Travel risk is rising; expectations are too
IN Partnership with
Allianz Global Assistance Canada on rising disruption and the growing role of travel insurance
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TRAVEL DEMAND has returned, but the conditions around it have shifted. Disruption is more frequent. Costs are less predictable. The margin for error is thinner. Booking the flight takes minutes, but the insurance policy that protects both the trip and the traveller’s wallet is hard to parse, easy to defer, and rarely urgent – until it is.
In a conversation with Insurance Business, Kyle Sparkman, managing director and head of Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz), describes a market where volatility is no longer an outlier and the trade-off between expensive policies and peace of mind is becoming harder to ignore.
“There’s been so much happening all over the world, from geopolitical tensions and wars to economic downspins, global disruptions, and regional crises,” he says. “Travellers are becoming much more aware of the need to make sure that they’re covered for unexpected travel emergencies.”
For over 35 years, Allianz Global Assistance 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 is a specialist brand of Allianz Partners – a world leader in B2B2C insurance and assistance, offering global solutions that span international health and life, travel insurance, mobility, and assistance. Customer driven, our innovative experts are redefining insurance services by delivering future-ready, high-tech, high-touch products and solutions that go beyond traditional insurance. Present in over 73 markets, our 22,600 employees speak 70 languages, handle over 95 million cases each year, and are motivated to go the extra mile to offer peace of mind to our customers around the world.
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Canadians craving more travel in 2026
7 in 10 Canadians say they are confident they will take a vacation this year
“Including travel insurance with other types of products or services that a broker is offering really makes customers value the broker relationship at a much higher level”
Kyle Sparkman,
Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz)
Demand is returning and the broker role is widening Travel advisories can change quickly, particularly in response to geopolitical events. As they change, coverage options can narrow. Waiting until closer to departure can mean fewer protections or exclusions that were not there earlier.
That creates a different kind of opportunity. Not just to sell a policy but also to extend the advisory relationship into a moment where clients are making financial decisions under uncertainty.
Sparkman points to the scale first: “Seven in 10 Canadians are confident they will take a vacation this year,” he says. “That’s 28 million people planning trips; it’s 28 million people thinking about, how do they protect their investment.”
Stand-alone policies tend to offer more defined terms and clearer support. That difference is not always obvious at purchase but becomes clear when a claim needs to be made.
Sparkman’s view is that this is where advice matters most. “Advising them when they’re making those travel investments to think about those unexpected things that could go wrong is a really high value-add and ultimately ensures your customers have full circle protection,” he says.
That moves insurance out of the final stages of trip planning and into the initial decision. It becomes part of how a trip is structured, not just how it is protected. It’s important to solidify this proactive approach because, despite the volatility, Canadians are not pulling back from travel.
“Allianz’s data shows Canadians are desperate to travel,” Sparkman says, pointing to sustained demand through the current season.
That demand is not uniform. Travel to the United States has declined, while longer international trips are picking up. After a pullback last year, early data suggests volumes are rising again, with a 12 to 15 percent increase across channels.
For brokers, that shift is changing the shape of the relationship.
Sparkman says that travel insurance is becoming less of a stand-alone transaction and more of a way to deepen engagement. “Including travel insurance with other types of products or services that a broker is offering really makes customers value the broker relationship at a much higher level,” he says.
The opportunity is not only at the point of sale. It is in timing and proximity. A reminder before winter travel. A follow-up after a home or life insurance conversation. A simple prompt that meets the client when the need is relevant.
“Brokers have a broad amount of customers who have a broad amount of needs,” Sparkman says. “Sometimes just reminding people at the right times is critically important.”
The cost side of risk is shifting For Canadian travellers, the insurance decision has traditionally been anchored to one assumption: medical care abroad, particularly in the United States, is expensive.
That assumption still holds, but it’s dangerously underestimating how high the prices actually are.
“What they may not expect is the world has been progressing quite extensively,” Sparkman says. “Some of the locations where Canadians are travelling have started to have increased unexpected costs if you’re in need of medical care.”
The change is not just higher prices. It is less consistency. Costs vary more across destinations and providers, often with limited transparency at the point of care. That creates a different kind of exposure: not just how much a claim might cost but also how difficult it is to anticipate in advance.
Published May 19, 2026
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“Brokers have a broad amount of customers who have a broad amount of needs. Sometimes just reminding people at the right times is critically important”
Kyle Sparkman,
Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz)
This confidence is strongest among:
families with children
77%
high-income earners ($100K+)
85%
Source: Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz), Vacation Confidence Index Study
younger generations (gen Z, millennials, and gen X)
71%
63%
Canadians who believe annual vacations are important for their well-being
70%
Domestic travel remains the top choice for Canadians at 38%
Canadians still prefer internal travel
Source: Allianz Global Assistance Canada (Allianz), Vacation Confidence Index Study
Travel to the US has dropped 8 points from last year
Sparkman points to another layer that tends to be overlooked. “Sometimes you need us – Allianz – to guide you through your care and make sure you get home safely,” he says.
Many travellers rely on the insurance attached to their credit cards. It is convenient and often feels like enough, and in stable conditions, it often is.
In a more volatile environment, however, the limits of that coverage become easier to see. Caps, exclusions, and claims processes that once felt like details begin to matter in practical ways.
Sparkman sees this in how travellers react when plans change unexpectedly. “You’re booking a trip, you’re expecting something, and then all of a sudden something out of your control happens,” he says.
The issue is not that credit card insurance has no value. It is that it was not designed for a higher frequency of disruption. It can cover certain scenarios well, but it leaves gaps that become visible only after the fact.
Disruption is moving through the system Another shift is operational. Whether it’s weather events, labour issues, or regional instability, disruption travels.
A delay in one location can ripple across multiple routes, affecting travellers who are far removed from the original event.
“We’ve actually seen quite an increase in what I would call trip interruption, trip delay, or other in-trip travel emergencies,” Sparkman says.
For travellers, the impact is often incremental rather than catastrophic. A missed connection leads to an extra night in a hotel. A delayed flight pushes the entire itinerary. Rebooking costs add up quickly.
These are not dramatic losses on their own, but they accumulate. Coverage for delays and interruptions is increasingly about absorbing those frictions rather than protecting against a single, extreme outcome.
Distribution is also starting to change. Digital channels, co-branded platforms, and self-serve options allow brokers to stay present without always being directly involved in the transaction. The value sits in the relationship, not just the sale. Let’s call it a more continuous form of advice. Canadians are going further, booking more complex trips, and doing it in an environment that is harder to read. At the same time, they are leaning more on familiar relationships to help manage that uncertainty.
That is where insurance shows up. It’s not only the final step in travel planning but a point where an advisor can show up around a real, time-sensitive decision. It reinforces the relationship in a way longer-cycle products rarely do.
Looking for more information or have questions about travel insurance? Contact Allianz.
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followed by Mexico and the Caribbean (24%) and Europe (15%)
