3 Things UK Insurers Can Do to Prepare for a Claims Surge This Travel Season

By: Simon Hoskin

Whilst the rest of the UK prepares for their summer holiday, travel insurers are faced with a pressing list of priorities. Since the pandemic, the travel insurance industry has dealt with a rebalance in the number of people travelling, talent shortages and the rising impact of climate-related events, to name just a few of the challenges.

Director of Travel/A&H at Gallagher Bassett, Simon Hoskin, details three key things insurers can do to prepare for another season of peak travel insurance claims and to future-proof their business against the larger emerging risks.

Educate Customers Now to Save Later

Gallagher Bassett's annual whitepaper, The Carrier Perspective: 2025 Claims Insights, reported 'clarity of communication' as the top factor in achieving customer satisfaction for 78% of UK insurers. As an industry, we must ensure customers are well informed and understand what level of coverage they have in place along with any restrictions they might face. Insurers can save a lot of time, expense and frustration in the long run by ensuring that transparent policy information is available and easily digestible.

Investment in innovative technology can also assist with this vital task. User-friendly websites, mobile apps and artificial intelligence (AI) chatbots enable quick correspondence and empower customer support teams to focus on more complex matters.

Providing customers with a variety of different channels to easily access information and support will help them find the right travel insurance product. The Accident & Health claims industry has seen a steady increase in customer dissatisfaction when claims are denied. Frequently, customers appear surprised when their policy doesn't protect certain scenarios and may dispute that the restrictions weren't made clear. Knowledge and understanding are the first steps to mitigating the risks associated with inadequate coverage; reevaluate all communication channels with customers in mind to save later.

Upscale and Upskill Your Resources

When preparing for a busy period, ensure your organisation has adequate resources to handle higher claim volumes. An effective way to overcome the challenge of managing staff through seasonal fluctuations is adopting flexible resource models with the ability to outsource and scale your business at short notice.

It's also important to have a burst resource team on hand when a major event occurs. Recently, a major technical fault hit the UK's air traffic control systems, causing chaos at airports that lasted for days. Malicious cybersecurity attacks have also emerged as legitimate threats that can lead to significant interruption for businesses, especially in aviation due to its reliance on technology. Following a fire at Heathrow airport in March, Gallagher Bassett's Accident & Health team and our frontline call centre ensured that customer calls were answered promptly during the surge event and support was provided immediately.

These emergencies raise another consideration for insurers: simply having an army of staff isn't enough to effectively deal with a surge in claims. Staff must also be well trained and prepared to handle difficult situations with empathy and the necessary expertise to put customers at ease.

Engaging a claims management partner is a practical way to overcome these challenges. Gallagher Bassett's collaborative approach bolsters client's capacity with experienced, solutions focused claims professionals.

Ensure You're Adapting to Emerging Risks

Travel risks have increased for insurers and customers alike in recent years. In 2023, a Singapore airlines flight encountered severe turbulence. The potential for similar incidents to become more frequent hit the headlines, with suggestions that higher atmospheric temperatures as a result of global warming were key contributors to this emerging in-flight risk. The growing risk of such events poses serious possible consequences for travelers and insurers, particularly in Accident & Health claims.

This extends to other climate-related issues. For instance, the increased number of named storms over the 2024/25 UK storm season should present another warning for insurers, as they can lead to a number of simultaneous travel incidents and high claim volumes.

The number of flight delays and cancellations because of events linked to climate change has increased substantially. Findings from Gallagher Bassett's whitepaper, The Carrier Perspective: 2025 Claims Insights, suggest that the industry may already be adjusting practices to combat the impacts of climate change, with 60% of UK insurers reporting a growing demand for climate-specific products.

The challenges arising from unpredictable weather highlight a pressing need for insurers to re-examine travel insurance policies and extend offerings of tailored coverage solutions to help customers manage the increasing risks.