Three in four Australians say they would switch travel booking platforms if protection were automatically included with their purchase, highlighting an opportunity for travel and digital commerce businesses to use embedded protection as a customer acquisition and loyalty tool.
The finding comes from new research by Cover Genius examining how consumers in Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom buy and value protection products.
While Australians are highly conscious of potential risks when booking travel and making major purchases, the research suggests they remain selective about where they source protection.
Trust still shapes protection choices
According to the research, 87% of Australians consider potential risks when booking travel or making major purchases, while 75% would be willing to switch to a travel platform that automatically includes protection.
A further 76% said they would be more likely to purchase protection if payouts were automated and did not require a traditional claims process.
Despite growing interest in embedded protection, Australians remain cautious about newer purchasing channels. Just 8% of Australian respondents had purchased protection through a marketplace app, compared with 21% in the US and 12% in the UK. Only 4% said they trust AI to make protection decisions.
Instead, consumers showed the greatest confidence in established providers. Banks and credit card providers were the most trusted source of protection, at 39%, followed by the platforms consumers book through and dedicated insurers, both at 24%.
Angus McDonald, CEO and Co-Founder of Cover Genius, said the relatively low use of marketplace apps and AI in Australia does not necessarily indicate weak demand for embedded coverage and “is still in its early stages.”
Embedded protection could influence travel platform loyalty
For travel booking platforms, the findings suggest that protection is increasingly becoming part of the overall customer experience rather than a separate product sold after the main purchase decision.
While 41% of Australians purchase protection from standalone insurers, 75% said they would be more likely to book through an online travel platform if protection were automatically included.
That creates an opportunity for travel platforms to differentiate themselves in a competitive market. Embedded protection can potentially support conversion, customer acquisition and loyalty by reducing the number of additional decisions customers need to make during the booking process.
According to McDonald, automation and native integration are key drivers of embedded protection adoption. “When cover is integrated seamlessly at checkout and claims are resolved quickly, protection stops being a reluctant add-on. It becomes a standout benefit, and a primary reason customers stay loyal to your platform.”
The research also indicates which forms of protection Australians value most. Emergency medical coverage while travelling was the highest-rated protection product, with 80% rating it highly. Cyber identity theft protection followed at 72%, while trip cancellation and interruption protection was rated highly by 70%.
For travel platforms considering embedded products, these preferences provide a useful indication of where customers see the greatest value. Protection that addresses high-consequence risks and is closely linked to the underlying travel purchase is likely to be easier for customers to understand and assess.
Australians remain cautious about AI-driven decisions
Although consumers appear receptive to automation when it simplifies claims and payouts, the research found that Australians are much less willing to hand purchasing decisions over to AI.
More than a quarter of respondents, 26%, said they would not allow AI to make a purchase on their behalf, while 20% said they would not share personal details with any AI.
The preferred model was for AI to suggest protection options while leaving the final decision to the consumer, selected by 39% of respondents. Just 3% wanted AI to handle protection decisions automatically without being asked.
The distinction is important for travel and digital commerce platforms.
Customers may welcome automation that removes friction from an existing process, such as identifying relevant coverage or accelerating a payout. That does not necessarily translate into acceptance of systems making financial or protection decisions without customer involvement.
For businesses introducing AI into embedded protection, this suggests that assistive tools may be more acceptable than fully autonomous purchasing. Giving customers clear recommendations while maintaining control over the final decision can help balance convenience with trust.
Closing the gap between protection and awareness
The research also identified a significant awareness gap around protection benefits consumers may already have.
Only 30% of Australian respondents said they had successfully used a card protection feature, while 27% did not know what their primary payment card covered. A further 46% said they were unaware of, did not trust or did not consider their card’s included benefits.
When asked what would make bank-provided protection more appealing, Australians prioritised clear explanations of what was covered, at 54%, and a seamless banking app experience, at 48%, ahead of competitive pricing, at 44%.
For platforms and businesses considering embedded protection, the results suggest that product design alone is not enough. Customers also need to understand what is included, when it applies and how to access the benefit.
That makes clarity and convenience central to the value proposition. Protection that is difficult to understand, hidden behind unclear terms or cumbersome to claim may have limited influence on customer behaviour, even when the underlying coverage is strong.
The Australian findings were drawn from 225 respondents as part of a broader survey of 1,392 consumers across seven countries, and Cover Genius notes that the results should be interpreted as directional.
Even with that limitation, the research highlights a useful principle that embedded protection can strengthen the customer proposition when it is relevant, clearly explained and integrated into the purchase journey without removing customer control.
For Australian travel businesses, the competitive advantage is likely to come less from offering protection alone and more from making it easy to understand, easy to access and closely aligned with the risks customers care about most.
Yvette is a Content Producer at Akolade, producing stories for Supply Chain Channel, an Australian learning ecosystem created to address the need for information, networking, case studies, and empowerment for everyone in the supply chain sector.
