With revival of tourism, one of the segments that is rapidly growing is travel insurance, says a research report by the Business Research Company that predicts the global travel insurance market to soar to USD 32.61 billion within four years.

Ever since the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic, travel insurance has become an important part of all travellers’ planning and now as the global tourism industry is revving back to its 2019 pace, the demand for travel insurance, too, is soaring.

The global travel insurance market size is expected to grow from USD 16.05 billion in 2021 to USD 18.81 billion this year, a growth of 17.2 pc. Over the next four years, from 2022 to 2026, it is expected to grow even faster and the market size is expected to grow to USD 32.61 billion in 2026 at a CAGR of 14.7 pc. These are the key findings of a research report published by the Business Research Company.

The report says that the rise in tourism is contributing to the growth of the travel insurance market. Travel insurance helps the tourism sector by providing financial help through certain packages that help travellers in medical emergencies, passport loss, flight cancellation, and misplaced or lost luggage. “For instance, in 2019, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), a Spain-based specialized agency, globally, 1.5 billion international tourist arrivals were recorded, a 4 pc increase compared to the previous year. Therefore, the rise in tourism is driving the growth of the travel insurance market,’’ says Business Research Company.

Incorporation of advanced technologies has emerged as the key trend gaining popularity in the travel insurance platform. Major companies operating in the travel insurance sector are focused on new technologies to strengthen their position in the market, adds the report. “For instance, in May 2019, ICICI Lombard, an India-based insurance company, introduced the artificial intelligence (AI)-based cashless claims settlement process. Through ICICI Lombard’s AI-based cashless claims settlement, the complete claim authorisation process has been automated. The company has utilised various algorithms using Cognitive Computing along with Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in this tech-enabled innovation,” says the report.

Other aspect of the report covers the hectic mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the sector. In July 2021, Staysure Group, a UK-based travel insurance company, acquired Rock Insurance Group, a UK-based travel, gadget, and commercial insurance company, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition is expected to further strengthen the position of Staysure Group as the market leader and would allow them to dominate across both the B2B and B2C arenas, offering quality policies to a much wider range of consumers, says the report.

The report adds that the travel insurance market consists of sales of travel insurance by entities like companies, sole traders, and partnerships, which is a type of insurance that covers different risks while traveling. It covers medical expenses, flight cancellations, lost luggage, and other losses that a traveler can incur while traveling. This is largely due to the fact that having these risks covered ensures an additional layer of protection against financial loss.

The main types of travel insurance are domestic and international. International travel insurance provides coverage for people who are traveling internationally. The various insurance covers in travel insurance are single-trip travel insurance, annual multi-trip travel insurance, and long-stay travel insurance that are used by various end-users, including senior citizens, corporate travellers, family travellers, educational travellers, and other end-users.

The coverage of travel insurance includes medical expenses, trip cancellation, trip delay, property damage, and others that are distributed by various channels, including insurance intermediaries, insurance companies, banks, insurance brokers, and other distribution channels.

The travel insurance market research report is one of a series of new reports from The Business Research Company that provides travel insurance market statistics, including travel insurance industry global market size, regional shares, competitors with a travel insurance market share, detailed travel insurance market segments, market trends and opportunities, and any further data needed by the travel insurance industry, says a press release.

Asia-Pacific was the largest region in the travel insurance market in 2021. The regions covered in the global travel insurance market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, the Middle East, and Africa.

The countries covered in the travel insurance market report are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, the UK, and the USA.