“Travel medical insurance is essential for snowbirds given their age, long-trip durations and the fact that many of them have pre-existing medical conditions or at risk for experiencing medical issues,” he says. “Most snowbirds have always been diligent about purchasing travel medical insurance, even before the pandemic. Having said that, the pandemic may have been a wakeup call for the minority of snowbirds who may not have purchased travel insurance in the past.”
What insurance providers are saying
Travelweek reached out to several Canadian travel insurance providers to corroborate Snowbird Advisor’s findings. Both Allianz Global Assistance Canada and TuGo are reporting a definite uptick in Canadians purchasing and inquiring about travel insurance since Nov. 8.
Brad Dance, Chief Customer Officer at TuGo, tells Travelweek that the Customer Service team has received an “unprecedented” amount of inquiries, with travellers ready to renew their annual policies as well as make new purchases. He also notes how the recent update to Canada’s testing requirements, which eliminates the need for a PCR test for trips 72 hours or less starting Nov. 30, will have an even bigger impact on travel insurance purchases.
“The pandemic has brought on great pent-up travel demand and cross-border trips have always been an important travel market for TuGo,” says Dance. “Canadians took over 11 million auto trips across the line in 2019, making this market the largest segment of Canadian international travel.”
A similar story is being shared by Allianz, which saw outbound sales in November reach nearly twice that of September. According to the company, while seasonality certainly plays a factor, the rapid growth is beyond what the company normally sees at this time of the year.
“Opening the U.S. border has created an increase in insurance sales with U.S. as the destination,” the company tells Travelweek. “It’s also offered a larger signal – that travel is resuming, for all Canadians. As a result, we’ve seen growth in travel to many destinations around the world, not just the U.S.”
What insurance products are best?
At Allianz, a service called Pre-Trip Assistance is available that allows customers to get a better understanding of what to expect in their destination country and connect to resources for travel requirements and government advisories. With travel rules and restrictions constantly changing, Allianz says this service is proving to be more valuable than ever.
“We always encourage customers to consider their specific and personal needs when travelling and recommend working with a trusted travel professional to ensure the right coverage for the right circumstances,” says Allianz.
TuGo recommends its Multi Trip Annual Emergency Medical Insurance, which is now available with a two-day trip length, making it an ideal option for short or spontaneous trips across the border. This two-day policy option is even easier to purchase at any age as there isn’t a medical questionnaire (otherwise required for travellers 60+).
Dance also notes that the Multi Trip Annual Emergency Medical Insurance is more economical than buying multiple single trip policies, and that travellers can leave at any time, without the hassle of re-applying each time. And with a family plan, family members can travel together or separately, and always be covered.
Wall Street was mixed Thursday, with investors grappling with the implications of inflation that has soared to its highest in decades, and third-quarter earnings that are starting to show signs of slowing growth.
The S&P 500 was rose after back-to-back sessions of losses. The Nasdaq outperformed, with some of Wednesday’s biggest technology laggards posting a rebound — led by Netflix (NFLX) which overtook Disney in market capitalization.
With no notable economic data due out on Thursday due to the Veterans Day holiday, investors have been left to continue responding to the latest batch of mixed economic data. And meanwhile, a couple of closely watched companies missed quarterly earnings estimates, though most S&P 500 companies have topped expectations throughout third-quarter earnings season to date.
After market close on Wednesday, Dow-component Disney (DIS) reported disappointing sales and profits as Disney+ subscriber growth slowed more than expected. Beyond Meat (BYND) also offered a weak current-quarter revenue forecast, pointing to continued sluggishness in the plant-based meat alternative-maker’s sales trends. Affirm (AFRM), however, saw shares soar in the premarket session, with the buy-now-pay-later financial technology platform topping quarterly sales expectations and unveiling an expanded payments partnership with Amazon.
Elsewhere, however, elevated demand for electric-vehicle stocks and for shares of newly public companies showed few signs of slowing down after Rivian Automotive’s (RIVN) public debut. The Amazon-backed EV-maker’s stock closed higher by 29{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} from its IPO price of $78 per share on its first day trading on the Nasdaq.
A greater-than-expected jump in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index was a particular source of concern for traders on Wednesday, suggesting elevated price pressures were still present across many categories. The print also overshadowed some other upbeat economic data on the labor market’s recovery, as initial unemployment claims dipped to reach a fresh pandemic-era low last week.
The broadest measure of consumer price changes rose by a staggering 6.2{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} in October compared to the prior year, representing the biggest annual rise in 31 years.
“This is certainly telling us, I think, that price pressures are more persistent. They are broader. They are not just narrowly focused on those categories, whether it’s autos and the supply-constrained items. And it’s going to last longer than expected,” Matthew Luzzetti, Deutsche Bank chief U.S. economist, told Yahoo Finance Live.
