Published : Oct-2017
No. of Pages : 42
1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 2
1.1. Market summary 2
1.2. Key findings 2
1.3. Critical success factors 2
2. MARKET DYNAMICS 7
2.1. Introduction 7
2.2. UK travel insurance market GWP declines further 7
2.2.1. Multi-trip policies continue to increase their share of market GWP 9
2.2.2. The number of policies written in 2016 declined 11
2.2.3. Average travel insurance premiums increased 12
2.2.4. The influence of age on premium prices 14
2.3. Travel insurance and added-value accounts 15
2.3.1. Added-value accounts remain popular with travelers 15
2.3.2. The disadvantages of added-value account travel insurance policies 16
2.3.3. Travel insurance complaints are on the rise 17
2.4. Travel trends among UK residents 17
2.4.1. Travel abroad by UK residents continued to increase in 2016 17
2.4.2. Holidays remain the main purpose of traveling abroad 19
2.5. The influence of economic, socio-political, and health events on travel 20
2.5.1. The state of the UK economy has an impact on travel 20
2.5.2. The influence of exchange rates on trips abroad by UK residents 21
2.5.3. Social unrest in travel destinations 22
2.5.4. Increased prevalence of the Zika virus 24
2.6. Travel insurance claims 25
2.6.1. The number of travel insurance claims continues to fall 25
2.6.2. Medical expenses continue to drive up total claims costs 27
2.6.3. Changes in booking culture could reduce the cost of cancellations 29
3. COMPETITOR DYNAMICS 30
3.1. AXA leads the way in the travel insurance space 30
3.1.1. AXA accounts for almost a fifth of the market 31
3.1.2. Direct Line Group is not far behind AXA 32
3.1.3. Aviva extends HSBC agreement 32
4. THE MARKET GOING FORWARD 33
4.1. Market forecasts 33
4.1.1. Current market forecast: UK travel insurance will experience modest growth 33
4.1.2. Market forecast: smooth Brexit process 35
4.1.3. Market forecast: hard Brexit process 35
4.2. Uncertainty in the UK economy 36
4.2.1. How the UK economy copes with Brexit is key for the travel market 36
4.3. Technology will influence the travel insurance market 37
4.3.1. Wearable tech could play a role in prevention 37
4.3.2. Virtual GP services could become commonplace 37
4.3.3. The development of flight delay policies 37
4.4. The FCA calls for input from the insurance industry 38
5. APPENDIX 40
5.1. Abbreviations and acronyms 40
5.2. HHI 40
5.3. Bibliography 40
5.4. Further reading 41
List of Tables
Table 1: UK travel insurance market GWP and annual growth rate, 2012-16 7
Table 2: HHI, 2012-15 9
Table 3: Share of UK travel insurance market GWP by policy type, 2012-16 10
Table 4: Number of travel insurance policies written, 2010-16 11
Table 5: Average premiums and percentage change by policy type, 2012 -16 13
Table 6: Average premium prices by demographic, 2014-16 15
Table 7: Number of overseas visits by purpose (000s), 2014-17 19
Table 8: Number of visits by UK residents to Zika-affected countries (000), 2012-16 24
Table 9: Historical exchange rates relative to £1, 2013-17 29
List of Figures
Figure 1: The UK travel insurance market declined further in 2016 8
Figure 2: Multi-trip policies continue to increase their share of GWP 10
Figure 3: The number of policies written declined in 2016 12
Figure 4: Average multi-trip policy premiums increased dramatically in 2016 13
Figure 5: Europe remains the most popular destination for UK travelers 18
Figure 6: Holidays remain the main reason for trips abroad 20
Figure 7: UK economic performance continued to improve in 2016 21
Figure 8: The value of the pound continues to fluctuate 22
Figure 9: Terrorist attacks have led to a decline in visits by UK residents to affected destinations 23
Figure 10: The threat of Zika has led to fewer visits to affected countries 25
Figure 11: The overall number of claims made continues to fall 26
Figure 12: Cancellation is the main reason for travel insurance claims 27
Figure 13: Total claims costs continue to rise, with medical claims leading the way 28
Figure 14: AXA continues to dominate the travel insurance space 31
Figure 15: GWP is set to grow steadily year on year 34
