Three in four overseas Australian travellers experienced issues

Three in four (74%) Australians experienced issues with their overseas travel or travel plans in 2022, according to the Southern Cross Travel Insurance’s (SCTI) latest report.

The report found that the most common issues experienced during overseas travel last year were:

Illness other than COVID-19 (43%);
Airline-related issues, such as lost luggage, flight delays, or cancellations (38%); and
COVID-19-related travel disruption (36%).

“We’ve definitely been impacted as a business by the travel disruption experienced across Australia and, with the cost of travel continuing to increase, it’s only going to become more important for travellers to cover themselves for cancelled, delayed, or disrupted travel,” said SCTI CEO Jo McCauley.

SCTI travel claims in 2022

SCTI received many travel disruption-related claims in 2022, with the average claim cost for domestic travel ($1,584) 24% more expensive than the average claim cost for international travel ($1,281).

During the same year, SCTI paid out over $1.4 million in COVID-19 claims since December 2021 when Australia’s borders opened, and COVID-19 claims made up 20% of all claims received up until the end of 2022.