Seven in ten Americans plan to travel this summer, but growing anxiety about extreme weather, geopolitical instability, and personal safety is reshaping how and where they vacation, according to new research from Allianz Partners.
The insurer's Global Travel Confidence Index surveyed American travelers ahead of the summer season and found that a more cautious mindset is taking hold despite robust demand. Just 19% of Americans plan to travel abroad this summer, significantly below the global average of 36%. Half said stricter border controls and travel advisories are influencing their destination choices.
Nearly two in three Americans surveyed (63%) said they are concerned about the global geopolitical situation, and 62% cited safety and security as factors shaping their travel decisions. More than two-thirds (68%) now factor environmental risks including hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, droughts, tornadoes, and heatwaves into their destination choices, and nearly half (47%) rank extreme weather among their top travel concerns this summer.
The most common practical worries center on disruption and health: 56% cited significant travel delays and trip cancellations, 46% expressed concern about falling ill on vacation, 44% raised the prospect of lost or delayed luggage, and 42% identified a medical emergency while traveling.
Those concerns are grounded in current conditions. Staffing shortages, record demand, long security lines, and rising baggage fees are converging ahead of the 2026 peak travel season, with air traffic controller shortages described by federal audits as the deepest in more than a decade. A separate survey of more than 1,000 US travelers found that 89% planning to fly in the next 12 months are concerned about delays or cancellations, with nearly one in four describing themselves as "extremely concerned."
Those anxieties are translating directly into demand for coverage. The US travel insurance market is valued at $7.71 billion in 2025 and is forecast to reach $16.12 billion by 2030, advancing at a 15.9% CAGR, driven by heightened risk awareness and a resurgence in outbound leisure travel. The likelihood to purchase travel protection increased year over year, rising from 41% of US travelers in 2025 to 44% in 2026, with emergency medical coverage ranking as the top priority, followed by trip cancellation and trip interruption.
Cancel For Any Reason coverage purchases have nearly doubled so far this summer, rising from 6.9% of policies last year to 13.5% in 2026, with the increase evident across the top 20 summer destinations, suggesting a broad behavioral shift rather than a response to any single event. Purchasing timelines are also compressing, with the average number of days between trip deposit and insurance purchase dropped to 62 days this year from 71 in 2025.
A regulatory shift is also pushing more travelers toward standalone policies. A proposed airline compensation rule that would have required carriers to pay passengers between $200 and $755 for airline-caused delays was withdrawn, leaving no federal rule requiring airlines to compensate travelers for delays and making travel insurance a more important financial safety net for disrupted journeys.
The survey's generational breakdowns are significant for insurers targeting growth segments.
Americans under 35 are significantly more likely (78%) than older generations to factor environmental risks into vacation decisions, while Gen Z (55%) and Millennials (54%) expressed heightened concern about extreme weather when planning summer travel. Both groups are increasingly acting on those concerns at the point of purchase, with 60% of Gen Z and 54% of Millennials now buying travel insurance. Women are significantly more likely than men to skip summer travel altogether (36% vs. 24%), reflecting disproportionate concern about safety and global instability, while men are more than twice as likely as women to plan a trip to Europe this summer (11% vs. 5%).
Emily Hartman, general manager at Allianz Partners, said travelers are investing more thought into how they protect their trips.
"Travelers today are facing a more complex landscape than ever before. With risks like severe weather and disruptions on the rise, travelers are being more thoughtful about planning," said Hartman. "As travelers invest significant time and money into vacations, planning ahead and protecting those trips with travel insurance can provide critical peace of mind in an unpredictable world."
Travel insurance penetration in the United States reached 40% in 2025, up from approximately 28% pre-pandemic, reflecting a structural shift in how Americans now perceive travel risk. The Allianz data suggests that shift is still accelerating.
