Gap Year Travel Insurance

If you are going on a gap year no doubt you have found the planning very exciting. Unfortunately this article is about something that you might consider boring but is the most important thing to take with you: gap year travel insurance. If you think this is too boring to read on, at least make sure your parents read it!

Young travellers who have the world at their feet often feel immortal and invincible but unfortunately they are not. The choices of how to spend a gap year are limitless, but many of the gappers are on tight budgets and gap year travel insurance can seem like another unnecessary expense. But in relation to the costs of the trip (not to mention potential costs), gap year travel insurance is not expensive. What is expensive is the medical bills that can occur while abroad. The bill for an air ambulance to hospital, a few days treatment, then repatriation back to the UK, can easily reach tens of thousands of pounds and if you are not insured it could fall upon your parents to pay for it!

Gap year travel insurance is different from an annual multi-trip policy. While an annual multi-trip policy may appear to last all year, they restrict the number of days for individual trips so they will most likely not be suitable for a gap year.

Many gap year destinations offer extreme sports such as scuba diving, skydiving and bungee jumping at much cheaper rates than the UK and you may be tempted to give them a go. It is very important to check the small print of your policy or check with your insurance provider to ensure that you are covered to participate in these activities.

It is also important to check that your gap year travel insurance covers you for any valuables you are taking with you such as glasses, mp3 players and digital cameras. You may already have “all-risks” cover for these on you or your parents’ home contents insurance policy. Some insurers will cover them on a “new-for-old” basis but you will need to keep hold of the original receipts and obtain a police report for claims of this nature.

As you will have gathered from the above, it is essential when comparing different gap year travel insurance policies that you check the cover, terms conditions and exclusions carefully so that you know exactly what you are getting before you purchase. Fortunately it is now easier to do this as all providers must provide a Policy Summary (also known as Keyfacts), which is a document that contains an outline of the key features and benefits of the gap year travel insurance policy.

Nowadays it is easy to compare gap year travel insurance premiums in just a few clicks thanks to comparison sites such as Moneysupermarket. But be sure to check the small print carefully as cover levels vary considerably as well.

Whatever gap year travel insurance policy you buy, keep a copy of your insurance details on your person all the time and leave a copy with someone at home. And remember, alcohol might be much cheaper abroad but many insurers will refuse to pay out on any claims arising if you are intoxicated!

A 12-month gap year travel insurance policy can be purchased for as little as £65.80* from www.247travelinsurance.co.uk - a small price to pay to reduce your parents’ worries and really enjoy your trip!


* £65.80 including Insurance Premium Tax is based on an individual aged 18-35 travelling in Europe for a period of 12 months, purchasing a backpacker ‘standard’ travel insurance policy excluding winter sports cover.