Content Starts Here

Why you need high value insurance

Have you covered the gap?

Exam season is looming and thousands of students around the UK are dreaming of exotic travel around the world once they have finished their A-levels or University finals.

But there's one thing they shouldn't forget to pack: although it is unlikely to be at the top of the list, a good gap year travel insurance policy is essential for anyone embarking on some globe trotting.

See how much annual travel insurance would cost

While you're away, you like to think that you are invincible. Unfortunately this is often not the case.

According to the Foreign office over seventy percent of 'gappers' deem gap year travel insurance unnecessary despite the fact that one in four travellers suffer a bad experience in the form of theft, illness and road accidents.

A gap year travel insurance policy needs to cover you for a whole range of eventualities. Your belongings or passport may be lost or stolen, you may fall ill or have an accident and require medical treatment or you may have to cancel or curtail your trip entirely.

If you were to fall victim to any of those disasters you could find that your gap year costs you a lot more than you have bargained for.

Finding the right cover

If you're about to start searching for a policy, the most effective place to get travel insurance is directly from an insurance company or broker, having first checked out an internet comparison service for the most competitive policy.

Online comparison sites search almost the entire insurance market and allow you to compare insurers quickly and easily before approaching a provider directly and making the purchase.

Always buy your policy before you leave the country and make doubly sure that you have enough medical cover, which should include treatment at the destination, but also the cost of being flown home, by air ambulance if necessary.

When you are outside of the UK you do not have access to the NHS or equivalent health service so any medical treatment you receive is likely to be accompanied by a large bill.

Medical costs are highest in United States. An air ambulance can cost more than Â£15,000 and intensive care beds up to £2,000 per day.

Top travel tips - make sure you are fully insured

• A gap year travel insurance policy should cover you for the full time that you are abroad.

• If you are travelling to Europe, get a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) form from the Post Office. This is not a substitute for travel insurance but it does give EU citizens access to medical care in other member states.

• Make sure you have specific cover for any planned 'hazardous activities' like rafting, bungee jumping or skydiving - some activities are completely excluded from policies unless you buy extra cover.

• Make sure any expensive individual items such as cameras and ipods are covered. These may be covered under your parents' home contents insurance.

• If're intending to work abroad, buy a policy that definitely covers you for this.

• If you are returning home during your trip, check that your policy allows this. It's possible to get a home visit endorsement if you notify your insurer in advance. Some policies end as soon as you have returned to the UK.

• Don't carry large amounts of cash and keep your belongings and luggage with you and within your sight at all times. If you don't, your insurer could refuse to pay out on a claim.

• If you already have an annual travel insurance policy do not assume it will cover you for an extended period away. Check the number of days out of the country you are covered for on any one trip.

• Enquire about access to a helpline that could put you in touch with a doctor who speaks English.

• Make sure you have necessary Visas for the countries you are visiting.

• Don't travel to countries that have been declared unsafe to travel to by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). www.fco.gov.uk/travel

• It is a good idea to forward your travel insurance policy details to your personal email address. This enables you to recall them in event of emergency while you are abroad. Make sure you know what to should you need to contact your travel insurer from overseas.

• In general, always read the policy terms and conditions to see what is excluded from the policy you are about to buy. The exclusions vary between insurers and policies.

• Don't ruin a great trip because you didn't think ahead!

page: 1 | 2

Also: Get a travel insurance quote