Three in four (74%) Australians experienced issues with their overseas travel or travel plans in 2022, according to the Southern Cross Travel Insurance's (SCTI) latest report.
The report found that the most common issues experienced during overseas travel last year were:
“We've definitely been impacted as a business by the travel disruption experienced across Australia and, with the cost of travel continuing to increase, it's only going to become more important for travellers to cover themselves for cancelled, delayed, or disrupted travel,” said SCTI CEO Jo McCauley.
SCTI received many travel disruption-related claims in 2022, with the average claim cost for domestic travel ($1,584) 24% more expensive than the average claim cost for international travel ($1,281).
During the same year, SCTI paid out over $1.4 million in COVID-19 claims since December 2021 when Australia's borders opened, and COVID-19 claims made up 20% of all claims received up until the end of 2022.
“Due to the high costs of domestic flights and accommodation in Australia, we're not seeing a significant difference in claim costs between domestic and international travel. In fact, the average cost of domestic claims exceeded the average claims cost for international trips in 2022. With the cost to travel not showing any signs of reducing, it's just not worth taking the risk and travelling without insurance either domestically or internationally,” McCauley said.
According to SCTI's report, domestic travel was most popular among Australians in 2022, with three in four (75%) Australians having travelled within the state they live in over the past 12 months – with an average of 2.5 trips within the period. Meanwhile, nearly six in 10 (58%) Australians travelled interstate over the last 12 months, with an average of 1.9 trips within the period.
However, only three in 10 (28%) Australians had travelled overseas in the last 12 months, with an average of 1.9 trips within the period.
Given the disruption, Australians' attitude towards the significance of travel insurance changed.
“With so many Australians needing to make claims last year, it comes as little surprise that increasingly, we're understanding the importance of travel insurance,” McCauley said. “This time last year, consumers were very focused on COVID-19 cover, but with all the other challenges we've faced since then, Australians are now more likely to choose a provider based on a positive experience that either they or someone they know has had with an insurer.”
The report is the latest instalment of SCTI's Future of Travel 2023 research and follows the report analysing the rising cost of living's impact on Australian travel plans.
