NEW YORK --
Americans spent more than $1.1 billion for travel insurance in
2004.
That figure is
extrapolated from the first-ever survey of the U.S. travel
insurance market, recently completed for the U.S. Travel Insurance
Association (USTIA).
Travel agencies
sell about 35% of USTIA-member policies, and cruise lines and tour
operators sell another 40%. The remaining 25% is accounted for by
online agencies, airlines, brokers/aggregators and credit card
companies.
The survey found
that more than 17 million travelers bought trip-protection plans
from members. More than 80% of those policies included
trip-cancellation coverage, and travelers were most likely to cover
for trip cancellation for international trips.
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