First the bad news: almost half of millennials believe they won’t fall ill or get injured while travelling. Now the good news: brokers can easily exploit this growing market of uninsured vacationers.
According to information on the
Desjardins website, nearly half of young people think they won't be injured or become ill while traveling and don't feel the need for travel insurance. Although 72 per cent of Canadians overall take out travel insurance, that percentage drops to 55 per cent for young people 18 to 29 – the millennials.
Ironically, this group who are still in their 20s tend to be less cautious, and sustain more frequent sporting injuries. But many of them still don't take out insurance because it feels like too much of a hassle and they can't be bothered.
But brokers can turn that around – and even those clients who have travel insurance can be convinced to increase their coverage.
“A big piece of it is helping them understand what the product is,” says Dan Keon, the director of marketing and communications with
Allianz Global Assistance Canada. “What is important is the health aspect of a policy; the assistance piece. If you are in need of hospitalization in a foreign country, you need to know that there is coverage in place for your stay and care.”
Allianz and TIC Travel Insurance Coordinators recently concluded a deal to create Allianz Global Assistance, to merge their respective complementary broker network and global network of service providers.
It is a move that is designed to meet a growth niche, travel insurance, which is expanding at a rate of 5-10 per cent annually, says Keon. And it is a product that brokers can offer to clients any time of the year – not just when they are walking out the door to the airport, suitcases in hand. (continued.)
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“It’s tough, because travel insurance is typically sold as an ancillary product through a travel booking,” Keon told
Insurance Business. “But brokers are in a unique position because they have the person sitting down in front of them or on the phone, and they can take the time to talk through some of the benefits. That’s when you can get into things like annual plans for people who travel across the border on a frequent basis. Brokers are able to sell those products better, because they can explain the benefits and the cost savings.”
Although provincial plans like the Régie de l'assurance maladie du Québec and the Ontario Health Insurance Plan cover insureds when they're outside their home province, they will only reimburse a small portion of expenses.
Statistics show that health care expenses incurred outside of the home country can easily cost anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000.
