Gap year travel insurance

Before you jet off make sure you're covered!

So you’re going to explore the world, try new things and have the time of your life. But are you protected? Travel insurance isn’t just a luxury, it’s essential, so before you get on the plan, get insured.

Looking for gap year travel insurance

There are hundreds of gap year travel insurance providers out there, so how do you know which one to choose? Well the first thing to do is make sure everything is covered. Your cover should include:

• Medical cover
• Emergency medical transportation, including air lifting home when necessary
• Dental treatments
• Legal assistance
• Rescue efforts, just in case you get stuck on a mountain or anything
• Travel costs in case you have to go home part way through your trip
• Lost or stolen luggage
• Lost or stolen property due to mugging or theft.

You might also want to consider adding:

• Adventure travel cover
• Winter sports cover
• Wedding cover (you never know)
• Cover in case you want to change your travel plans

Money isn’t everything

The whole point of taking out insurance is that if anything goes wrong, you’re covered. So don’t just choose the cheapest insurance you can find. Looking for a good deal is certainly important and now even easier with the introduction of price comparison tools, but getting the cover you need is ultimately more important. If possible, stick with a name you know. That way there won’t be any nasty surprises.

Every country, every adventure

The insurance you need will depend on the trip you’re planning. If it’s going to be one long adventure, with loads of high adrenaline activities, you’ll need an insurance policy that covers this. You might even want to consider a specialist adventure travel insurer.

The same applies if you’re visiting different countries. It’s important that all the countries you’re visiting are covered by your policy. If you decide to travel somewhere that’s not on your policy and something happens there, you’re insurer is unlikely to pay out.

A month or a year

If you’re only going away for a couple of months, you should be able to get insurance through any of the usual suppliers. But if you’re going for 3 months or more, you’ll need a special gap year travel insurance policy. Not all insurers offer these policies.

Health comes first

Some insurance policies focus more on your luggage, than your health. So you have to ask yourself what’s most important. If it’s unlimited medical cover, then you should look to Bupa. You can get cover for as long as you need and any adventure activities you’d like to do can be added on too. Plus, you can get all the usual baggage and travel cover. It is a little more expensive than other policies, but if anything happens while you’re away, you know you’re covered.

Working abroad

Remember, if you’ve decided to spend a year teaching abroad, you’ll still need travel insurance. It’s easy to think that because you’re working, you’ll get all the benefits you get back in the UK. But this just isn’t the case. You still need insurance and it should cover the whole term of your employment.

Pre-existing medical conditions

Your insurance company will need to know about any pre-existing health conditions. These can push up the price but it’s really important that you include them in your applications. Failure to do so could mean your policy is made void just when you need it the most.

Get covered, get travelling

Finding the right gap year travel insurance really isn’t all that hard. And once it’s done it’s done. So get yours now and have the adventure of your life without a worry. For a quote now, check out World Nomads, one of our recommended insurers.

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