Gap year travellers get covered

Direct Travel Insurance has recorded a 25% increase in the sale of Backpacker policies from July 2008 to July 2009.

Past statistics have shown that travel insurance can sometimes be overlooked but this year’s figures show that attitudes are changing amongst gap year travellers.

The biggest rises were in the European zone which saw a 40% increase in sales.

Worldwide policies excluding USA Canada and the Caribbean and USA Worldwide were up 27% and 15% respectively.

Jonathan Cooper, Managing Director at Direct Travel Insurance said: “We are delighted to have witnessed an increase in the sale of our backpacker policies. Backpacking can be very enriching but things can and sometimes do go wrong. Our figures show that young travellers are becoming more aware of the risks they could be facing. Travel insurance is a lot cheaper than having to replace stolen items or fork out on expensive medical bills. There simply is no reason to travel without it.”

The benefits of Direct Travel Insurance Backpacker cover include:

RETURNING TO THE UK MID TRAVELS: If you have to take a break in your trip and return home unexpectedly, you can do so once, for a maximum of 14 days.

FREE WORLDWIDE STOPOVER COVER for up to 14 days. You can pay for inexpensive European travel insurance and still be covered if you decide to go to Canada or the US for up to two weeks.

OVER 100 SPORTS AND HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES automatically covered, such as bungee jumping and elephant or gorilla trekking, as you can’t always be sure what you will be doing on a long trip.

EXTENSIONS if your plans change whilst you are away and you decide to stay longer. If you choose your initial period of long stay travel up to a maximum of 12 months, you can then extend the same policy for up to 18 months in total.

For full details on our Backpacker policy, visit direct-travel.co.uk