How travel disruptions affected Americans last year

A new study has found seven in 10 Americans have had their travel plans go wrong within the past year.

The poll of 2,000 U.S. adults who have traveled in the last 12 months found 46% have had flights delayed or canceled, 28% have lost their luggage, 15% have had their reservations changed without notice and 11% have had their personal belongings damaged.

Four in 10 of them said their travel woes, including unexpected events and accidents, have completely derailed their trip — some citing they’ve had to endure hurricanes, blizzards, car breakdowns, stolen luggage, plane damage, missing pilots and even military operations.

Commissioned by AXA Partners (https://www.axatravelinsurance.com) and conducted by Talker Research, the study also found the average person plans their trips eight weeks in advance and will spend $1,120 to make their travel arrangements.

Seventy-seven percent agreed the cost of travel today is uncomfortably expensive, and many will omit travel essentials and niceties just to stay under budget. 

Travelers said they give up premium car rentals (52%), premium seating (50%), in-flight entertainment (46%) and luggage fees (45%) if they need to.

More than a third (36%) will even skip out on buying travel insurance, believing it either won’t be used (40%), that it’s too expensive (36%) or that they won’t need it for short trips (26%).

Despite this, 58% admitted they were concerned about an unexpected event or accident occurring while they travel. And 63% know they would be left feeling frustrated if something were to happen.

“We can always hope that our trips are nice and smooth, but it’s hard to predict when the unpredictable might happen,” said Stephen Samataro, Chief Revenue Officer at AXA Partners. “When the cost of these trips are seemingly always increasing, there’s a sense of urgency to make sure you’re getting every cent’s worth — but when the unexpected happens, it can have dire consequences beyond just what you’re paying.”

The study found 42% of travelers said they bought travel insurance ahead of their last trip, and a majority of them found it to be worth the price. 

Half said they were able to get fully reimbursed for canceled trips. Meanwhile, others were compensated for their lost luggage (25%), were covered for a personal injury that occurred on vacation (21%) or were compensated for damaged personal belongings (20%).

More than nine in 10 (92%) said their experiences with travel insurance were so worth it, they would likely purchase it for any future travel they have. And 88% would recommend others get it as well, based purely on their own experiences.

“I believe having peace of mind goes hand-in-hand with travel,” continued Stephen Samataro. “People deserve to enjoy their travels without the added worry and stress of something going wrong. 

“The survey shows that a majority of people are likely to have some disruption in their trip, and when that occurs, there’s nothing that can bring an immediate sense of relief than having your entire trip covered by insurance.”