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Irresponsible parents put homes at riskOf 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.  Says Tom Griffiths, Founder of gapyear.com, the UK’s largest backpacker information site: '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' With the busiest departure months fast approaching; backpackers beginning to swarm towards Sydney for Christmas and about to take advantage of the cheap fares in the New Year; it is vital that parents wake up to their responsibilities now. Griffiths continues: 'Time and again we see backpackers and their parents disregarding the importance of insurance. 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. The busiest backpacking planning period is now. 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 guide book or one of the many less-than-vital travel gadgets'. Griffiths 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 who run specialist backpacker insurance 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. 3 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. Sports and adventure sports you think are covered, not being covered e.g. kite-surfing, jet skiing, para-sailing often aren’t 3 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, suffer heart attacks etc. How easy is it to shop around?  Staff at gapyear.com rang around/went online to find a number of reputable quotes on Wednesday 13th October. 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 look right, but who 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. Ends. |
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