Travelling has picked up again even though corona numbers remain elevated around the world. Marit Raag, travel insurance product manager at Seesam, explains that Estonians’ interest in remote areas has grown in comparison to the pre-pandemic period, as has their desire to feel confident that they will be guaranteed adequate medical assistance at their travel destination should they fall ill.

According to tour operators, the second half of 2021 was starting to look brighter for travel agencies and travel is soon expected to return to pre-pandemic levels. This change in the trend is also clearly seen in insurance statistics, which indicate the rise of new areas and greater concern for health.

Less about Europe and more about Asia and America
Before the first wave of the pandemic, people mostly travelled within Europe. Now, as Raag points out, people are looking to go further away. “We are seeing that travelling to Asia and the Americas is becoming more frequent. Europe stands out as having significantly stricter restrictions compared to the rest of the world, so we can assume that looser restrictions in destination countries as well as whether proof of full vaccination is required to enter a particular country, or whether a negative coronavirus test is sufficient, have both contributed to the change in destination preferences,” says Raag.
As has been the case for many years, direct flights to Egypt, the Canary Islands and Turkey remain popular.

Insurance not taken out lightly
“The biggest contribution is certainly how much people’s attitudes towards caring for their health have changed in this time. It used to be rather common to travel with the cheapest health insurance option if any at all. For example, people believed that a European health insurance card would be enough when travelling to Europe,” says Raag of people’s sentiment towards health insurance.

“In reality, you have to remember that the card will only compensate for medical services provided free of charge and these services vary from country to country. As far as contracting the coronavirus is concerned, the European health insurance card does not compensate for hospital bed costs, the accommodation costs of a loved one or the costs related to extended travel due to illness, such as the purchase of new airline tickets. Coverage against trip cancellation ensures that any costs incurred to date will not be lost if you fall ill before a long-awaited trip. Due to the level of uncertainty, all of this is very important to people when planning for a trip,” says Raag.

She points out that the biggest change has been in people’s tendency to read the fine print. Clients now examine in detail the amounts of insurance coverage as well as the specific contents of insurance options. “I feel rather strongly that travelling without insurance has become something of a rarity. It can also be seen that insurance is no longer taken out immediately before the trip, but oftentimes at the time of booking,” adds Raag.

Insurance events are not limited to COVID-19
When we look at the main reasons people contact an insurance undertaking today with regard to travel, Raag confirms that the majority of such cases are related to contracting the coronavirus immediately before the trip when the insured person or their family member receives a positive PCR test. Incidents abroad are usually caused by something else: traffic accidents, stomach viruses and unexpected health problems dominate this unfortunate list. 

“Cases where medical assistance is required continue to be more frequent in popular holiday destinations in Turkey and Egypt where people consult a doctor for stomach issues or the common cold. Travels to distant areas are associated with higher medical costs. We recently had several cases in Thailand where someone needed medical attention because of a motorcycle accident. In America, however, one insured person had such a serious accident that the medical charges exceeded the sum insured,” says Raag. 

Seesam treats coronavirus cases as it would any other disease. In the case of asymptomatic patients not in need of medical care, the only expenditure is related to quarantine-related costs. Under expanded trip cancellation coverage, Seesam will cover new return tickets as well as added accommodation costs. Remember to consider the sum insured because the indemnification of quarantine-related costs depends on the amount of trip cancellation coverage.