According to a study by Go Digit General Insurance, between April 2019 and March 2022, the demand for travel insurance policies in FY 2011-22 as compared to pre-Covid levels in FY19-20, amid fears of another Covid-19 wave have increased.
According to the report, Digit sold over 12.8 lakh travel policies in FY21-22, which is a jump of over 100% as compared to the pre-Covid year of FY19-20.
In the first four months of 2022, the insurer sold 75% of the total number of travel policies sold in the entire FY 2011, given the growing awareness and looming fear of another Covid-19 wave.
“This also indicates that more Indians are now taking the necessary insurance cover while travelling,” Go Digit General Insurance said.
The report said that between April 2019 and March 2022, most of the claims were settled in FY19-20 as more Indians traveled pre-Covid.
Moreover, in the current calendar year, March saw the highest number of travel claims settled, which is almost 120 per cent higher than January.
Vivek Chaturvedi, Head of Direct Sales and Chief Marketing Officer, Digit Insurance said, “Trip cancellations, flight cancellations and delays have always been the major reasons for travel claims. Events such as bad climatic conditions, change in travel plans and on-time performance of airlines can affect travel plans for other reasons.”
“Prior to Covid-19, travel insurance was not looked at seriously, especially by domestic travellers. However, more Indians are now buying travel insurance to ensure that unforeseen hiccups do not disrupt their itinerary. This category has evolved over the years and some insurers are now offering innovative and need-based products.”
The report also said that compared to FY20-21, FY21-22 witnessed 3.5 times more claims due to flight delays. However, when it comes to flight cancellation claims, the number was 3.5 times higher in FY 2020-21.
In addition, the highest number of travel policies were purchased on the BOM-DEL (Mumbai-Delhi) route in all the three financial years between April 2019 and March 2022.
Notably, all risk cancellations, flight cancellations by the operator, booking modifications and flight delays by the operator were the top reasons for travel claims.
Go Digit General Insurance also said that the demand for single-trip policies grew by 215% in FY21-22 as compared to FY20-21. In FY22, the company sold around 11.7 lakh single-trip travel policies, a 215% increase over FY21.
Men filed 66.5% of the total claims received between April 2019 and March 2022.