Travel Insurance/Assistance: A Top Concern for Frequent Flyers

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the words Travel Insurance? It is not surprising that those first thoughts may have a negative connotation. That is because you only get to benefit from it if something bad occurs. Surprisingly, even though this is one of the travelers’ top concerns, only 21% of people purchase travel insurance. Only 7% of them purchase it regularly. And an astounding 78% of people responding that they either never purchase travel insurance.

Travel insurance and assistance services are a great tool to prepare for the unexpected. And when talking about business travel, the unexpected can be particularly disruptive. According to a recent study by the GBTA Foundation, about one-third of business travelers found medical emergencies and losing a travel document to be most disruptive to business travel. The study also mentions the number one issue business travelers deal with is flight delays (59%) and flight cancellations (47%). Losing items on transit (26%) round up the top 3.

Travel insurance and assistance services help minimize these disruptions.  While they can be complementary products, there are key differences between the two.

Travel Insurance

Travel insurance aims to protect against the financial risk of an adverse event, for example, lost luggage and medical expenses.

According to participating travel managers, the most important travel insurance product is Death/Dismemberment. 94% say it is somewhat or very important. Followed by Evacuation coverage – both due to medical emergency (92%) or security emergency (91%). And medical expenses coverage (90%) coming in third. Last week, my colleague Michael Gonzales posted about lost luggage. It seems companies agree with Michael as 66% say that providing insurance for lost/stolen/damaged luggage is important.

Travel Assistance

Travel assistance aims to minimize the impact and travel friction on travelers who encounter an adverse event, such as stolen wallet/documents, medical referrals, and emergency evacuation.

The most important services for travel managers are security and emergency medical evacuation assistance. Both with 97% of participants saying it is somewhat or very important. Followed by local medical support (hospital/doctor referrals) with 92% in second. Also, replacing lost/stolen documents in third, with 92% saying it is somewhat or very important.

All in All

In North America, 83% of the travel managers say their company provides insurance, assistance, or both to their traveling employees. That is a 14% increase from 2014. It seems employers and companies like Priority Pass are working harder to decrease travel friction. Also, to increase productivity for employees, professionals, and vacationers when traveling.

More serious events, like the terrorist attacks and natural disasters, create a situation where travelers are sure to question, Should I go ahead with my planned trip? Answering that question is not easy for business travelers. According to a recent poll by ACTE (Association of Corporate Travel Executives), business travelers are concerned. 31% saying that reluctance to travel can hurt their career. On the other hand, 67% say if they make such a trip, there is a psychological effect on them or their families. These travel friction factors can bring additional negative effects to organizations like higher turnover and less productivity.

Travel insurance and/or assistance benefits, combined with a sensible risk policy, help mitigate some of these concerns making the travel experience better and bringing peace of mind to travelers and organizations.

This article appeared in LinkedIn