Tariffs, tempests, and tourists: insurance demand spikes

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From bee stings to million-dollar mishaps, why skipping travel insurance is a gamble you can’t afford

THE TRAVEL INSURANCE sector is facing one of the most difficult landscapes in recent times – grappling with the advent of Trump’s tariffs, rising geopolitical tensions, and ongoing natural catastrophes. Only one out of every five Canadians intends to travel in the upcoming winter period, down a quarter from last year (Allianz Global Assistance Canada’s August 2025 Travel Intentions Survey). Despite this, Canadians are still keen to travel – whether that be to another province, the Caribbean, or a European tour – making the case for having proper coverage even more important. Speaking to Insurance Business, Kyle Sparkman, managing director at Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz), explained that while the world may have moved on from the panic-induced times of COVID, investing in insurance is no less essential. “I’ve been in the travel insurance business for around six years. If you look back you’ll realize that if nothing else has changed, everything has changed. We’ve finally emerged from COVID and into some interesting dynamics in the market – both domestically and globally. As we like to say, the need for travel insurance is never more prevalent than when you need it. And right now, people need it more than ever.”

For over 35 years, Allianz Global Assistance Canada has supported travelling Canadians and visitors when they need it most with value-added travel insurance and assistance services. We bring our passion for assisting people to life every day through our partnerships with well-known brands in the broker, travel, and financial services markets. Allianz Global Assistance Canada is a specialist brand of Allianz Partners. For more information, visit the Allianz Global Assistance Canada website. To stay updated on the travel market and travel insurance insights, follow Allianz Global Assistance Canada on LinkedIn.

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“Driving across the border to Nashville for a concert is just as risky as flying across the world. Brokers need to remind people that out-of-province and out-of-country travel expose different risks”

KYLE SPARKMAN, ALLIANZ GLOBAL ASSISTANCE CANADA (ALLIANZ)

There’s somewhat of a disconnect, however, between how different generations perceive the importance of travel insurance. For instance, younger travellers often opt to skip coverage to curb costs. According to the Travel Health Insurance Association of Canada (THIA), Gen Z is 68 percent more likely than the average Canadian to travel to the US this year, despite the soaring cost of medical care stateside and political and financial uncertainty. However, 47 percent of that same demographic say they’d opt to travel without insurance – and it’s a risk that’s not worth the taking.

“Somebody who’s in their mid-teenage years to their late 20s feels indestructible,” added Sparkman. “They feel like nothing is going to go wrong. But it’s quite surprising when we look at our travel claims statistics because bad things do happen.” These travellers, Sparkman noted, are investing in experiences: concerts, golf trips, weekend getaways – the farthest thing from their mind is what happens when something goes awry. “As insurance professionals, that’s why we’re here,” Sparkman added. “We’re experts in those spaces.” And the reality is stark. Approximately 15 percent of Allianz’s complex medical cases involve Gen Z travellers. That means hospital stays, surgeries, or emergency care are sometimes triggered by the most ordinary events. “There’s a story of a guy who drove across the border to pump gas in Seattle because he wanted cheap gas,” said Sparkman. “He was stung by a bee and ended up in anaphylactic shock – he didn’t know he was allergic. Those are things you simply don’t think about. Driving across the border to Nashville for a concert is just as risky as flying across the world. Brokers need to remind people that out-of-province and out-of-country travel expose different risks.”

If Gen Z skips insurance because they feel invincible, then millennials – especially those with children – face a different challenge: tight finances and the high stakes of family travel, the latter of which is precious to them. According to Allianz’s 2025 Vacation Confidence Index Study, 71 percent of millennials feel that an annual vacation is important, and 75 percent said they desperately need it. “We go through these long winters – these situations make us want to get out and explore more. We want to get away from our day to day – it’s really important,” said Sparkman. “I like to remind people that when travelling out of province, they’re not fully covered by their provincial health plan. You don’t have full coverages for dental, for ambulances, or for bringing someone to your bedside. These are all things travel insurance can help you with.”

Allianz’s latest Travel Intentions Survey (August 2025) also found that 35 percent of Canadians plan to travel within Canada this upcoming winter. Domestic travel insurance covers mishaps such as cancellations, lost baggage, and travel disruptions, essentially the issues you never worry about until they’re happening to you. And for millennials with young families, Sparkman added that they’re sometimes lulled into complacency post-pandemic. Instead, Sparkman preaches caution alongside the fun. “During COVID, people were all about travel insurance,” he told IB. “They understood the clear and present need. This year, other than geopolitical tensions, people have gone back to how they used to think about it.” Here Sparkman reminds brokers of the necessity of reassuring and reeducating customers on the importance of coverage in any kind of travel, because the uncertainty is still just as high as it was during the pandemic. And the “downside risk,” as Sparkman calls it, isn’t just financial.

