During the most recent Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA) conference, it was discussed that while the Canadian market for travel insurance is going strong, insurers still need to make an effort to win over the younger demographic.
Speaking to everyone present at the conference, Canadian Tourism Research Institute (CTRI; a part of the Conference Board of Canada) senior research associate Jennifer Hendry first looked at the older generation, noting that although the share of the nation’s population older than 55 is increasing significantly, the age group is healthier, wealthier, more mobile, and adventurous than its predecessors. Hendry hypothesized that if that specific age sector continues to take the same proportional number of trips in 2023 as it did in 2010, outbound volumes of travel would grow by 41%.
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“They don’t want more stuff. They want to go someplace and do something they haven’t done before. This is good news for travel providers,” she explained.
International Travel & Health Insurance Journal reported that in 2016 there were 4.3 million single trip policies taken out, which accounted for $572 million in premiums, with an average of $133 per policy. This reflects a 12.1% year-over-year drop compared to the same period last year. On the other hand, however, the average premium was 9% higher than the previous year.
Hendry noted that average premiums are expected to increase due to the volume of older travelers getting into the market and their increased trip duration.
However, despite the strong outlook for travel insurance, there is still an issue about getting uninsured customers on to the travel insurance bandwagon. According to Hendry, insurers should be turning their attention to the younger demographic, who compromise over 20% of Canadians who went uninsured during their last trip out of the country.
Thirty per cent (30%) of the uninsured did not think about getting insurance, Hendry said, citing data. Another 21.5% thought it was too expensive, while 16.7% declined because their trip was only for a night or two, while 8.8% said that they simply forgot about it or that they thought the process was too inconvenient.
“Your task” she concluded, challenging the insurers present at the event, “will be to win their trust, to convince them that they need coverage for every single trip they take.”
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