Backpacker Travel Insurance – Top Tips

On the lookout for backpackers insurance? In the heat of the moment and as the excitement of embarking on your adventure begins to mount, it might be tempting to overlook some of the key features of this crucial travel insurance.

To jog your memory about the scope and level of cover you may need, therefore, the following top tips are offered:

• first and foremost is a recognition of just how important the insurance is likely to be if you fall ill, are injured, your travel arrangements cancelled or your entire backpack is stolen – not for nothing does the Money Saving Expert warn that travel insurance is probably as important for your trip overseas as your passport;

• it is just as important, however, that you get the most appropriate cover for the job – backpackers insurance is not general travel insurance but a specialist type of cover and you might want to make sure that you buy it from a similarly specialist provider;

• this means ensuring that every type of risky activity and extreme sport in which you might want to indulge are properly covered by the insurance;

• arranging the insurance as soon as you book your travel arrangements gives you protection against the potential financial failure of the carrier or other reason for your need to cancel;

• ensure that the policy you buy covers the part or parts of the world in which you are going to be travelling – the protection afforded for backpackers is likely to be different for those staying within Europe and those travelling to more exotic destinations;

• at the heart of your policy needs to be medical and health emergency cover suitable for the place you are visiting – some products offer a number of different levels of cover, so that you might tailor your backpacker’s insurance to suit your pocket;

• do not be tempted to try to reduce the cost of medical cover, however, by being dishonest or deceptive about any pre-existing conditions – your failure to make a full and detailed disclosure might result in the insurer simply rejecting any claim you need to make;

• you might have noticed that a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) gives you the same access to free medical treatment as the residents of any countries in the EU (plus Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Norway and Iceland), so of course it makes sense to get one – free of charge through the National Health Service website and valid for a period of up to five years;

• remember, though, that an EHIC only provides a degree of cover within Europe and not further afield, nor does it cover repatriation costs, and is in any event no alternative to adequate travel insurance;

• it might be tempting just to glance at the piece of paper confirming that you have travel insurance, but it is very important that you actually read carefully what is covered and what is not – the exclusions may prove just as important as the cover you have bought.

In truth, backpackers insurance is unlikely to be at the top of your list of priorities as you prepare to take off on your travelling adventures – but perhaps it ought to be and maybe you will be glad that you gave it more than a second thought.