The travel insurance market has a confidence problem. Not a lack of it. An excess of it.
Eight out of ten UK travel insurance customers rate themselves as highly confident about their policy. That should be reassuring. It isn't. Because when we tested what sits behind that confidence, the picture told a different story: a market full of people who believe they understand their cover, and don't.
That gap between what customers think they've bought and what they've actually bought is the subject of our latest research. For an industry already under regulatory scrutiny, understanding exactly where that gap sits, and how wide it is, matters more than ever.
Our latest report, Lost in Translation, explores how UK consumers buy travel insurance, what shapes their purchasing decisions, and where communication breakdowns are creating risk for both customers and insurers.
The desire to travel remains remarkably resilient. More than eight in ten consumers surveyed said they are planning a trip within the next twelve months, despite ongoing cost of living pressure.
At the same time, many consumers feel financially stretched, creating a market where purchasing decisions are becoming more considered and price sensitivity is increasing. That tension matters because travel insurance premiums have also risen significantly over the last year, particularly for single trip policies.
As consumers spend more protecting their holidays, expectations around clarity and value inevitably increase alongside it.
One of the most striking findings from the research is the level of confidence consumers have in their understanding of travel insurance. Most respondents rated themselves highly confident in what their policy includes.
However, deeper questioning revealed a more complicated picture.
Many consumers appear to rely on assumption rather than certainty when it comes to understanding areas of cover, particularly around medical protection and pre-existing conditions. The report explores how these misunderstandings develop and why they become especially problematic during moments of stress or emergency abroad.
Importantly, the issue is not confined to a small minority of customers. The findings suggest confusion exists across age groups, purchasing channels, and levels of travel experience.
Price comparison websites remain the dominant route to purchase for travel insurance customers. In such a competitive environment, insurers face increasing pressure to balance price competitiveness with meaningful communication around cover.
The research suggests consumers are often trying to reconcile two priorities simultaneously. They want affordable cover, but they also want reassurance that the things they care most about are protected.
That creates a challenge for the market because the differences between products are not always easy for consumers to identify quickly, particularly within comparison environments designed around speed and simplicity.
The report also examines what happens after purchase, particularly during claims experiences involving multiple organisations across the value chain.
Even where consumers described their overall outcome positively, many still reported friction throughout the process.
The findings raise wider questions about how clearly responsibilities are communicated during claims handling and whether consumers fully understand who is managing different stages of support when they are overseas.
For an industry built on reassurance, those moments carry significant reputational weight.
The findings arrive at a time of growing regulatory attention on travel insurance customer outcomes.
The FCA’s response to the Which? super-complaint highlighted concerns around claims handling, outsourced services, and customer experience across the wider travel insurance ecosystem.
Interestingly, many of the frustrations identified by regulators were also reflected independently in consumer feedback gathered for this research, particularly around policy wording, clarity, and the overall complexity of the experience.
The central theme emerging from the report is not simply about product design or claims handling. It is about communication.
As premiums rise, products diversify, and regulatory scrutiny intensifies, the ability to communicate cover clearly may become increasingly important in shaping customer trust and long-term market confidence.
The full Lost in Translation report explores:
The findings were presented by Consumer Intelligence CEO Ian Hughes at ITIC UK in Brighton in April 2026.