“Using the resources and insights that we provide at Allianz helps travellers understand what it means when you’re going to certain destinations. We can help the broker understand those things too – and we’re happy to do so”

When it comes to understanding travel insurance, seniors, particularly snowbirds, are “great at thinking about it,” Sparkman told IB. They understand pre-existing conditions, they understand coverage limits, they understand how long they can be out of the country. But this year poses new uncertainties. The 60+ age group remains the most hesitant segment to travel in the current environment, but they are showing the biggest year-over-year improvement with 66 percent having already booked, planning to book, or somewhat likely to travel this winter. “What is the large population of Canadian travellers, who traditionally look for fun in the sun, going to do this year? What impact are these external forces going to have on the decisions that people are making? We don’t know how many will change their patterns from previous years. Mexico, for example, may be a big destination this winter – but medical care in Mexico is just as expensive and complicated as it is in the US. “Using the resources and insights that we provide at Allianz helps travellers understand what it means when you’re going to certain destinations. We can help the broker understand those things too – and we’re happy to do so. We’re providing that information and insights – we’re trying to share this knowledge through conversations, so that people know that they should be bringing these topics up.” And it doesn’t end with advice – at Allianz Global Assistance Canada they’re offering fully flexible solutions to meet these shifting needs.

Gen Z more likely to skip coverage

Out-of-country vs. out-of-province travel

Published September 8, 2025

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Travel intentions rebounding this winter

Seniors: even the savviest customers still face new threats

KYLE SPARKMAN, ALLIANZ GLOBAL ASSISTANCE CANADA (ALLIANZ)

“One of our primary products for that age group is our Annual Medical Flex Plan – a bank of days you can use for various trips,” added Sparkman. “It gives customers peace of mind, especially for people that might be choosing to go to more different locations rather than going to one location for a longer period. It’s coverage wherever they go.” Another innovation Allianz is offering is telemedicine coverage in over 90 countries. “Up to two-thirds of problems people have during travel can be cared for with telemedicine. Whether you’re in Asia, Europe, or Australia, you can speak to a doctor who can prescribe medication by phone or video,” said Sparkman. And for brokers wary of the paperwork barrier, Sparkman told IB that Allianz has shrunk their medical questionnaire from about 27 questions to three. “If you’re healthy, you’ll have a great price. If you have conditions, you might pay more. But having that certainty, and from a broker perspective, not worrying about coverage when you might have answered a question wrong, is worth it.”

60%

of those aged 18–45 have already booked a trip

of Canadians have positive travel intentions

78%

Canadians intend to travel to the US this winter

Only 1/5

of the 60+ age group have a positive outlook, while only 50% took a trip last winter

66%

cite tariffs and/or politics as the main reasons for avoiding US travel

69%

Source: Allianz Global Assistance Canada’s August 2025 Travel Intentions Survey

“Sometimes the mental health burden of travel disruptions is just as important to consider. We’re doing a lot of work ourselves at Allianz to bring awareness through our marketing packages and research, to share those stories. After all, it’s tough to make it real when you have to hit the point that would resonate with a customer. They should always consider that we can give them more extended peace of mind with our annual plans and other products.”

Source: Allianz Global Assistance Canada’s August 2025 Travel Intentions Survey

are voyaging to Europe

13%

are going south to Mexico/Caribbean

19%

are heading to the US

20%

are travelling within Canada

35%

Top vacation destinations this winter

are flying to Asia

The power of storytelling in selling peace of mind

A core aspect of how Sparkman is educating not only customers but the insurance world in general about the necessity of this coverage is through the compelling power of storytelling. Because, as he told IB, this form of communication can help influence purchasing decisions. “It’s how I have this job,” he explained. “I’ve been able to translate a product feature into a real-world experience. My favourite stories? The gas in Seattle and the bee sting. The $1.4 million broken leg inLas Vegas. We have stories about premature babies in Minneapolis that cost $4 million. Then we have more global situations where we’ve had to break people out of hospitals where they were being held hostage for thousands of dollars of payments that weren’t warranted. Those are meaningful stories.” These stories, he added, “make it real.” Allianz’s marketing team equips brokers with bite-sized narratives for newsletters and social media, turning abstract risks into tangible, relatable events. “At Allianz, we make travel insurance easy to sell, easy to buy, and easy to understand. Having those moments that matter, those pictures that resonate with people about why it’s important to think about travel insurance – that’s the core of what we do.”

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