Whether you’re planning a gap year, or you want to escape the rat race and explore the world for a bit, specialist ‘backpacker’ travel insurance should be listed as one of your essential items.
This valuable cover can protect you if you fall ill or have an accident, or if your belongings are lost or stolen while on your travels.
What’s more, providing you take out cover the moment your trip is booked, you’ll also be covered in the event your backpacking expedition is cancelled.
Here we explain all you need to know about backpacker travel insurance.
What is backpacker travel insurance?
Backpacker insurance is a type of travel insurance designed to cover you on longer trips overseas, often to multiple countries. It’s also known as extended trip insurance as it will provide cover for trips of up to 18 months in duration. In some cases, this can even be extended.
Many backpacker policies will also permit you to return home temporarily to see family or friends, or because of an emergency. Policies will generally cover travellers aged up to 60 or 65.
Do I need backpacker travel insurance?
If you’re planning to travel for several months at a time to visit several countries, standard travel insurance won’t be sufficient as you’ll often be covered for no longer than 30 days at a time.
Backpacker insurance, however, will cover you for a much longer period of time and for multiple destinations. Many policies also cover a range of adventure activities as standard, such as scuba diving and bungee jumping.
What does backpacker travel insurance cover?
Backpacker travel insurance policies vary in terms of what they offer, but many policies will cover you for the following as standard:
- medical expenses and repatriation back to the UK
- cancellations and delays
- personal liability (should you injure anyone or damage their belongings on holiday)
- baggage and personal belongings
- extreme sports such as white-water rafting and bungee jumping
- winter sports such as skiing.
Note that not all policies will cover you for extreme or winter sports so check carefully before applying. If this is something you know you’ll require, you may need to take out additional cover instead.
Some policies will also include cover for volunteering work if this forms part of your travel plans.
Are there any exclusions?
As with any type of insurance policy there are also a number of gaps to be aware of. Again, these will vary depending on the policy and the insurer, so it pays to check, but the following are likely to fall outside of the policy cover:
- claims resulting from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- medical treatment for pre-existing conditions
- claims because you didn’t get the vaccinations required for your trip
- claims arising from travel to a destination the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has advised not to go to (for example, due to the COVID-19 pandemic)
- unattended possessions (eg. if you leave your bag unattended and it is stolen)
- claims arising from taking part in illegal activity or acting maliciously.
How can I get the best backpacker insurance policy?
When comparing backpacker travel insurance, you’ll need to ask yourself the following to make sure you get the right cover:
- will I be covered for all planned activities, such as snowboarding, skiing, scuba diving or quad biking?
- will all the destinations I plan to visit be covered? Premiums may be higher for visiting certain countries
- will the policy cover me if I change my plans and decide to extend my trip?
- is there a 24/7 customer helpline in case I need help or support while I’m away?
- what’s the single item limit for personal possessions? Do I need to take out separate cover for valuable items?
When applying for backpacker insurance it’s vital that you inform the insurer of any pre-existing conditions. If you need to make a claim, the insurer will investigate. And it could refuse to pay if it finds out you were not honest or had failed to disclose required information.
You should also carefully consider the excess, which is the amount you’ll have to pay towards the cost of any claim. The higher it is, the less you’ll pay for your premiums.
However, bear in mind you may end up making several claims on your backpacker insurance so it may be safer to keep the excess low.
How do I claim on backpacker insurance?
Should you need to make a claim while you’re away, you will need to follow the steps below:
1. Report the incident
If you need to make a claim because your belongings have been stolen, your first step should be to report the incident to the police. Often you’ll need to do this within 24 hours.
2. Contact your insurer as soon as possible
You should contact your insurer with details of the incident and make your claim as soon as you can. Often there is only a short window in which you can do this.
3. Get your insurer to accept medical claims
If you require medical attention, providing it’s not an emergency you should get your insurer to accept the claim before you go any further
4. Retain any evidence
Many insurers will ask for evidence to support your claim such as medical bills or police reports. It can also be worth keeping receipts for any essential items you buy in the interim, such as food and drink, as many insurers will allow you to add these to a claim.
