UK Travel Insurance: Market Dynamics and Opportunities 2024
Summary
This report analyzes the UK travel insurance market, including drivers of uptake, the claims landscape, and upcoming regulatory changes. Incumbent competitors are analyzed and compared while key factors impacting the market are also discussed, including inflation and emerging technology such as artificial intelligence and parametric insurance.
The UK travel insurance market experienced growth of 59.5% in 2023 and is expected to grow by 8.3% in 2024, reaching gross written premiums (GWP) of GBP1.1 billion. Growth has largely been driven by an increase in the number of policyholders, as more consumers resumed traveling after pandemic-related restrictions eased. The expansion was primarily attributed to higher travel volumes, rather than a significant rise in insurance premiums. As international and domestic travel picked up, more individuals sought coverage, leading to a surge in policy uptake across the market. Moreover, in 2023, single-trip travel insurance overtook multi-trip policies-a shift that may be attributed to squeezed consumer budgets and ongoing uncertainties in the travel landscape. As households face financial pressures, consumers are opting for single-trip coverage to avoid the upfront costs of annual multi-trip policies. Additionally, uncertainty around travel plans, influenced by economic conditions and potential disruptions, has led many to choose single-trip policies for greater flexibility and lower short-term financial commitments.
Scope
- In 2023, single-trip policies overtook multi-trip to become the most popular type of travel insurance policy.
- Average premiums fell by 12% to GBP56.18 in 2023.
- The number of claims notified increased by 58.4% in 2023.
- The cost of claims increased by 45% in 2023, while the average value of claims fell by 8.5%.
- Examine the size of the UK travel insurance market
- Identify who the key players are and what they offer
- Discover GlobalData’s forecasts for the future of the UK travel insurance market
- Discover the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on travel insurance
- Executive Summary
- Market overview
- Key findings
- Critical success factors
- Market Dynamics
- The UK travel insurance market is set to keep growing in 2024
- Table Figure 1: UK travel insurance GWP reached a record high in 2023 and is expected to rise further in 2024
- Economic conditions have led to consumers increasingly opting for single-trip travel insurance policies
- Table Figure 2: The number of policies written increased by 80.8% from 2022 to 2023
- Table UK travel insurance policies written and annual growth rate, 2019-23
- Single-trip policies now account for the majority of the market
- Table Figure 3: The majority of travel insurance policies were for single trips in 2023
- The average single-trip premium is decreasing while multitrip average premiums have risen
- Table Average premiums and percentage change by policy type, 2019-23
- Table Figure 4: Average single-trip premiums fell by over 25% in 2023
- Older age groups are facing increasing average premiums
- Table Average premiums and percentage change by age group, 2021-23
- The number of claims notified increased by 58.4% in 2023
- Table Figure 5: The number of claims increased by 58.4% in 2023
- Table Figure 6: The largest proportion of travel insurance claims were related to cancellations in 2023
- The cost of claims increased by 45% in 2023
- Table Figure 7: In 2023, the cost of claims surged above pre-pandemic levels
- The average value of claims fell by 8.5% in 2023
- Table Figure 8: The average value of claims started to fall in 2023
- Travel insurance complaints are on the rise
- Table Figure 9: Travel insurance complaints reached their highest level since the pandemic in 2023-24
- The number of visits abroad continued to rise in 2023
- Table Number of visits abroad by region (000s), 2019-23
- Table Figure 10: Outbound tourism increased in 2023 for all regions
- Table Number of trips abroad by purpose of travel (000s), 2019-23
- Table Figure 11: Holidays were the most frequent reason for visits abroad in 2023
- Influence of economic, political, and health events on travel
- Table Figure 12: Quarterly GDP growth rates remain relatively flat
- Table Figure 13: Inflation has continued to fall in 2024
- Table Figure 14: Real weekly earnings turned positive in 2023 as inflation eased
- Exchange rates play a crucial role in travel insurance
- Table Figure 15: The pound remained relatively stable in 2023
- Consumers are less likely to purchase travel insurance for domestic holidays
- Table Figure 16: The proportion of consumers considering domestic travel insurance declined over the review period
- The UK's GHIC can create opportunities for insurers
- The UK travel insurance market is set to keep growing in 2024
- The Structure of the UK Travel Insurance Market
- Great Lakes remains the largest underwriter in the market by premiums
- Table Figure 17: Great Lakes continued to dominate the UK travel insurance market in 2023
- Great Lakes also underwrote the largest number of policies in 2023
- Table Figure 18: Great Lakes Munich Re Group underwrote the largest share of contracts sold in 2023
- Table Admiral's annual travel insurance coverage, 2023
- Table Staysure's annual travel insurance coverage, 2023
- Table Aviva annual travel insurance coverage, 2023
- Direct Line turns to PCWs, a popular distribution channel for travel insurance customers
- NSM purchases AllClear and InsureandGo
- Qover partners with Monzo for embedded travel insurance
- Blink Parametric's products can be accessed through an app for the first time
- Great Lakes remains the largest underwriter in the market by premiums
- The Market Going Forward
- The travel insurance market is set to increase to GBP1.2 billion in 2028
- Table Figure 19: The UK travel insurance market is set to record a CAGR of 4% over 2023-28
- Technological opportunities in the market
- Consumers are less likely to purchase parametric travel insurance
- Table Figure 20: Consumers' reluctance to purchase flight delay coverage has increased
- The travel insurance market is set to increase to GBP1.2 billion in 2028
- Appendix
- Abbreviations, acronyms, and initialisms
- Methodology
- Table Figure 21: Forecasting methodology
- Secondary sources
- Further reading
Research Assistance
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