'Baggage protection key trigger for buying travel insurance'

Protecting one's baggage against theft or other incidents is the key trigger for travel insurance, says a new survey. According to ICICI Lombard Travel Insights 2013 survey by ICICI Lombard and GfK Mode, a sharp fall in the rupee (42 per cent), expensive overseas travel (41 per cent) and rising air fares (41 per cent) were the major factors affecting overseas travel.

Sanjay Datta, chief-underwriting and claims, ICICI Lombard, says these insights would be extremely useful for the firm in terms of introducing innovative products and services that meet the changing demands of their customers in the travel insurance segment and thereby improving the penetration of travel insurance.

According to ICICI Lombard Travel Insights 2013, the top destinations for travel last year were Singapore (32 per cent), Dubai/United Arab Emirates (24 per cent), and Malaysia (14 per cent). They were closely followed by Thailand (12 per cent) and the US (10 per cent). The survey reveals that while beaches, landscape, historical and heritage sites seemed to be the common top considerations for overseas travel, safety and security in the destination country are also gaining importance.

It said travel agents were the key source of information for overseas travelling (75 per cent), followed by advice through family, friends and colleagues, as well as the internet. Almost 40 per cent of the respondents feel the number of Indians travelling abroad has reduced.

According to ICICI Lombard claim data, overall, maximum claims paid were reported from the US, which forms about 80 per cent of the total claims paid. FY13 has also seen a remarkable increase in claims from Germany. Apart from the US and Germany, major countries contributing to ICICI Lombard's claims include the UK and Australia. Majority of the claims were for medical expenses, which contributed to 78 per cent of overall claims in FY 13.

The survey covered key travel markets across India through the cities of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Indore and spoke to 1,043 respondents who have travelled to international destinations in the recent past.