What is backpacking travel insurance?
When you go backpacking, or on your gap year, it’s important to take out backpacking travel insurance before you go. A backpacking travel insurance policy works in a similar way to a standard travel insurance policy but has been specifically designed for people who are backpacking, and takes into account the difference between a backpacking trip and a standard holiday.
When you go on a normal holiday, you tend to go for between a week or two, and will often go to just one place while you are on holiday. This suits normal travel insurance, which is designed for occasional trips, rather than one long continuous one.
When you go backpacking you should take out backpacking travel insurance because it is designed for people who are going to be on one long trip, which could last over a year. You may ask why you could not just take out an annual travel insurance policy, but they always have a stipulation in them that you must come home and not be on holiday for a certain number of days each year, something which is rarely possible, or economically possible when you are on a backpacking holiday.
What does backpacking travel insurance cover me for?
When you take out backpacking travel insurance, you get extensive medical fees cover, which looks after you financially when you are away, if you need any kind of medical attention. Those who rarely leave the UK will not be aware that the NHS in the UK is pretty unique, and many countries will charge for all medical care, even just a basic doctor’s appointment.
They charge the actual cost of most treatment, as they have no government subsidy, so a week spent in intensive care, with all the dedicated machines and nurses can cost as much as £100,000, and even an operation and treatment on a broken bone can cost as much as £10,000. Without backpacking travel insurance you would be liable to pay for these costs, and often not allowed to leave the country until the medical bill is paid in full.
In the past, backpackers without backpacking travel insurance have ended up with huge bills and have had to rely on their families to raise funds at home to help release them.