Backpacker Insurance – Why Bother?

Are you busy planning a gap year or backpacking adventure?   It’s that time of year when students and travellers – young and not-so-young – are making plans to venture out and explore the world.

Let’s face it, we’ve probably all done something equally crazy at some point in our lives, and you never know when these things are going to happen.  This Failblog.org video shows a great example of why it’s a good idea to pack light or have travel insurance!

The level of backpacker travel insurance you should choose will probably depend on where in the world you plan to travel.  However, even the most basic backpacker policy should include reasonable cover for things like medical expenses, personal liability and legal expenses.  Pay a little more if you need higher levels of cover on additional elements of the insurance.  It is up to you to decide what you need and what’s within your budget.  But please – never, ever, travel without insurance!

*A backpacker travel insurance policy helps keep costs down by cutting out the cover you don’t need, while retaining cover for the important things you just might need* 

The point of backpacker travel insurance is (obviously) that there is either no cover - or a low level of cover – for personal effects and baggage.  So, in this guy’s case, unless he paid a little more to cover his personal effects and baggage, he is going to have to go out and buy himself a new backpack and whatever he had inside it – plus a new golf ball! 

However, if the backpack in this video had fallen and hit and injured someone, a backpacker policy should provide cover for personal liability and legal expenses!  An extreme example perhaps but you never know, strange things happen. 

Policies vary from company to company so, no matter which one you go with, always read the small print and if you are unsure about anything – call and ask.

Our rates for basic backpacker travel insurance start from as low as 20p per day – so why not check it out and get a quote for your next trip – click here.