Life is getting expensive, but travel is still a part of it

"Covid had a seriously disruptive effect on the world of travel, but that uncertainty and doubt seem to be a thing of the past: Belgian and Dutch travellers are going on holiday again, even to far-away destinations. Although they are also more frequently enjoying a staycation."

These are the words of Joeri Mariën and Guy Serdobbel, respectively Sales and Marketing Director and CMO of AXA Partners Benelux. Together with their teams, agents and business partners, they keep their finger on the pulse of the travel market. In this way, they continuously help their business partners adapt products and assistance to the changing expectations of the travelling consumer.

Joeri Mariën: "If an employer gives their employees the opportunity to telework, they will be more likely to use it to extend their holidays. More and more organisations are also explicitly allowing this: their employees can work from wherever they want, as long as they can deliver normal work performance."

Despite the energy crisis and unprecedented price increases, consumers do not appear inclined to postpone their travel plans. On the contrary, says Guy Serdobbel: "International studies show that many want to book just as many holidays as before, or even more. Travel therefore clearly remains a priority, even in an age of high prices."

However, the higher cost of living does have an impact. Consumers want more value for their money and are trying to plan more cost-consciously. Just think of cheap last-minutes, early booking discounts, without luggage or only carry-on... At the same time, they don't hesitate to spend money once they reach their destination, in order to get the most out of their trip.

Shift in guarantees

"These days, travellers mainly expect flexibility and peace of mind from their travel suppliers," says Joeri Marien. "Good travel insurance is therefore becoming increasingly important: customers are more often taking out policies, with better guarantees. The discrepancy has been reduced between what people think they need in a travel policy and the coverage they ultimately end up using."

The digitalisation of the travel sector is also continuing. And that's a good thing, because consumers' (free) time is a scarce resource: the faster they can get their affairs in order, the better.

"So travellers prefer to buy their travel products all in one place and in a single click – from plane tickets to the hotel and the amusement park on day five," says Guy Serdobbel. "And last but not least, their travel insurance, which offers coverage starting from the next day! One thing is certain: the pandemic has made travellers more aware of the importance of good cancellation insurance. After all, with good travel and cancellation insurance they feel safer, regardless of the possible setbacks they may encounter."

Which risks carry the most weight in travel insurance, right now?

Today's travellers expect more from their travel insurance. Before Covid, they considered coverage for baggage loss or cancellation to be most important. Now they realise that a lost suitcase is not the worst thing that can happen to you. Even a cancelled trip doesn't have to be the end of the world.

"You've lost the experience (and the money) and that's a shame, but it's not going to cost you anything extra," says Guy Serdobbel. "It's a different situation if you have the misfortune to end up in an American hospital or have to be repatriated from Bali. The chance is small, but the financial consequences are all the greater. Some people never really recover from those sky-high costs."

"The pandemic has made people focus again on what is really important – including their insurance – and they are willing to pay for peace of mind and comfort. We also see the media paying more and more attention to those unfortunate stories where people without travel insurance get into trouble abroad and end up in a dramatic situation," says Joeri Mariën.

Travel risks? Better to be safe than sorry

Even though the pandemic is behind us, travellers still feel uncertain. The current economic and geopolitical situation only reinforces that feeling. What's more, recent extreme natural events have made it clear that you can also get into trouble at popular travel destinations. Whether you choose a distant destination, a package holiday or stay close to home for a camping holiday, unforeseen circumstances can always throw a spanner in the works. Cancelled flights, a shortage of rental cars, forest fires, heat, flooding... They can do more than just put a damper on the joy of travelling.

"Today we clearly notice that people are erring on the side of caution. They book more often through a recognised travel organisation and always take out travel insurance, so they can be sure that they will be helped if something goes wrong. But of course, you never know... Suppose the next summer's trips and holidays go relatively smoothly again, then travellers may be less inclined to take out travel insurance again."

Guy Serdobbel: "The key question we should really ask here is: why do people still go on holiday without travel insurance? Do they deliberately underestimate the risks when travelling? Have they examined their health, hospitalisation or car insurance and do they know that they are protected through their policies? Or do they just assume that everything is covered by those other insurance policies? We are currently looking into that."

