Travel insurance sales go up as Canadians feel more confident vacationing overseas
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.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Grandparent scam: London, Ont., senior beats fraudsters not once, but twice
It was a typical Tuesday for Mabel Beharrell, 84, until she got the call that would turn her world upside down. Her teenaged grandson was in trouble and needed her help.
Deaths of 4 people on Sask. farm confirmed as murder-suicide
The deaths of four people on a farm near the Saskatchewan village of Neudorf have been confirmed a murder-suicide.
CRA no longer requiring 'bare trust' reporting in 2023 tax return
The Canada Revenue Agency announced Thursday it will not require 'bare trust' reporting from Canadians that it introduced for the 2024 tax season, just four days before the April 2 deadline.
Full parole granted to man convicted in notorious 'McDonald's murders' in Cape Breton
The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to one of three men convicted in the brutal murders of three McDonald's restaurant workers in Cape Breton more than 30 years ago.
Incident on Calgary's Reconciliation Bridge comes to safe resolution
Nearly 20 hours after a man climbed and remained perched on top of the Reconciliation Bridge in downtown Calgary, the situation came to a peaceful resolution.
Sunshine list: These were the Ontario public sector's highest earners in 2023
Ontario released its annual sunshine list Thursday afternoon, noting that the largest year-over-year increases were in hospitals, municipalities, and post-secondary sectors.
George Washington family secrets revealed by DNA from unmarked 19th century graves
Genetic analysis has shed light on a long-standing mystery surrounding the fates of U.S. President George Washington's younger brother Samuel and his kin.
'We won't forget': How some Muslims view Poilievre's stance on Israel-Hamas war
A spokesman for a regional Muslim advocacy group says Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre's stance on the Israel-Hamas war could complicate his party's relationship with Muslim Canadians.
Why some Christians are angry about Trump's 'God Bless the USA' Bible
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is officially selling a copy of the Bible themed to Lee Greenwood’s famous song, 'God Bless the USA.' But the concept of a Bible covered in the American flag has raised concern among religious circles.