A Finaccord study found that last spring, the travel insurance market for countries like China and Japan skyrocketed.The United States still led the market in terms of premiums in spring 2013, followed by Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan and Australia. The same study predicts that China should pass Australia starting in 2017.

“Chinese companies are increasingly interested in the expertise of Canadian companies to build their business models,” says Robin Ingle, president of Ingle International.

Saudi Arabia has seen the most rapid growth on the market.

The international travel insurance market and assistance services amount to nearly US$13.8 billion in 2013. Finnacord expects the figure to reach US$18.1 billion by 2017.