Singapore reports satisfied travel insurance customers
GoBear's 2020 Singapore Travel Claims Survey revealed that over 80 per cent of Singapore policyholders had a positive travel insurance claims experience despite Covid-19 travel disruptions
It’s no secret that Covid-19 had a dramatic impact on the number of travel insurance claims. Indeed, comparison site GoBear’s findings uncovered that from December 2019 to March 2020, 83 per cent of respondents had made claims on their travel insurance policies. And by April, this had risen to 93 per cent, with cancelled (40 per cent) and delayed trips (26 per cent) being cited by respondents as the top reasons for filing claims.
In addition, GoBear’s survey noted that despite the high number of claims, over half (55 per cent) of all claims were processed within seven days, and that it was also the insurers with the highest number of claims that met this deadline (AIG, Allianz, Aviva, AXA, and DirectAsia). Moreover, a higher claim amount did not equate to a longer process time – more than 75 per cent of all claims were handled within two weeks, and it was only if the customer made a claim of more than S$10,000 per person insured (of which there were less than 10 instances recorded) that it took longer.
It also became apparent that a positive claims experience drives loyalty – 88 per cent of respondents felt that their claims experience was important or very important when purchasing travel insurance in the future, and 85 per cent said they were likely to purchase a policy from the same insurer based on their Covid-19 claims experience.
“Even when faced with an uptick in claims activity brought about by Covid-19, Singapore’s travel insurers have remained dedicated to customers,” said GoBear Singapore Country Director Winston Ng. “The results of this survey show that insurance service standards have remained resilient and this will ultimately help to build industry trust in the long-term.”
Elsewhere, the survey also highlighted that while the claims process was straightforward and efficient for most (56 per cent of respondents were not required to submit additional documents), only five per cent of claims made were submitted via a mobile app. It seems that there is room still for more customer centricity and convenience through digital innovations.