Canadians (84%) Agree Buying Travel Insurance Is Worth The Cost To Have Peace Of Mind On Vacation
Of those who have travelled outside of Canada or the United States in the last three years, 60% say that they `always' (52%) or `usually' (8%) purchase travel insurance, 6% say that purchase travel insurance occasionally and 7% rarely. Three in ten (27%) say that they `never' purchase travel insurance.
Of all travelers who purchase travel insurance at least `occasionally' when they travel (53%), most buy the insurance from their travel agent (44%). Others purchase their insurance from an insurance broker (13%), from a financial institution (12%), from an association they belong to (11%) or directly from an insurance company (10%). As well, many Canadians (84%), say that it is important (57% `very' and 27% `somewhat') that they are offered the option to purchase travel insurance when booking a trip.
When it comes to travelling abroad, outside of Canada or the US, one-quarter (24%) of Canadians who have travelled abroad within the last three years, believe that their provincial and/or employee health insurance plans would cover 100 percent of their medical expenses if they had a medical emergency when traveling internationally - outside of Canada or the US. Provincial and employee health insurance plans typically provide only limited coverage for medical treatment and hospital costs outside a person's home province and territory.
Looking specifically at Canadians who have taken a leisure trip within the last 3 years, two-thirds (67%) agree with the statement "an accident can happen to anyone, even during a very short business or recreational trip, so I always purchase travel insurance." However, roughly one-third (34%) has stopped buying travel insurance because it "costs too much and they `never' use it anyway."
Of the Canadians who have traveled for leisure in the last 3 years, 43% agree that they are more likely to purchase travel insurance when they travel than they were before events such as the recent terrorist attacks, the war in Iraq and SARS. More travelers disagree (56%).
These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/RBC Insurance survey conducted between August 26th and August 28th, 2003. This is the first of three releases from the poll. The focus on this release is on international travel, while the other two will focus on US travel and travel within Canada. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. For example, the margin of error on the proportion of Canadians who have travelled internationally, outside of Canada or the US within the last three years, is 1775.4% (n=321). These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.
Canadians (84%) Agree Buying Travel Insurance Is Worth The Cost To Have Peace Of Mind On Vacation
Eight in ten (84%) Canadians agree that buying travel insurance is worth the cost to have peace of mind on their vacation, half (48%) of Canadians "strongly agree".
- Women are more likely to agree that buying travel insurance is worth the cost to have peace of mind on vacation than are men (88% versus 80%), and are also more likely to say it's `very important' that travel insurance is offered when booking a trip (63% versus 50% of men).
- Quebecers are more likely to agree that travel insurance is worth the cost to have peach of mind than those from BC (89% versus 77%).
- Women are more likely than men to agree with the statement, "an accident can happen to anyone, even during a very short business or recreational trip, so I always purchase travel insurance" (71% versus 63%).
Yet, Only Sixty Percent Of Those Who Travel Internationally Regularly Purchase Travel Insurance - Three in Ten `Never' Purchase Travel Insurance
Of those who have traveled outside of Canada or the US in the last three years, 60% `always' (52%) or `usually' (8%) purchase travel insurance, 6% say that purchase travel insurance occasionally and 7% rarely. Three in ten (27%) say that they `never' purchase travel insurance.
Of travelers who purchase travel insurance at least occasionally when they travel (53%), most buy the insurance from their travel agent (44%). Others purchase their insurance from an insurance broker (13%), from a financial institution (12%), from an association they belong to (11%) or directly from an insurance company (10%).
As well, most Canadians (84%) say that it is important (57% `very' and 27% `somewhat') that they are offered the option to purchase travel insurance when booking a trip.
One-Quarter (24%) Believe That Their Medical Expenses Would Be 100% Covered If They Were To Have A Medical Emergency While Abroad
When it comes to travelling outside of Canada or the US, one-quarter (24%) of Canadians who have travelled abroad within the last three years, believe that their provincial and/or employee health insurance plans would cover 100 percent of their medical expenses if they had a medical emergency when traveling internationally - outside of Canada or the US. Provincial and employee health insurance plans typically provide only limited coverage for medical treatment and hospital costs outside a person's home province and territory.
Please open the attached PDF files to view the factum and detailed tables.
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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
