Some finding from a recent US Travel Insurance Association study:
• Travelers who buy trip insurance tend to be well-educated, frequent travelers, and have higher incomes
• 70% of cruise travelers buy travel insurance
• Purchasers of travel insurance are more likely to have a destination or activity as part of their trip rather than visiting friends and relatives
• People are more likely to buy travel insurance when there are more factors out of their control. For example: travelers going abroad are 3 times more likely to buy insurance than domestic travelers
• 77% of people using a travel agent to book their vacation bought travel insurance
The 2006 Travel Insurance Consumer Survey was conducted online in late 2005 of 850 people who had taken at least one leisure trip of one night or more in the last 12 months.
So no big surprises here, but I am impressed with the number of cruise travelers who insure their trip. The reason may be because they are booked through agents, which increases the chances of buying coverage. Cruises also tend to be all-inclusive, which gives the traveler one large cost to worry about as opposed to several small trip costs.
