
Travel insurance is a type of insurance that is purchased by travelers to protect themselves from certain financial risks and losses that can be encountered while traveling. Depending on the type of travel insurance obtained, benefits are offered which may cover damage to personal property, rented equipment, delays or loss of baggage, loss of travel documents or loss of cash, trip cancellation or interruption coverage, medical expense coverage, personal effects coverage, and accidental death or flight accident coverage. This way travelers can travel safe and secure.
The UK travel insurance market was valued at USD 658.53 million in 2018. With increased mobility among individuals, travel has become an accepted part of business, academic and personal life in the modern world, exposing both individuals and businesses to new financial risk with each trip. There are several reasons for the rapid surge in the growth of the tourism industry. Advances in technology, increased disposable incomes, holiday entitlement, and the effect of media and easy availability of holiday packages are some major factors attributed to this growth. Mass tourism and package holidays have opened up markets to a huge number of people. Extreme and ecological tourism is also becoming popular, further swelling the global tourism industry. For the hospitality and travel sector, in particular, the increased popularity of social channels and the rise of the Internet has altered travel marketing. Transformed travel research and rise in social sharing are some other key aspects that depict the way media has transformed the overall tourism industry.
According to OECD, 79 percent of consumers intend to use digital channels for travel insurance interactions. But with 52.7% of consumers accessing the Internet via mobile phones, website usage is fading. However, travel insurance providers are offering websites which are more responsive along with the ability to purchase insurance using online payments. But technology doesn’t stop at distribution; customer loyalty can also be fostered using apps and social media. E-claims trend is surging with the potential to curb fraud and escalate efficiency. Furthermore, a new influx of data collation has subsequently given rise to the concept of big data, where insurers are inspecting the possibility of being able to predict the possibility of claims, and adjust premiums based on detailed client analysis. Another digital trend taking place in the travel insurance industry is a comparison of websites which is wide-spreading the travel insurance industry.
Key Segments of the UK Travel Insurance Market
Type Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Billion)
- Medical Expenses
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Delay
- Property Damage
Type of Travel Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Billion)
- Business Travel
- Leisure Travel
Application Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Billion)
- Domestics Travel
- International Travel
Distribution Channel Overview, 2015-2025 (USD Billion)
- Direct Sales
- Indirect Sales
Reasons for the study
- The purpose of the study is to give an exhaustive outlook of the UK Travel Insurance market.
- To analyze, how travel trends and the UK travel insurance market will be impacted by socio-political and economic factors over the next few years
- Ensure you remain competitive as new innovations and insurance models begin to enter the market.
What does the report include?
- The study on the UK travel insurance market includes qualitative factors such as drivers, restraints, and opportunities
- Additionally, the market has been evaluated using the Porters 5 Forces and Value Chain Analysis.
- The study covers the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market segmented on the basis of type, application, distribution channel, and region. Moreover, the study provides similar information for the key geographies.
- Actual market sizes and forecasts have been provided for all the above-mentioned segments.
- The study includes the profiles of key players in the market with a significant global and/or regional presence.
Who should buy this report?
This study is suitable for industry participants and stakeholders in the UK travel insurance market. The report will benefit:
- Executives of travel insurance companies that are engaged in travel insurance sales.
- Managers within financial institutions looking to publish recent and forecasted statistics pertaining to the UK travel insurance market.
- Government organizations, regulatory authorities, policymakers and financial organizations looking for innovative UK travel insurance solutions.
- Analysts, researchers, educators, strategy managers, and academic institutions looking for insights into the market to determine future strategies.
Data, parametric insurance, Blockchain, and end-user service platforms have become some of the keywords of the digital transformation of the travel insurance industry. In 2017, the AXA Fizzy service was introduced which is a Blockchain-based service that instantly and automatically reimburses the customer if flight postpone through a smart contract.
The customer logged to Fizzy for a particular flight and their flight and personal information is compiled in a smart contract in the Ethereum Blockchain. The smart contract coordinate the flight and in case it gets delayed by more than two hours, the travelers immediately and automatically receives reimbursement from AXA, without any hassle of having to file a claim. The company is still testing the concept in real market conditions. At present, only flights between Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport and a few airports in the US are catered with less than 10,000 euros of premium in six months— a step forward in a very interesting direction.
Type Segment
On the basis of types, UK travel insurance covers categories like Medical Expenses, Trip Cancellation, Trip Delay and Property Damage. Medical expenses have dominated the market by occupying 42.0% market share in 2018. Medical expenses segment is likely to dominate the UK travel insurance as the global travelers are often exposed to foreign bacteria, unfamiliar foods and side effects of jet lag –all of these may lead to health concerns. Besides that, exploring unfamiliar territory may cause accidents resulting in injury without warning demands for travel insurance which recover health conditions.
Type of Travelers Segment
On the basis of the type of travelers, the market is bifurcated into Business Travel and Leisure Travel. Traveling for leisure is gaining momentum in the UK owing to increasing disposable income, millennials showing interest to cover new places or exploring new culture and to break from stressful work life. Most of the leisure travels are planned during the holidays and during holidays travel insurance companies business reach to heights.
Distribution Channels Segment
Based on distribution channels, the market has two categories which include direct sales and indirect sales. UK travel insurance market is considered as ‘either the most developed or one of the most developed markets in Europe’. Direct sales have dominated the market due to direct channels like the Internet. The Internet offers multiple websites to customers which help them compare prices and more benefits covered in a travel insurance policy. With the internet distribution holding a strong foothold in the distribution market, two businesses got established which is Money Supermarket and InsureandGo.
Application Segment
Furthermore, based on the applications of travel insurance, the market is segmented into domestic and international travel. International travel is likely to dominate the UK travel insurance market by occupying 79.72% of market share.
The major players of UK travel insurance include Allianz SE, KBC Group, Chubb Ltd., Prudential Financial, Inc., Munich Re (Group), China Pacific Life Insurance Co. Ltd., Travelex Insurance Services, Europ Assistance and Aviva PLC, Saga PLC. These leading players are part of mergers and acquisitions to remain on the competitive edge of the market. Likewise, UK-based insurer–airline affinity partnership involves a three-year contract between Ryanair and UK General, declared in 2011, whereby travel insurance is sold on a pan-European basis across 22 European Union (EU) countries. The signed contract allows Ryanair to sell travel insurance with help of its website booking process, call center and dedicated travel insurance website to passengers across the EU. UK General called the scheme, which was developed from each area of the company’s business, ‘complex and ground-breaking’.