BootsnAll Travel Community

So I'm no longer 35, and therefore past the magical age of the 'young' backpacker. And suddenly, travel insurance for trips >6 weeks (42 days) becomes complicated!

Even though I'm old, I'm still a backpacker and I don't carry items of value, other than my passport, tickets, debit card and insurance certificate, all in a money belt. I'm not interested in extensive cover for my luggage (how would I claim for that anyway? Would I have to prove that I carried a camera/PDA/phone whatever?) but I am interested in cover for the loss of my tickets and passport. And of course medical treatment (which is why I take out insurance in the first place).

Turns out that even the most skeletal policies include unwanted luggage cover, but not necessarily passport indemnity or personal liability. If I want those as well, the premium sky-rockets. The travel insurance specialist 'Coverworks' offers basic medical/luggage cover for the under fifties at £37 for 3 months, but their comprehensive cover is a whopping £135! Part of the reason is that the latter policy is available for all oldies up to 65 and they are one of the very few companies that make a distinction between these and the under 50s in the first place. Most companies don't.

What types of insurance do you take out for longer-term travel (backpacker-style) and what experiences have you had when it comes to claiming? I want to be realistic here: I don't want to be abandoned in some ditch after being run over by a crazed driver because my insurance company is being fastidious.

Any advise/tales much appreciated. Especially regarding UK companies!

Denni

I've looked at a few online insurance companies and liked the look of worldnomads.com I think it was but now you've got me thinking. I turned 36 last week and your thread seems to suggest that insurance is more difficult to come by now after 35. Have I got that right?

elv

As far as I have seen, 35 is the cut-off point for backpacker- and gap year policies so yeah. Coverworks is the only company I have seen so far that has policies for the under 50s as well, most only have offers for youngsters and really expensive deals for the under 65s. Try http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travelinsurance/travelresults.asp?id=2579967
for comparision, however I don't trust some of the companies listed there. I'll check out worldnomads.com -- best to stay with the people you're used to dealing with

Worldnomads sound good, and they cover everyone under 65, so why haven't I heard about them before? Thanks for the advise!

The big deal with WorldNomads for me was that their policies are open ended and not the usual 12 month jobbies. This means that as long as I set up a standing order with them, they'll cover me for as long as I stay travelling. As I don't know how long I'm going for it seemed like the easy option. You may not have heard of them before as they're an aussie company on the internet but someone else said they were underwritten by a reputable firm. Need to look into the details but sounds pretty good.

If you are travelling from the UK - try http://www.gotravelinsurance.co.uk - I took a 3 month backpackers policy - then extended it for another 3 months whilst on the road - it was quite reasonable, though I have not had to make any claims on it so cannot comment on their service when needed!