Romanian insurance companies that are members of the National Union of Insurance and Reinsurance Companies of Romania (UNSAR) paid approximately EUR 5 million in compensation between 2019 and 2024 to Romanians whose holidays were canceled for reasons beyond their control, the organization reported on Friday.
These payouts represent 11% of the total travel insurance claims paid during the same period, indicating that more Romanians are recognizing the importance of protecting their vacation plans.
"When a holiday is canceled for unforeseen reasons, the losses can be significant - not only emotionally but also financially. Travel insurance, especially policies covering cancellation, provides real support exactly when it's needed most," said Alexandru Ciuncan, UNSAR President & CEO, quoted in the press release.
For vacation cancellations, the top ten compensation payouts exceeded EUR 100,000, highlighting the seriousness of the situations faced by travelers and the importance of cancellation insurance ("storno"), UNSAR emphasized.
Among the cases demonstrating the real value of this type of protection was the largest payout for a canceled trip due to medical reasons - over EUR 20,000, which covered the losses of a tourist who was unable to travel for health reasons. That same year, the highest medical claim paid to a tourist already on vacation reached over EUR 60,000 - a record amount.
According to the latest edition of the UNSAR-IRES Barometer, 35% of Romanians say that if they go on vacation this year, they will take out travel insurance covering illness or accidents abroad. This marks a significant increase - 4 percentage points more than last year.
In addition, 13% of respondents say they will purchase insurance even for domestic trips, up 5 percentage points from the previous year.
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