More travel, but not enough insurance

More travel, but not enough insurance

 

Frequency of international as well as domestic air travel by residents of smaller cities is in line with metro residents.

A survey conducted by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd found that 64% of the respondents based in Ahmedabad travelled within India. This was 54% for those from Chandigarh. These are at par with the travellers from metros Mumbai (61%) and Kolkata (54%). For overseas travel as well, while 87% of the Chandigarh based respondents said they travelled abroad once a year, the number was a similarly high 86% in Ahmedabad.

 Mumbai, however, had the most overseas travellers—92%. Of the five cities in the survey, the lowest numbers came from Hyderabad—63%. The above study was conducted with 1,063 respondents from Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad,

Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, and who have travelled to international as well as domestic locations. The two biggest reasons behind increased frequency of travel to foreign destinations were more trips during weekends or short holidays (56%) and off-season discounts (39% travellers).

For a higher number of domestic tours, more than half the people said the reasons were unplanned trips (57%) and deals (53%). Low travel fare was not an important factor for domestic travel. Irrespective of the destination, most people prefer to take a holiday for 4-7 days. Only a few wanted to be away for more than 10 days at a time (8% respondents for foreign travel and 9% for domestic tours).

The trips are funded mostly through savings (said 89% of the respondents). Only a few—16%—used their salary bonus. While online and offline self-booking is popular in India, the local travel agent remains the most favoured window.

Frequency of international as well as domestic air travel by residents of smaller cities is in line with metro residents. A survey conducted by ICICI Lombard General Insurance Co. Ltd found that 64% of the respondents based in Ahmedabad travelled within India. This was 54% for those from Chandigarh. These are at par with the travellers from metros Mumbai (61%) and Kolkata (54%). For overseas travel as well, while 87% of the Chandigarh based respondents said they travelled abroad once a year, the number was a similarly high 86% in Ahmedabad. Mumbai, however, had the most overseas travellers—92%. Of the five cities in the survey, the lowest numbers came from Hyderabad—63%. The above study was conducted with 1,063 respondents from Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, and who have travelled to international as well as domestic locations. The two biggest reasons behind increased frequency of travel to foreign destinations were more trips during weekends or short holidays (56%) and off-season discounts (39% travellers). For a higher number of domestic tours, more than half the people said the reasons were unplanned trips (57%) and deals (53%). Low travel fare was not an important factor for domestic travel. Irrespective of the destination, most people prefer to take a holiday for 4-7 days. Only a few wanted to be away for more than 10 days at a time (8% respondents for foreign travel and 9% for domestic tours). The trips are funded mostly through savings (said 89% of the respondents). Only a few—16%—used their salary bonus. While online and offline self-booking is popular in India, the local travel agent remains the most favoured window. While 78% of those who travelled abroad (total: 728) did the bookings through an agent, 69% of domestic travellers (total 460) among the respondents did so. photo Travel insurance, however, remains a weak point. While almost all the respondents said they were aware of overseas travel insurance and 88% said they considered it essential, only a few—38%—had actually bought travel insurance. City-wise, many travellers from Hyderabad bought travel insurance (about 115 of 165 respondents). But only 9% of those from Ahmedabad (131) did so. Domestic travel insurance is even less of a priority in all terms. While 86% said they knew about it, only 64% thought it essential. So, it’s not surprising that only 4% respondents said they had actually bought travel insurance for domestic trips. The trend was uniform in all cities, with more than 94% travellers from each city having not bought any travel insurance. Most said that it wasn’t really needed for travel within India (58%), and that medical insurance would suffice (23%). In fact, 30% of those who travelled abroad said travel insurance had nothing to do with medical support.

Read more at: http://www.livemint.com/Money/NdGrKPiI2M64Rz9ENs5WTL/More-travel-but-not-enough-insurance.html?utm_source=copy

While 78% of those who travelled abroad (total: 728) did the bookings through an agent, 69% of domestic travellers (total 460) among the respondents did so. photo Travel insurance, however, remains a weak point.

While almost all the respondents said they were aware of overseas travel insurance and 88% said they considered it essential, only a few—38%—had actually bought travel insurance. City-wise, many travellers from Hyderabad bought travel insurance (about 115 of 165 respondents).

But only 9% of those from Ahmedabad (131) did so. Domestic travel insurance is even less of a priority in all terms.

While 86% said they knew about it, only 64% thought it essential. So, it’s not surprising that only 4% respondents said they had actually bought travel insurance for domestic trips. The trend was uniform in all cities, with more than 94% travellers from each city having not bought any travel insurance.

Most said that it wasn’t really needed for travel within India (58%), and that medical insurance would suffice (23%). In fact, 30% of those who travelled abroad said travel insurance had nothing to do with medical support.

md./aquil alam

pgdm 2^nd year

iimt college of management