Explore Travel Insurance Statistics, Trends, Claims, Costs & More!
With around 1.7 million flights either delayed or cancelled in 2024, and one travel insurance claim costing around $900,000, it’s never been more important to take out travel insurance. So, why are 21% of Brits choosing to opt out of taking out travel insurance?
A recent US survey revealed that only 38% of US travellers are choosing to purchase travel insurance, with one of the main factors for not taking out cover, is that they’ve never needed to before. However, with extortionate medical fees, travel disruptions, and belongings being stolen, particularly in Spain, it’s never been more important. For the over 70s and senior travellers with pre-existing medical conditions it’s imperative to cover you and your family.
TOP TRAVEL INSURANCE STATISTICS 2025:
A recent US survey revealed that only 38% of travelers are choosing to purchase travel insurance.
Just 45% of domestic US travelers tend to purchase medical coverage in 2024.
Of those who didn’t purchase travel insurance, 35% said their it was because they'd never needed it before.
With over 3 million flights delayed in 2024 alone, protecting your trip has become more important than ever.
It is estimated that travel insurance can cost between 4% and 8% of the total cost of the trip.
A Forbes study showed that 77% of Brits have purchased travel insurance in the past, which still leaves above 20% who haven't.
21% of Brits have never taken out travel insurance when travelling.
Statistics show that about 35% of people who bought travel insurance did so primarily because they didn’t want delayed flights or moved reservations.
While 29% were cautious about health issues and emergencies.
1 in 20 UK tourists on holiday fell downstairs, slipped or fell around swimming pools, suffered cuts from broken glass or sustained injuries diving, snorkeling or swimming.
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Only 38% of US travelers are choosing to purchase travel insurance.
77% of Brits have purchased travel insurance in the past.
21% of Brits have never taken out travel insurance on holiday.
Approximately 45% of travellers ages 18-29 purchase travel insurance.
23% of travellers aged between 18 and 24 buy travel insurance annually, compared to just 11% of 25 to 34 year-olds.
60% of travelers aged 46-60 years old purchase travel insurance.
70% of travelers 29 and younger use comparison websites or mobile apps to purchase travel insurance due to convenience and familiarity.
76% secured travel insurance before their holiday.
US travellers tend to be less likely to take out travel insurance as compared to Brits. This may be due to the fact that they tend to travel to domestic destinations. Where they don’t need to take out insurance for domestic destinations, it is still advised. Some travellers opt out of buying insurance to save them money, but in the long run, it can cost a huge amount should anything go wrong when you’re abroad.
Sources: Forbes, We Seek Travel, Insubuy, Business Insider, We Seek Travel, JTG Travel, Indefinite Adventure, Due, Forbes, Millikensreef,
About 62% of travellers surveyed did not purchase travel insurance
Of travelers who did not purchase insurance, 35% said it was because they'd never needed it on previous trips.
19% said they didn't think their trip was expensive enough to insure.
14% didn’t get insurance as they were trying to save money.
13% said travel insurance never occurred to them.
5% said they get travel insurance through a credit card.
Over 70% said they didn't regret their decision to pass on a policy because nothing went wrong on their trip.
24% said they don't regret their choice simply because they never thought about travel insurance.
Nearly 4% wish they had purchased insurance because it would have given them peace of mind.
2% regret their choice because something went wrong on their trip.
68% say they would be willing to pay some amount for travel insurance in the future.
The most common reason travellers didn’t take out travel insurance is because they haven’t needed it before, followed by those who didn’t think their trip was expensive enough to insure. Some travellers would prefer to absorb any costs should anything happen, rather than take out travel insurance. Over 70% of those who didn’t take out insurance didn’t regret it, as nothing went wrong. This then fuels their reasoning to put off purchasing it for future trips. Just 2% regretted not buying I,t as something unfortunately did happen whilst away. It is a risk to travel without insurance, and one that can be very costly in the event that something goes wrong, especially medical costs.
Sources: Business Insider
35% bought insurance because they feared issues like delayed flights.
29% were worried about a health emergency.
35% who bought insurance did so because they were worried about the travel provider they booked with.
18% found the value or overall price to be appealing.
11% said they always buy travel insurance out of habit.
5% bought travel insurance because a friend had recommended it.
How do travelers choose an insurance provider?
28% used suggestions and recommendations from family and friends.
24% were influenced by a review site, blog, or social media influencer.
55% purchased a policy through a travel provider such as a booking engine like Expedia, or an airline, a cruise provider, a tour group, or similar.
17% purchased insurance through a travel agent.
Followed by an insurance marketplace (13%).
33% used travel insurance features from their credit card, such as trip delay coverage, baggage delay coverage, or rental car coverage.
More than a third of respondents whose credit cards carry these features still purchased separate travel insurance.
