Travel insurance segment, which is growing at a snail’s pace currently, is likely to grow faster in the next five to seven years as awareness increases about this product apart from the rising tourist traffic flows, industry experts have said.Â
“At present, travel insurance is not popular in the country. Most travellers don’t opt for it. While there is literally no insurance-takers for domestic travels, this is not that popular even among many overseas travellers too. However, we hope things will change in the next five to seven years as the industry matures,” Bharti Axa General Insurance chief executive Amarnath Ananthanarayanan told PTI.
He blamed prevalence of conventional products coupled with low awareness among travellers as the reasons for low popularity and penetration.
“As new products in this segment are being floated as also the rising awareness among travellers, travel insurance is likely to do better in the future,” he added.
A top official from ICICI Lombard also said that growth in travel insurance has been subdued in the recent time.
“Travel insurance is just about evolving in this market and will take some time to gain popularity,” ICICI Lombard executive director Neelesh Garg has said. He, however, noted that Indians visiting West Asia or South Asia don’t take such insurance products.
As per industry estimates, travel insurance constitutes only 2-3 percent of the total premium collection of general insurers but is likely to grow faster in the coming years.
“We hope this segment will grow at about 25 percent annually in the coming years as the awareness among travellers goes up,” Apollo Munich Health Insurance chief executive Antony Jacob has said, adding the company draws around Rs 10 crore in annual premia from this segment by selling to the US and Europe-bound travellers.
“Given the year-on-year growth of tourists from India, travel insurance business will certainly grow in the near future, he added.