Insuring travel experiences: covering the extras too

According to Joeri Mariën and Guy Serdobbel, more than ever, travel insurers need to listen to the expectations of today's holidaymakers and travellers. These days, people are looking for the ideal, total travel experience that they can put together and book according to their personal preferences, including all the extras.

But the search for such a complete holiday experience also means that people want to be better covered. AXA Partners is therefore committed to insuring all these extra activities. For example, if you want to go canyoning in Madeira, you of course have to be able to trust that your insurer will help and reimburse you if things go wrong.

Joeri Mariën: "If you have an unfortunate fall while skiing off-piste, you want your insurer to cover the costs and get you and your family home safely. But that of course presupposes that people can organise all this quickly and easily. That's why it is so important that our business partners optimally integrate their travel insurance into the purchasing process, or even embed it in their products."

The biggest challenges today

Not only the way people travel is changing, the climate and the world are changing too. And not all possible situations are written out in procedures and general terms and conditions of an insurance policy. Insurers therefore keep a close eye on what's going on in the world. They ensure that they can respond agilely to exceptional situations – by being able to quickly expand their assistance network, if necessary. Or that they have a plan for compensation for unforeseen natural disasters, for example. To fulfil not the letter, but the spirit of their insurance in crisis situations where there's a lot of collective suffering. And to clearly differentiate themselves in the eyes of their customers.

Joeri Mariën: "During the disastrous floods of 2021 in Belgium and during the Covid pandemic, we were confronted with situations that even we had not anticipated. We then had to make decisions based on our promise to our business partners and our mission to help people where necessary. So we often had to react very quickly and immediately launch and activate new procedures internally, ensuring that all employees were informed as necessary."

Challenges for the future

AXA Partners co-creates with its business partners: together they detect challenges and opportunities, and build new services for their end customers. This way they can respond quickly to changing situations.

Joeri Mariën: "We are already focusing heavily on reservation and travel comfort this year, and we will continue to do so in 2024. Companies or organisations that offer their customers the added value of a one-stop shop are able to boost their travel convenience, for example with an application that collects all their travel documents in one handy app. This way they always have their crucial data at hand. With so-called parametric insurance, we can also respond quickly and partly automatically to certain situations that would affect the quality of the travel experience. Such as a bad weather guarantee, a cancelled concert abroad, etc."

Guy Serdobbel: "Thanks to these systems, we can immediately take the necessary actions or provide compensation. We also focus on travellers who want to stay abroad for a longer period of time, such as young people who travel the world or study abroad for a year. In addition, we cater to older people who want to winter in the south for several months or adults who stay abroad for longer to combine holidays and remote work.

Or to quickly address unsafe conditions or problems abroad, we have our digital service TravelEye. We can use it to inform end customers about local conditions, warn them of problems and immediately provide them with guidance and help."

Trends in travel insurance

There is one striking trend regarding the number of teleconsultation requests from customers abroad: by mid-2023, more teleconsultations were carried out for travellers in Greece than in all of 2022 combined. The comfort and support of being able to consult a doctor in one's home country proves to be important for customers when problems arise, in this case the major fires and extreme heat in Greece.

Teleconsultations with travellers in Greece make up 28 percent of all foreign calls. Spain is a close second at nearly the same level with 26% of all requests, followed by the Netherlands with 14%. Dutch people who want to consult a Dutch GP while travelling in Belgium make up 15% of all teleconsultations.

Apart from natural phenomena and other disasters, customers attach great importance to the option of video calling with a doctor when they are travelling. These requests from abroad currently represent 75% of all teleconsultations in 2023.

The new travel insurance: tailored to travellers

Travellers want to book a total holiday with peace of mind, with all the extras. They expect better assistance from their insurance company and broader coverage that takes more risks into account. With their insurance and assistance networks, AXA Partners ensures that their business partners can tailor their travel offer and insurance accordingly, in no time. In that sense, you can say that AXA Partners helps 1 in 5 insured travellers when they end up in a foreign hospital or are stranded with car trouble.

Would you like to investigate how you can make your holiday offer or travel insurance more attractive? Do you want to discover how you can respond to consumer expectations and offer them the ideal trip and insurance? Ask the Business Development Managers of AXA Partners for advice, at no obligation.