August 10, 2021 - Meagan Palmer
Last Updated on 10/29/2021
The travel industry has been one of the hardest-hit industries by COVID-19. As millions of trips were cancelled in 2020, travelers are eager to hop on the next available flight to explore the world. Yet, jaded from their cancelled trips in 2020, travelers are starting to consider travel insurance more than ever. The Yonder team ran a comparison between travel insurance quotes from 2019 and compared them to 2021. We found three answers to the question, “what do I need to know about travel insurance?”, that many travelers like you are asking.
Consumers Are Buying Travel Insurance Earlier In The Booking Process91% of travel insurance quotes run on Yonder are being run within 30 days from the traveler’s first trip date. This is up 9% from 2019. The increase may be due to more travelers buying a specific time-sensitive benefit called Cancel for Any Reason. Cancel for Any Reason has been the most popular and asked about travel insurance benefits in 2020, as most cancellations related to the pandemic were not covered events. Cancel for Any Reason protects 75% of your insured trip cost and would allow you to cancel for any reason at all. Here’s what you should know about Cancel for Any Reason before buying:
Another tip you should know about travel insurance is if you’re concerned about a pre-existing health condition flaring up before or during your trip, consider buying a travel insurance plan that includes a Pre-Existing Condition Waiver. This benefit essentially waives pre-existing condition exclusions if you need to cancel or interrupt your journey due to a health issue. The waiver is also a time-sensitive benefit, so waiting more than 24 hours after your first trip payment to buy it could cause you to miss out on this valuable coverage. Take our advice and buy the insurance early!
More Millennials Are Considering Travel InsuranceOlder travelers have always been more risk-averse than the younger population but the number of millennials purchasing travel insurance is on the rise. Yonder saw an increase in millennials running quotes on Yonder between 2019 and 2021.
“Quite a bit of the market is still dominated by baby boomers,” says Beckah Morris, Operations & Marketing Manager at Yonder. “Yet, we’re seeing more and more millennials shopping around and asking questions about the importance of travel insurance.”
If you’re planning a trip post-COVID, we’ve created the ultimate guide to everything travel insurance and COVID-19, which helps walk you through cancellations, claims, quarantine coverage, and more. Plus, here’s a free PDF travel checklist to make sure you’re prepared for your next trip.
Required COVID CoverageSome popular vacation countries that have remained open for US tourists require proof of travel insurance that documents COVID-related medical costs will be covered if the traveler contracts COVID in-country.
“All our travel insurance providers are still treating COVID as a covered medical event,” Morris states. “Some policies also include travel delay or trip interruption benefits for accommodations and meals in the event you have to quarantine at your destination.” Even if your destination isn’t requiring you to purchase travel insurance, having a comprehensive policy that includes medical coverage for medical emergencies during your trip could give you the peace of mind you really need.
Don’t just check the box when offered insurance by your airline or cruise though! These travel insurance plans don’t offer as robust coverage as a comprehensive plan found on Yonder. It definitely pays to compare policies so you get the coverage you need without breaking the bank. Of course, our team of friendly humans would be happy to help answer your questions or even recommend a plan too!
Tags: coronavirus
