57 per cent year-on-year – making it the fifth most popular destination for Seven Corners customers.