AAA reports Travel Insurance sales up 20%

AAA says its travel insurance sales have increased more than 20% this year, following a 13% rise in 2017.

"Travelers are increasingly not taking chances, and they're choosing to invest in the value and peace of mind that travel insurance can provide, for international as well as domestic and cruise vacations," said Bill Sutherland, senior vice president of AAA Travel and Publishing.

A recent AAA survey revealed that 38% of travelers are likely to purchase insurance for future international trips. The most valuable benefit to consumers is trip-cancellation protection.

Seventy percent said the cost of their trip is the leading factor for deciding whether to purchase insurance. Other considerations are personal or family health concerns (69%), how far into the future the trip is booked (61%) and recommendations from friends or family to purchase insurance (57%).For those travelers, trip cancellation protection is the most valuable benefit with 9 in 10 (88 percent) of those likely to purchase insurance saying that getting their money back, if they cancel a trip, is their top priority.

“There are just too many unknowns, like family emergencies and natural disasters, which can throw an unexpected wrench into a planned vacation. Travelers are increasingly not taking chances and they’re choosing to invest in the value and peace of mind that travel insurance can provide, for international as well as domestic and cruise vacations.” said Robert Sinclair, Manager of Media Relations for AAA Northeast.

For its survey, AAA conducted a telephone survey of landlines and cell phones in June. In total, 1,003 adults in the continental United States were surveyed.