Why Insurance Matters

It's not even a question, you must have insurance!

Even in developed countries like Australia and New Zealand, USA and Canada, health services work differently and you may have to pay more for certain things. The medical cover you receive is very important, even though you have the E111 form in Europe that entitles you to free emergency medical care in EU countries.

Medical treatment is very expensive wherever you are, and if something really drastic happened to you whilst you were abroad, the costs could be astronomical. Most gap year insurance packages cover repatriation costs, meaning that they would pay for you to be flown home if you were seriously ill. Some will cover the cost of having a family member flown out to you in an emergency. Knowing you are covered for most eventualities gives you the peace of mind to really enjoy your trip.

We can't stress this enough (and believe us when we say we've heard some horror stories!) - getting the proper insurance is vital for your trip.

A good gap year or nine month policy will be tailored to your needs. Your luggage as a backpacker is probably only going to consist of a rucksack with a few clothes in it, so most policies don’t insure your luggage for a huge amount but what they will do is provide cover if you are taken ill or someone steals your property.

It's vital that you get the right insurance for your trip, and that it covers everything you're going to do. The types of insurance you can get are pretty self-explanatory - "Annual" cover is over a year, "multi-trip" and "one-trip" are alternatives depending on how many journeys you are making, and "backpackers" insurance is tailored specifically for backpackers.

Insurance checklist

So, we've established that insurance is important - and we hope you've decided the same! There are loads of companies you can contact (although the companies we feature are specialists in gap year and backpacker insurance - so at least give them a go) and you'll be faced with a lot of quotes. We recommend you ask the following questions when you are making your decision:

How long am I insured for?
Where in the world will the insurance policy cover me?
What happens if I lose or have my passport stolen?
What happens if someone steals my wallet?
Am I covered for extreme sports and adventure activities?
What happens if I need to go to hospital?
What happens if I miss my flight?
What happens if I have to do exam retakes?
Will I get flown home if the need arises?

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