Travel insurance claims triple as CDC changes US entry rules

travel insurance claims triple

Earlier this month, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed requirements for US residents to submit a negative Covid-19 test when returning to the country, correlating with an increase in international travel

According to travel insurance aggregator Squaremouth, international travel has returned to pre-Covid levels. So far this year, 90 per cent of trips insured on squaremouth.com are for international destinations, compared to 76 per cent for the same time period last year.

The rise in international travel is coming as the travel industry is already struggling to keep up with demand, amid staffing shortages and other operation disruptions.

As a result, Squaremouth reports a 235-per-cent increase in travel insurance claims year-to-date, compared to the same period in 2019. Policy sales are also up 180 per cent in that same time period.

Despite the CDC entry rule change, Squaremouth says most travellers still attribute Covid-19 as the main factor that would impact their trip, whether they were to contract the virus before or during their trip.

Since the CDC announcement, 34 per cent of searches on Squaremouth.com are for a policy that covers contracting Covid-19, down from 44 per cent in the preceding week. In comparison, coverage for a Covid-related quarantine fell from 17 per cent of searches to 10 per cent.