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Don't let them leave without it

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Why travel insurance is essential

Irresponsible parents risk their homes as kids backpack without insurance

Of the 250,000 18 to 24 year-old backpackers leaving the UK over the next six months, one in three will travel without insurance. With their most popular activities being adventure sports, moped riding and drinking, backpackers are more likely to suffer accident and injury than holidaymakers. Considering that air ambulances alone cost more than £15,000, it is very easy to rack up a medical bill of over £100,000. Without travel insurance, families would have to find money to fund this privately, meaning that over 75,000 family homes will potentially be put at risk this year.

Tom

This is a subject close to the heart of gapyear.com’s founder Tom Griffiths: 'We find it incredible that parents will not let their children drive a car without insurance, but will let them travel the world un-insured. This irresponsible behaviour is not only putting their children’s lives at risk, but also their family homes, businesses and assets.

'Our research has shown that backpackers spend more time buying a penknife for their trip, than they do on insurance. For less than £1 per day, less than will be spent on beer, they will cover themselves. Our message to parents is: ‘Have you had the insurance discussion with your child yet? If not, why not?’ It only took us 15 minutes to find five different quotes, less time than it takes to get into town to buy a guidebook or one of the many less-than-vital travel gadgets.'

Tom concludes: 'Insurance is boring and perceived as complicated and expensive, which is why many backpackers choose not to take it. I am one of those who backpacked in my early days without insurance. In hindsight I can’t believe that I risked the family home and finances. It is terrifying to think that someone planning their trip right now may return home to a bankrupt family. Ignorant youngsters are one thing. Irresponsible parents are another. This is not scaremongering. This really could happen'.

Paul Dittmer from Columbus Direct which runs specialist backpacker insurance company NoWorriesInsurance.com, says: 'Most backpackers and their parents are unaware of the costs involved and how easy it is to get into financial trouble. Many think that if they aren’t going to bungy jump or get involved in adventure sports, then they are unlikely to have accidents. In reality most accidents are the more common ones that we see back home, like slipping and breaking something, walking into things and traffic accidents.'

The cost of accidents

£150,000+: A backpacker who broke his neck diving into shallow water on Bondi Beach on Christmas Day

£50,000: A backpacker felt ill on a mountain in Nepal. Her air ambulance bill and medical fees came to over £50,000

£9,000: Cost of a broken thigh for a lad who fell off a donkey in Spain

£3,000+: A broken ankle in Europe simply from falling off a curb

Most common backpacker accidents
1. Falling off mopeds
2. Falling over when drunk (out of bars, into roads etc.)
3. Diving into shallow water on a beach or in a pool

Unfortunately many think that they are covered, but find out that they aren’t. Three common backpacker examples include:
1. Most insurance policies won’t cover mopeds over 50 cc (many backpackers hire bigger bikes)
2. Most diving policies only cover you down to 30m (many divers dive deeper, which is often where the problems occur)
3. Some sports and adventure sports, such as kite-surfing, jet skiing and para-sailing, often aren’t covered by your insurance.

Three top tips for buying insurance
1. Shop around. Be wary of new companies with little history and extremely cheap policies - they are cheap for a reason. Look for quality, which often may not be the cheapest.
2. Write a list of EVERYTHING you might possibly do on your trip (e.g. you can ski in New Zealand) and get covered for all eventualities (adding sports on once travelling can be more expensive).
3. ‘Unlimited medical costs’ are more of a marketing gimmick than fact. The largest ever medical bill was for around £900,000. Although the Government recommends a minimum of £5 million, £1-£3 million should be plenty for backpackers who are less likely to be travelling with children, or to suffer heart attacks etc.

How easy is it to shop around?
Staff at gapyear.com rang around and went online to find a number of reputable quotes. We asked for cover for a backpacking trip to Australia for six months to include bungy jumping and white water rafting. The search took 15 minutes and we found five good quality quotes that ranged from £70 to £190.

We were surprised that we were unable to get cover from the following brands:

Youthtravel.com. Reason: do not cover bungy jumps

Tesco Insurance. Reason: do not cover backpackers

This highlights the growing trend for parents to buy insurance from brands they trust or that look right, but which may not have the right level of cover - which leaves their children un- or under-insured on their travels. All backpackers and their parents need to know exactly what they are being covered for. The brand selling the insurance is almost irrelevant.