What type of travel insurance do people take out?
About 13% of overall respondents purchased cancellation insurance.
11% purchased cancel for any reason insurance (CFAR).
14% said they purchased travel insurance but were unsure what kind.
78% of international travelers purchased travel insurance policies that included medical coverage.
62% of them purchased policies with trip cancellation or trip interruption coverage.
45% of domestic travelers purchased policies with medical coverage.
70% purchased a travel insurance plan with trip delay or trip cancellation coverage.
60% of travelers use online comparison websites like Insubuy to purchase travel insurance in 2024.
Of those who did buy travel insurance, they did so primarily to protect themselves from travel disruptions or potential health issues. 18% felt the price was low enough to justify taking it out and provided them with peace of mind for their trip. Considering the huge costs that can arise from unexpected medical treatment, the cost of taking out travel insurance is minimal.
A higher percentage of travellers tend to purchase their policy through the travel provider they booked with, which is likely due to convenience when they book their travel. 33% will use travel insurance features from their credit card, however, a third of respondents whose credit cards have those features bought separate insurance, potentially to obtain a higher level of coverage.
The most common reason for taking out travel insurance is medical cover, closely followed by trip cancellation and interruption cover. Medical costs abroad can be costly, so it makes sense for travellers to cover themselves in case any emergencies arise. The increase in travel disruption, leaving many travellers stranded, or requiring alternative travel or accommodation costs, is another crucial reason to take out travel insurance.
Sources: Business Insider
Roughly 1.7 million flights were either delayed or cancelled in 2024.
1,386,699 delayed flights in the USA in 2023.
87,943 cancelled flights in the USA in 2023.
1.28% of all flights in the USA were cancelled in 2023.
China had the highest cancellation rate at around 5%
Followed by Canada at 3.4%.
Spain had the lowest cancellation rates, at around 0.8%.
Followed by India at 1.1%.
The UK flight cancellation rate for 2024 was 1.51%.
Only around 51% of UK flights departed on time last year.
40% of UK flights experienced a minor delay (5-30 mins)
Over 9% experienced a major delay of 30 minutes to 3-hour delays.
In 2024, July had the lowest percentage of no-delay flights (around 57%), and by far the highest percentage of majorly delayed flights (10.3%).
Flights departing from Germany (9.7%) and Italy (10.3%) had the highest rates of major delays.
The biggest cause of the major flight delays in July 2024 was a failed software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike, which affected 8.5 million computers running Windows around the world and played a big role in flight delays. Insurers estimated that it would cost Fortune 500 companies around $5.4 billion in damages. Along with this, strikes across London Gatwick and at some Italian airports also played a part in increasing delays.
Travel can also be disrupted due to weather and technical issues with transport. Disruption can be very costly to travelers if they’re not insured, from rebooking transport to potential accommodation costs, or losing out on their trip altogether. The repercussions can be very costly if you aren’t covered.
Sources: Travel Perk, Insubuy, CBS News
It’s estimated that 4.4 million people sustained injuries abroad in the past three years.
This amounted to more than £1 billion in costs for treatment, access to medication, and damage or loss of equipment.
27% of holidaymakers had an accident or witnessed one.
Over 60% of holidaymakers experienced slips, trips or falls on an excursion or in the hotel.
35.88% slip/trip/fall on an excursion.
31.18% slip/trip/fall in the hotel.
14.9% have a road traffic accident.
7.45% can't remember.
2.75% prefer not to say.
14% of tourists experienced potentially serious illnesses such as food poisoning
8% had sunstroke or severe sunburn, which required medical attention.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that over a million people are killed and 20-50 million are injured worldwide annually due to road traffic accidents.
£47 was the average cost for bites and stings, £118 for sunstroke or sunburn, and £121 for an accident on a motorbike or scooter.
One in 20 UK tourists on holiday fell downstairs, slipped or fell around swimming pools, suffered cuts from broken glass or sustained injuries diving, snorkelling or swimming. The statistics for those who suffer from an injury abroad is around 4.4 million over the past 3 years. For those who experienced a minor injury, such as a bite or sting, this still costs on average £47, which tends to be higher than the average cost of travel insurance in the UK, which ranges between £12.60 for a single-trip policy and £21.58 for annual multi-trip cover.
In one case, a medical bill hit as high as £1500 for one patient needing treatment after being sunburnt, and another paid out £850 after being injured in a bicycle crash.
Sources: Slater Gordon, Travel Health Pro, Leigh Day,
1 in 3 Brits have had valuables stolen on holiday.
Spain was the number one destination where Brits had their possessions stolen.
44% of people on a beach holiday have had possessions stolen, and 23% on a city break.
A third of those surveyed had lost items with a value of £100+.
