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Cheap Holiday and Travel Insurance » Information » Backpacker's Travel Insurance

Backpacker's travel insurance is really known as Long Stay insurance. It is available in monthly increments up to 12months or even 18 months, and can be extended by a further month once.

Gap Year students tend to be the people this policy was designed for. The cover is usually for single person, aged under 35, and either covering, Europe only, Worldwide excluding USA & Canada or totally Worldwide.

Backpacker's Travel Insurance

According to claims reports in 2005 from analysis of travel statistics over a 6 month period, approximately 250,000 young people set out on back packing type holidays around the world and a staggering 80,000 (1 in 3) were NOT insured at all.

The problem for young people who take time out to travel the world is their lack of worldly experience, which ironically is one of the main reasons they decide to travel to see the world. Unfortunately travelling uninsured around the world is not a very sensible thing to do, but then do young people immediately think of insurance and the cost of the premiums, or do they think it will never happen to them and take the risk, as 'life is for living - right?'

Unfortunately, backpackers are more likely to be injured because of the sheer time they intend to travel for, which runs into months, and the potentially hazardous but exciting activities they might end up doing along the way.

Backpacker's Travel Insurance

Interestingly, the most common accidents that happen to backpackers are not that adventurous or exciting. They are falling off mopeds, falling when too drunk to stand, and diving into shallow water and suffering head injuries. It's usually the parents that end up stumping up the hundreds or most usually thousands of pounds to pay for the treatment and emergency flights and assisted medical help to get you home.

It's not uncommon for severe medical claims to exceed £100,000. Medi-evac filght evacuations and transportations back to the UK can easily cost £20,000 alone without any treatment. One incident occurred when a young back packer dived into shallow water in Australia, broke his neck and his medical bill exceeded £150,000. If he had been insured with a backpacker insurance that covered diving he would have been covered at least to cover his medical bills and get him back home to the UK, with escorted medical assistance to the nearest NHS hospital or to your home.

Backpacker travel insurance covers you for medical emergencies, including a 24 hour multi-lingual emergency help line, medical evacuation and repatriation back to the UK, as well as baggage cover, personal accident, and personal liability and legal representation. This could be vital if you find yourself in trouble for a public disorder incident, which may not be your fault and you find yourself held in custody simply because you were in the wrong place at the wrong time near the wrong people. Legal representation can help to provide you with a lawyer to negotiate your early release and safe package home.

Backpacker travel insurance covers you 24/7 and its cost is an investment in your wellbeing and safe return to the UK from potentially less safe countries, and you should never leave home without it. If you can't afford the premiums, then ask your parents, who will be more than happy to pay the premiums as opposed to re-mortgaging their family home to get you out of trouble.

Two thirds of all back packers travel the world without incident but 1/3rd do not and are not so lucky, so you should take out a backpackers travel insurance policy to protect you on your travels. Make sure you keep your policy number and claims details on your mobile, as well as in your wallet and with your documents and, just in case, with your parents too.

Backpacking travel insurance also covers you for lost passports, stolen or lost baggage, sudden illness or travel delays that can ruin your adventure and cost you money. Protection with backpackers travel insurance is a small price to pay for worldwide cover.

Written on: 20th July 2007