Insurance warning for gap year travellers

At least a quarter of gap year travellers are under-insured, which is a serious cause for concern, according to an industry observer.

Tom Griffiths, the founder of gapyear.com, stated that more than 25 per cent of those embarking on a gap year abroad do so with inadequate insurance or no insurance at all.

He added that parents' homes could be at risk if their under-insured offspring is involved in an accident abroad.

"It's very easy to rack up a bill of £50,000 and at some point, with the travel and backpacker market growing and more people travelling without insurance, someone will lose their home, or they'll have to remortgage and lose their life savings," Mr Griffiths said.

He warned that people often misunderstand the importance of travel insurance and view it as boring or irrelevant.

And while travellers may assume that travel insurance is important if you are going to participate in extreme sports, for example, the reality according to Mr Griffiths is that claims are more frequently made for things such as falling off a kerb or a donkey.

Source:http://www.londonstockexchange.com/en-gb/pricesnews/investnews/article.htm?ArticleID=18382815