More travellers are buying travel insurance amid greater awareness and rising concerns about safety, say industry players.

Insurance company AIG Singapore, for instance, has seen “double-digit growth” in travel insurance in the last two years.

“This is due to a number of factors, including high mobility among Singaporeans who are travelling overseas more frequently, as well as greater awareness about the importance of travel insurance among consumers to cover unforeseen events and costly medical expenses,” said AIG Singapore vice-president and head of group personal insurance Ignatius Chng.

Travel agency ASA Holidays has also seen a growing interest in travel insurance, which it offers via an external party, said director Shannon Hee.

Visitors at the weekend’s National Association of Travel Agents Singapore travel fair, for instance, were buying such insurance as part of their travel packages.

“Generally, everyone right now tends to get travel insurance, especially with the concerns about terror attacks, natural disasters, even health matters such as the Zika virus,” she said.

Travel insurance is particularly popular with families, she added: “They want to make sure everyone is safe and secure.”

Jane Chang, head of marketing communications at Chan Brothers Travel, said 80 per cent of its customers opt for travel insurance.

“The decision to purchase travel insurance is not dictated by destination but more so prudence as Singaporeans become savvier travellers over the years,” she noted.

A survey commissioned by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), released yesterday, found that nine in 10 travellers were aware of travel insurance and 93 per cent had bought such coverage before.

A short trip was the most common reason for not buying insurance.

A separate AIG Singapore survey last year also found that about a third of Singaporeans believe that travel insurance is not necessary for short holidays of less than three days, or trips to nearby countries.

The STB survey also found that out of over 400 respondents, about half were not aware of travel agent insolvency coverage, which protects customers if the travel agent, through which they booked a holiday, goes bust.

janiceh@sph.com.sg

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Even before Joseph Schooling touched down in Singapore early this morning from Brazil, companies here have already lined up ways to celebrate his Olympic triumph.

About 17,000 ComfortDelgro taxis have started displaying “Our Pride J Schooling” on the taxi rooftop sign since yesterday afternoon. The signs will be shown for one week.

The 21-year-old swimmer arrived at Terminal 3 of Changi Airport before 6am on Singapore Airlines flight SQ67 today.

He was welcomed by a contingent of fans, sports officials and members and affiliates of the Singapore Swimming Association.

The transport company is also offering a $10 discount for the first 1,000 passengers who book trips to Changi Airport this morning to welcome Schooling home.

The promotion is available on the ComfortDelGro app and customers need to key in the code 5039.

The numbers represent the record time of 50.39sec he clocked in the 100m butterfly final on Saturday morning.

He won gold, beating swimming legend Michael Phelps and breaking the Olympic record too.

Singapore Airlines also gave Schooling a champion’s send-off at the airport in Rio de Janeiro before he boarded the plane.

There was a cake and champagne, and he was awarded one million KrisFlyer miles by the airline.

The celebration continued at 30,000 feet in the air, said The Straits Times editor-at-large Han Fook Kwang.

Thirty minutes into the flight, the pilot announced Schooling’s presence on board and that the champagne would be served to all passengers to celebrate his historic win.

Back in Singapore, Canopy Garden Dining, a restaurant at Bishan Park, offered a 50.39 per cent discount for brunch and dinner, it said on its Facebook page.

Fast-food giant McDonald’s will be giving out free chicken McNuggets at nearly all its branches today from 11am to celebrate his win.

McDonald’s was also one of the companies that took out full-page advertisements in The Straits Times to congratulate Schooling, along with Singtel and Brand’s essence of chicken.

Schooling and his family will also be attending Parliament later today.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

The Straits Times, Reuters, AFP

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong called Schooling to invite him to the session personally.

The House plans to move a motion to congratulate Schooling on his golden feat and express support for Team Singapore athletes.

There are also plans to take Schooling on an open-top bus ride although that is dependent on his schedule.

Click on thumbnail to view photos. Source: 

Twitter screengrabs, Facebook screengrabs, Facebook/SGAG

chuimin@sph.com.sg

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