Going off on your own around the world on a GAP year or simply spending a few weeks or months backpacking is an experience you?ll never forget. The problem comes though when you try to choose the sort of insurance you?ll need for your trip. Can you just but the first one you see, regardless of what it covers? Insurance is insurance right? Well, actually it?s not.
Backpacker insurance is designed for the traveller going away for a number of months, not a few weeks. I mean, you?re not going to be going backpacking for a week anyway. For the longer trip, you?ll need to work what you?ll be doing on your trip, and therefore what sort of cover you?ll need. Will you get a job whilst you?re away? If you do, you?ll need insurance which will cover you, and be careful about what the insurance company allows you to do. Some won?t allow manual work, others won?t allow volunteer work. It is now becoming a minefield!
Some travellers, surprising enough, get so caught up in the arrangements of planning their trip, that they actually forget to take out any travel insurance at all before they leave. This can lead to problems as not many insurance companies will allow you to get insurance once you?ve already left your home country. The other problem people have is if they decided to extend their journey. Will your insurance company allow you to extend your insurance? Not many do! So from the beginning it?s important you choose an insurance which will allow you to do all of the above, and more!
Now whilst for some individuals a gap year is just an excuse to pay a visit to some of the world?s best clubs, others do need backpacker insurance that covers them for real adventures. You might believe that gap year insurance would automatically cover the traveller who wants to go white or black water rafting or climb Kilimanjaro, or even try their hands at zorbing, but not every gap year or backpacker insurance policy does, so always read the small print, or better still have a list of what you want to hand when you buy your policy.
Lastly, make sure your insurance company will cover your medical costs. It seems pretty obvious, but you?d be amazed that 25% of travellers go off without any insurance at all. Some countries are now making insurance mandatory, but nothing in life is free, especially medical treatment. I saw a blog recently where someone said ?You don?t need travel insurance, just be sensible and wear a money belt?. What kind of advice is that? Would a money belt help you if you are a passenger in a taxi and it was involved in a bad accident? Would it help you if you get mugged and all your possessions (including the aforementioned money belt) was stolen? It is true that 90% of people who take out travel insurance never have to make a claim. The same can be said of car insurance. But usually, when we have to make a claim the money you get back is sometimes 10 times what you had to pay out for your car insurance. But your car gets damaged it goes to the body shop. If you get damaged badly, you will end up in hospital, in an air ambulance, and generally what you get back can be hundreds of times what you paid out to start with anyway.
Looking to find the best deal for GAP Year Insurance, then visit www.adventuretravelinsurance.co.uk for your next journey.
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