Travel insurance trends to watch in 2021

COVID-19 created a surge in demand for travel insurance. Now more than ever, travelers see the benefits of carrying the coverage, which is creating new trends in the market. In a January 2021 article, Forbes Editor Jason Metz named four emerging trends in travel insurance for 2021, including:

Americans eager to travel internationally: The CDC recently issued new travel rules requiring all passengers arriving in the U.S. from a foreign country to provide proof of a negative COVId-19 test no more than three days before flight departure. Squaremouth spokesperson Megan Moncrief told Forbes that although they expected to see a decline in international bookings this year, they have observed the opposite.
Trip cancellation insurance is a necessity: Trip cancellation coverage reimburses the insured for expenses when travel plans have been canceled due to an unforeseen, covered event, according to InsureMyTrip.com. However, some providers do not consider a pandemic to be an insured event. But that is gradually changing, writes Metz, as some insurance companies add COVID-related coverage to travel insurance policies.
Shifting customer demographics: Before the pandemic, travelers over the age of 50 were more likely to buy travel insurance coverage. But as seniors stay home amidst the pandemic, younger consumers are becoming the biggest group of buyers of travel insurance.
Changing travel rules impact cancel for any reason coverage: Cancel for any reason (CFAR) is an optional coverage that reimburses between 50%-75% of travel costs, depending on the policy, when an insured cancels a trip within 48 hours of departure, says InsureMyTrip. The new CDC rule mentioned above and similar mandates in other nations may cause some travelers to rethink their plans, Metz writes, which makes CFAR coverage an essential add-on to travel insurance policies.

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The COVID-19 impact on travel insurance

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