On average, Brits lose personal items with a value of £55 per holiday.
80% of people lose, forget or have something stolen when they go on holiday.
What % of baggage is lost by airlines?
About 7 out of every 1,000 checked bags are lost.
In 2024, the rate of lost or stolen luggage for checked baggage was around 0.64% per 1,000 passengers in the U.S.
Airlines mishandled 6.4 bags per 1,000 checked bags in the U.S. in August 2024
80% of mishandled bags were delayed.
Being careful with your items on holiday is crucial, and for most travel insurance policies to cover you for theft, you shouldn’t leave your items unattended. 44% of people have their items stolen on a beach holiday, which could indicate that holidaymakers have their items stolen whist leaving them unattended on the beach. As Spain is the most popular destination for UK holidaymakers, thieves target these popular tourist destinations.
The % of bags lost by airlines is low in comparison to those that are delayed. 80% of bags were delayed but did arrive. Go. Compare suggests that lost baggage was the third most common reason for travel insurance claims, with 26% of travelers claiming for it in the past year. Travel insurance typically covers delayed baggage, should you need to cover any expenses for items you’ve had to purchase to cover you for the delayed period.
Sources: Direct Travel, Eshores
18% of travellers purchased travel insurance and made a claim.
24% had not claimed on their coverage.
Despite 25% of people having accessed emergency care on holiday, only 11% of people have ever claimed for accidents whilst on holiday.
34% claimed for transport delays
30% claimed for medical costs/expenses
26% claimed for lost luggage
23% claimed for theft/loss of belongings
22% claimed for cancellations
17% claimed for missed departures
11% claimed for winter sports
What are the costs of travel insurance claims?
Insurers dealt with 574,000 travel insurance claims last year, up by 59% on the previous year, and totalling £511 million.
This is a huge increase on the £107 million paid out in 2021 when Covid restrictions were in place.
There were just under 29,000 claims for Spain alone, with a value of £41.7 million.
The average claim value for those aged 36-40 was £518, rising to £1,830 for travellers aged 71-75.
The total amount for medical claims reached £291 million in 2023, and the average medical claim stood at £1,724.
One ABI member paid out £25,000 in repatriation and medical costs for a customer who sustained injuries in a forest fire.
One significant payout for emergency overseas medical treatment covered by travel insurance was for £250,000.
The average emergency medical treatment claim amounted to £1,724.
38% of those who claimed managed to recoup between 26% to 74% of losses.
28% of Brits had 75% of their losses/expenses covered by their travel insurance within the last five years.
One of the highest medical claims surpassed $900,000.
With insurance claims increasing by 59% year on year, it’s never been more important to take out travel insurance. Although the average medical claim stands at £1,724, it could increase into the hundreds of thousands. A traveller visiting Thailand suffered a serious blood infection, needing intensive medical treatment and an air ambulance back to the UK. The total bill was £250,000, paid by the travel insurer. For more minor accidents, such as a kidney infection, this costs a travel insurer £15,000 to cover a holidaymaker in Spain.
Where travellers are looking to save money when booking and forego travel insurance, it can end up bankrupting unlucky travellers should an issue arise.
Sources: ABI, Go Compare, Forbes, Business Insider, Insurance Business Mag,
The average cost of travel insurance varies but typically falls between $80 and $160 for a $2,000 trip.
49% were willing to pay up to $150 for coverage.
13% were willing to pay up to $250.
Only about 5% were willing to pay more than $250.
32% were not willing to pay at all.
Americans spend nearly $4 billion on travel insurance each year.
36 to 40-year-olds paid an average of £40 for a single-trip policy, whereas 71 to 75-year-olds faced an average premium of £109.
Many factors influence how expensive your travel insurance will cost, including age, pre-existing medical conditions, destination, add-ons you wish to include, length of tri,p and so on. However, in comparison to the expenses you could be forced to pay should you encounter any issues whilst abroad, these costs are minimal.
The UK’s travel insurance market is currently valued at around £476 million and is forecast to be worth around £610 million by 2030.
The market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 6.7% from 2024 to 2030.
The age segment with the largest market share in the UK travel insurance industry is Millennials.
Santander Bank has the highest overall customer experience rating for travel insurance at 69%.
Followed by Alpha Travel Insurance at 68% and M&S Bank travel insurance at 65%.
The global travel insurance market size reached US$ 17.9 billion in 2023. The market is projected to reach US$ 47.1 billion by 2032.
The UK travel insurance market, a significant segment of the global travel insurance landscape, is experiencing good growth, driven by increased outbound tourism from the UK, and growing awareness of the importance of travel protection.
The segment of senior travellers, often considered higher-risk travellers, remains a key demographic driving market expansion, alongside the growing education and family travel segments.
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