United Kingdom (UK) Travel Insurance - Distribution and Marketing 2021

United Kingdom (UK) Travel Insurance - Distribution and Marketing 2021

Summary

At a time when COVID-19 is changing consumer behaviors, this report explores how purchasing preferences in the market are changing. It discovers what is most influential to customers when purchasing a travel insurance policy and also reveals the most popular providers in the market. New trends and innovations are highlighted, as well as the key factors that will influence the market over the next few years.

A quarter of travel insurance purchases were through banks in 2021, closely followed by insurers. However, the channels’ market shares declined due to COVID-19. In addition, banks remain the leading purchasing channel for travel insurance in the UK owing to cross-selling of travel insurance as part of packaged bank accounts. The broker channel recorded the highest growth in 2021. This highlights the growing preference for expert advice, which is unsurprising given the ongoing pandemic.

Scope

• Nationwide remained the leading bank provider in 2021 with a market share of 10.9%. Nationwide reduced staff and administration costs by approximately GBP100 million in 2021, which resulted in a substantial increase in profitability for the provider.
• Single-trip policies accounted for the largest proportion of travel insurance sales in 2021, while annual policies declined in popularity amid COVID-19-related uncertainty around travel.
• Consumers visiting a price comparison website declined by 6.1% in 2021. This shows that consumers were increasingly focusing on policy features rather than premiums.

• Understand consumer purchasing decisions and how these will influence the market over the next few years.
• Improve customer engagement by recognizing what is most important to them and how insurers can adapt their products and services to meet their needs.
• Compare the Net Promoter Scores of key insurance providers.
• Discover which providers lead the way in the household insurance space and learn about new product innovations.
• Adapt your distribution strategy to ensure it still meets customer purchasing behaviors.