Travel insurance sales go up as Canadians feel more confident vacationing overseas

Overseas trip? Why you need travel insurance Experts say it is in travellers' best interest to purchase a travel insurance policy, especially the more expensive a trip is.

After staying close to home and avoiding travel during the pandemic, many Canadians are anxious to take international trips again and travel insurance companies are seeing that trend reflected in their sales.

"There is an incredible pent-up demand for people wanting to travel to all kinds of popular international destinations that over the past few years they couldn’t go,” Martin Firestone, president of Travel Secure Inc., a company that sells travel insurance, told CTV News Toronto.

A travel survey by RatesDotCa found the United Kingdom is the number one spot for European travel this year, followed by Portugal, France, Italy and Spain.

The increase in international travel has in turn seen an increase in purchasing travel insurance.

While travel restrictions are easing, some passengers are still concerned about COVID-19 and other issues that could prevent them from taking a trip, which is why trip cancellation insurance has jumped by almost 1,200 per cent over the same period last year.

"The bottom line is that travel insurance is still extremely important as we don't know how things can change and it's in your best interests to purchase a policy," Tanisha Kishan, insurance professional with RatesDotCa, said.

When booking a trip, you'll have many insurance options to consider including medical, trip cancellation and trip interruption which Kishan said every traveller should consider.

“Travelling is supposed to be relaxing and I think travel insurance will give consumers peace of mind when they are travelling abroad," she said.

Even though some countries in Europe have dropped travel restrictions, some haven't. Always check which ones you're going to and the corresponding rules when it comes to vaccines, testing and wearing masks, so you’ll be prepared.