Rising Travel Costs Led to a Big Shift in Travel Insurance Payouts in 2024

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Jan 29, 2025, 08:11 ET

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., Jan. 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- As travel costs surged in 2024, more travelers sought protection through travel insurance, leading to an 18% increase in paid claims over the previous year. This rise in claims coincided with a dramatic 37% spike in payout amounts, which grew from an average of $1,900 to $2,609.

Squaremouth.com, the country's leading travel insurance marketplace, reveals the most common claims and highlights the travel insurance benefits that saw the highest reimbursement payouts in 2024.

Emergency Medical Claims Surpass Trip Cancellation for First Time in Over a Decade
For the first time in more than 10 years, Emergency Medical became the single highest-paid and most frequently claimed benefit, accounting for 27% of all paid claims in 2024. Average payouts for Emergency Medical claims increased 14%, rising from $1,456 to $1,654.

Cancellation-Related Claims Account for Majority of Paid Claims
Over 40% of paid claims in 2024 stemmed from trips that were either canceled or cut short. This includes claims within the Trip Cancellation, Trip Interruption, and Cancel For Any Reason benefits.

Travel Delays Continued to Cause Headaches
Despite the DOT's 2024 pledge to support travelers affected by flight delays and cancellations, travelers still relied heavily on travel insurance to make travel delays less expensive and more comfortable. Paid claims for travel delays increased 15% in 2024, with average payouts increasing 8% compared to 2023.

Claim Type by Benefit	% of Claims	Avg. Claim	Highest Claim
Emergency Medical	27 %	$1,654	$61,976
Trip Cancellation	26 %	$1,456	$50,102
Travel Delay	15 %	$370	$2,655
Trip Interruption	11 %	$2,631	$30,968
Missed Connection	10 %	$395	$2,500
Cancel For Any Reason	6 %	$2,092	$18,375
Baggage Loss	4 %	$174	$1,000
Baggage Delay	4 %	$210	$600
Medical Evacuation	<1%	$17,086	$33,640
Rental Car Damage	<1%	$1,209	$1,987

Most travel insurance policies are comprehensive and include coverage for most of the benefits listed above. When considering travel insurance in 2025, travelers should take the time to compare their options to find the policy with the coverage they need for the best price.

Methodology: Squaremouth analytics compared travel insurance claims data from Tin Leg between January 1 and December 31 of 2024 to compare policy prices to claim payouts. Tin Leg is a travel insurance provider and member of The Squaremouth Group since 2014.

About Squaremouth: Squaremouth.com has insured over 3 million travelers. Using Squaremouth's intuitive quoting and comparison engine, award-winning support team, and veriﬁed customer reviews, travelers can save time and money to ﬁnd the best travel insurance policy for their trip.

Available Topic Expert: Jenna Hummer is available for comment and interview. [email protected]

SOURCE Squaremouth