Insurance Companies to Target the 54% of Travelers Who Have Never Considered Travel Insurance

A new survey conducted by travel insurance comparison site TravelInsurance.com found that even though travelers are concerned with travel disruptions and many have experienced mishaps while on vacation, fewer than half of those surveyed have purchased travel insurance. Of those who didn't purchase travel insurance, only a third even considered it. "The results from the survey show a clear disconnect; respondents have real concerns about travel interruptions and have experienced them first-hand, yet they do not consider the many benefits of travel insurance," said Stan Sandberg, co-founder of TravelInsurance.com. "Our survey revealed that the most common reasons why travelers disregard travel insurance are: they believe it's too expensive; they don't understand the coverage or the rules of purchasing it; and they believe they just don't need it." Domestic Travelers could be motivated to do some research on the subject if they thought it worthwhile. According to AudienceSCAN, within the last six months, 65.2% of these consumers have used a search engine to research a product or service they were considering for purchase (most likely on Google, the preferred search engine of 88.8% of this group). Make sure the results you want seen are on the first page; this group is 10% less likely than other adults to go past the first page of results. Travel Spend The survey found that more than one in five (22%) will spend more than $5,000 on travel this year, with almost half (47%) spending more than $2,500. Older travelers tend to spend the most as they typically have greater disposable incomes, take longer trips and spend more on vacation travel than their younger counterparts. Travel Concerns According to the survey, the top three travel concerns for travelers were weather-related disruptions, the possibility of illness or injury affecting a trip, and terrorism. These concerns are also the top risks addressed by most travel insurance plans. The survey further drilled down into travelers' concerns about the weather. More than three quarters of respondents (78%) indicated that they're at least thinking about the weather at their arrival destination when booking a trip. However, more than half (52%) said they rarely or never take into consideration the weather in their departure city when booking a trip. Travel insurance with trip cancellation coverage is one of the most effective ways to protect an investment in non-refundable vacations year-round, but it can be especially important during the increasingly active hurricane season and during winter months when storms are more likely. These both coincide with some of the busiest leisure travel months of the year. Travel Interruptions While many vacations go smoothly, survey results point to rampant delays. Three out of four respondents (76%) have experienced a flight delay in the past, and nearly half (48%) have had their luggage lost or stolen. Another third (35%) have experienced either getting sick or traveling with someone who has gotten sick while on a trip. Flight was delayed76%Luggage/personal belongings were delayed or lost48%Flight was cancelled 40%You needed to change/cancel your plans due to personal reasons 35%You or someone in your party got sick or injured during the trip35%You missed your connection31%You are someone in your party got sick or injured before the trip17%You needed to change/cancel your plans due to work-related reasons14%You needed travel assistance (i.e., you needed a last-minute change, car rental, hotel accommodations, or you needed help with travel in a country where you don't speak the language, etc.) 14%Luggage/personal belongings were stolen6% Travel Insurance Most consumers are worried about travel disruptions, and most have experienced them in the past, yet more than half (54%) have never purchased travel insurance and two thirds (65%) of those have never even considered it. The survey also showed that about half (47%) of respondents didn't know whether or not their health insurance provided coverage while traveling, especially when traveling abroad. Travel insurance plans can provide medical and emergency evacuation coverage for international travel. The reasons travelers don't purchase travel insurance show that there remains a number of misconceptions about the value proposition of travel insurance and the benefits it provides. "Many people don't think they need travel insurance or that it's too expensive. However, today's frequent travel disruptions and lost travel expenses would suggest otherwise," continued Sandberg. "Travel cancellation coverage can cost as little as four percent (4%) of a trip's total cost, which if something goes wrong and you have to miss your trip, can save you thousands of dollars in the long run. Coverage for emergency travel medical and evacuations can cost even less."Digital advertisements are a great way to communicate the benefits of travel insurance to Domestic Travelers. According to AudienceSCAN, 52.2% of this group was driven to action by an email ad they received last year and 42.2% were motivated to action by text ads or ads they saw on their mobile smartphone apps last year. They're also 5% more likely to click on text link ads on websites. Traditional advertising shouldn't be left out of your campaign though. Last year, 64.8% of Domestic Travelers were driven to action by a TV commercial. AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.

Insurance Companies to Target the 54% of Travelers Who Have Never Considered Travel Insurance

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