Go Digit Checks Out Latest Travel Cover Trends

The latest from Go Digit in India highlights the demand for travel cover, specifically Covid coverage;

Go Digit General Insurance, one of India’s fastest growing general insurance companies, today released an insight report based on internal data. The findings show how travel insurance has evolved since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study that analysed Digit data across all travel insurance products between April 2019 and March 2022, revealed a spike in demand for travel policies in FY21-22 compared to pre-Covid levels in FY19-20. The study also captures how trends moved during the first four months of the current calendar year.

In the first four months of 2022, the insurer sold 75% of the total number of travel policies it sold throughout FY21, given the increased awareness and lingering fear of another Covid-19 wave. This also indicates that more Indians are now taking the required insurance cover while travelling.

Key highlights from the study:

• Digit sold over 12.8 lakh travel policies in FY21-22, a jump of over 100% compared to the pre-Covid year of FY19-20.
• Between January and April 2022, February saw most demand for travel policies.
• Between April 2019 and March 2022, most claims were settled in FY19-20 as more Indians travelled pre-Covid.
• In the current calendar year, highest number of travel claims were settled in March, almost 120% higher than January.
• Compared to FY20-21, FY21-22 saw 3.5x more claims due to flight delay. However, when it comes to claims due to flight cancellation*, the number was 3.5x higher in FY20-21.
• Most number of travel policies were bought on the BOM-DEL (Mumbai-Delhi) route across all three financial years between April 2019 and March 2022.
• All risk cancellation, flight cancellation by the operator, booking amendment, and flight delay by the operator were the top causes for travel claims.
• Demand for single-trip policies zoomed 215% in FY21-22 over FY20-21. In FY22, the company sold nearly 11.7 lakh single-trip travel policies, an increase of 215% over FY21.
• Men filed 66.5% of the total claims received between April 2019 and March 2022.

*Includes cancellation initiated via service provider as well as flight cancelled by the operator.

Commenting on the trends highlighted in the study, Vivek Chaturvedi, Head of Direct Sales and Chief Marketing Officer, Digit Insurance said,

“Trip cancellation, and flight cancellations and delays have always been leading causes for travel claims. Events such as bad climatic conditions, change in travel plans and on-time performance of airlines, among other causes can affect travel plans. Before Covid-19, travel insurance was not looked at seriously, especially by domestic travellers. However, more Indians are now buying travel insurance to ensure unforeseen hiccups don’t disrupt their itineraries. The category has also evolved over the last few years with some insurers now offering innovative and need-based products. In the coming years, travel products are set to become more dynamic, opening up the segment further.”