Travelers Worry Most About Missing a Trip Due to Sickness

When a traveler is planning a trip, the most pressing anxiety is worrying about getting sick and having to cancel, according to a survey of more than 20,000 people.

Nearly 45 percent of domestic travelers in research from Allianz Global Assistance shared that getting sick at the last minute was their greatest concern, ahead of airlines cancelling or delaying a flight (approx. 22 percent), overbooking or missing a connecting flight (10 percent) and finding that their baggage was lost, damaged or stolen (5 percent). The research was conducted with travelers who had purchased protection.

For international travelers, 35 percent were concerned about getting sick before a trip and having to cancel and slightly more than 21 percent were anxious about airline delays or cancellations. However, 10 percent of international travelers were worried about getting sick while traveling abroad versus about 2.5 percent of domestic travelers, and international travelers were twice as concerned about lost, stolen or damaged baggage.

According to Allianz, three out of four insured customers said they agreed that purchasing travel insurance eliminated their concerns when booking flights. Additionally, about four out of five insured customers said they are likely or very likely to purchase trip protection in the future.