Importantly, stickiness in inflation also suggests that the Federal Reserve will need to step in sooner than previously anticipated to raise interest rates in order to help bring rising prices in check. Markets are pricing in an initial hike to bring rates up from their current near-zero levels by mid-2022 — but more prints showing elevated inflation could pull those expectations forward, Luzzetti added. And already, consumers’ outlooks on inflation have increased considerably, with the New York Federal Reserve reporting this week that consumers’ short-term inflation expectations jumped to a record high of 5.7{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}.
“We do think that the Fed is going to have to raise rates next year. They’ve signaled that they’re going to taper through the middle of the year, and that’s our baseline at this point,” Luzzetti said. “But if you continue to see price pressures like this over the coming months and more persistent, it may cause them to have to act earlier than expected.”
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4:05 p.m. ET: Stocks end mixed: Tech stocks lead Nasdaq comeback while Disney earnings letdown drags on Dow
Here were the main moves in markets as of 4:05 p.m. ET:
S&P 500 (^GSPC): +2.56 (+0.06{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 4,649.27
Dow (^DJI): -158.71 (-0.44{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 35,921.23
Nasdaq (^IXIC): +81.58 (+0.52{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to 15,704.28
Crude (CL=F): -$0.17 (-0.21{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $81.17 a barrel
Gold (GC=F): +$17.00 (+0.92{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}) to $1,865.30 per ounce
10-year Treasury (^TNX): 0 bps to yield 1.5600{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a}
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9:30 a.m. ET: Stocks hug the flatline
Here were the main moves in markets as of 9:30 a.m. ET:
Wisr chief government, Anthony Nantes. Photograph: Equipped
Neo-loan provider Wisr has reported its 21st straight quarter of advancement in the confront of surging need for car finance and personal loans.
The desire has noticed Wisr transfer some of its loanbook to backers NAB and Revolution Asset Administration to make home for much more.
Wisr main executive Anthony Nantes expects organization to crack $50 million in revenue this financial year.
Visit Small business Insider Australia’s homepage for far more tales.
Wisr, the Australian neo-loan company, claimed a earnings haul of $12.1 million in the very first quarter of the 2022 financial year, up 195{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} on the to start with quarter of 2021, spurred by automobile lending and an uptick in individual finance demand from customers.
It was the 21st straight quarter of growth for the non-bank loan provider, which secured a new document of $132 million in mortgage expansion by means of the June quarter, pushing the firm’s full originations up to $743 million.
Wisr main govt Anthony Nantes claimed the success have the corporation on keep track of to crack $50 million for the 12 months forward, as the market’s appetite for secured car loans proceeds to improve.
“We’re observing our secured auto loan products carry on to deliver, with 31{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} expansion for the quarter, reinforcing the massive prospect forward of us in the car finance sector,” Nantes explained.
Nantes claimed Wisr has ramped up its initiatives to fulfill the desire, with the October roll-out of a new secured motor vehicle warehouse supported by big backers, NAB and Revolution Asset Management.
The deal saw NAB step in as a senior funder, and Revolution as a mezzanine funder, which in outcome permitted Wisr to transfer its $127 million loan reserve with an 8-9{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} yield, to make way for $127 million extra in a bid to boost capacity.
“With our new $225 million Wisr secured car or truck warehouse coming into outcome in Q2FY22 and backed by two of Australia’s most outstanding funding associates, we’re in the driver’s seat, ready to crank that motor up,” he said.
The business has previously started out to see early signals of accelerated desire for particular finance, far too. Nantes predicts that personalized loans could supply Wisr sizable momentum heading into 2022 off the back of eased lockdown limitations.
“We anticipate to see enhanced need in the private finance sector as lockdown constraints commence to raise and buyer demand from customers in a natural way rises in the particular loan categories that had been impacted by COVID-19, developing a robust tailwind for us as we head into 2022,” Nantes said.
“With two Wisr warehouse services in procedure and completely ready to travel considerable, sustained progress, we’re in an exceptionally strong position to force by way of our medium-time period goal of a $1 billion personal loan e-book, accelerate our earnings, path to profitability and running leverage into [the second half of the year] and further than.”
A swift marketing force as a result of the quarter, led by a main campaign broadcast above the training course of the Tokyo Olympics, also reaped benefits for the firm.
Wisr described the Olympics campaign on your own bagged the loan company a 30{1b90e59fe8a6c14b55fbbae1d9373c165823754d058ebf80beecafc6dee5063a} raise in response premiums, contributing to substantial “profile creation”.
Beyond earnings, Wisr reported main progress on its economic wellness platform, which grew to 505,000 profiles, with 54,000 new profiles designed by the June quarter.
About the Author
John Buckley is a Senior Reporter at Enterprise Insider Australia.
He has bylines in The Washington Article, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Saturday Paper, and VICE, among the many others. His reporting covers politics, finance, the financial system, know-how and the approaches each individual of them intersect with society.
