Squaremouth breaks down how summer travel trends are shaping up in 2021. More than one year into the Covid-19 pandemic, travelers are slowly regaining their willingness to take trips ahead of the summer travel season.

Squaremouth Analytics has compared thousands of travel insurance policies purchased pre-and-post-pandemic to identify changes and trends in travel insurance to unveil how both consumers and travel insurance providers are responding to the impact of Covid-19 this season. The key trends are outlined below.

Travelers Prefer to Stay Close to Home

• Domestic trips are estimated to make up 48% of travel for U.S. residents in Summer 2021
• This is a significant spike from 2020, when just 19% of travelers were staying in the U.S.

Increased Purchases of Travel Insurance for Covid-19

• Nearly 35% of all purchases for summer trips include the Covid-19 filter, which only shows policies offering Coronavirus Cancellation or Coronavirus Medical benefits
• Nearly 27% of purchases include the Cancel For Any Reason upgrade, compared to 19% in 2020
  • Prior to the pandemic, this figure was historically around 8%

Cancel For Any Reason is an optional upgrade that partially reimburses travelers to cancel for a reason that is not otherwise covered by their policy, such as fear of traveling due to Covid-19. This benefit is only available for 10-21 days after the traveler's initial trip payment, and can reimburse up to 75% of their prepaid and non-refundable trip expenses.

Baby Boomers are Willing to Travel

• The Baby Boomer generation accounts for 30% of travelers this summer, the most of any generation
  • This is followed by Gen X at 24% and Gen Z at 18%
  
  
• The average age of travelers buying travel insurance in March was 41, marking an increase from the onset of the pandemic when the average age dropped as low as 38

"The rise in travel among Baby Boomers is part of a trend we've seen since the vaccine rollout," says Squaremouth Lead Data Analyst, Steven Benna. "This trend is continuing as travelers begin to book their summer vacations."