UNITED KINGDOM – As students begin to finish their exams and say goodbye to long hours of revision, thousands will be putting the finishing touches to their summer and gap year travel itineraries without planning for any travel insurance cover at all.

Understandably, the majority of their enthusiasm and time will be spent researching exotic destinations and volunteering options though unfortunately, in many cases, this means that mundane, though important, items like travel insurance tend to get overlooked or simply relegated to an afterthought.

A disturbing number of young people still embark on trips with either no cover at all, or insufficient cover for the nature of the trip they are undertaking. Navigator Travel, experts in providing backpacker insurance, are encouraging all students to check that their travel insurance will cover claims arising from any potentially hazardous sports or work activities that may feature in their travel plans.

Richard Would from Navigator Travel (http://www.navigatortravel.co.uk/) says, ‘It is natural for adventurous people to think about risking travelling without insurance cover. In some cases, people have become cynical about insurance companies and their small print and so embark on trips without cover. They might think that medical costs are relatively cheap in the region that they are travelling to. However, in many cases, whilst the hospital bill might not be too bad, the cost of emergency evacuation, if necessary, can be eye-watering.’

Navigator Travel has had plenty of experience of these kinds of costs. A recent claim came in from someone who had broken their leg while travelling across Mongolia. The cost of medical treatment was minimal, but emergency medical evacuation from an extremely remote region pushed the claim up to almost $180,000 – for a broken leg!

Similarly, a relatively minor accident on the ski slopes in Canada can suddenly become $50,000 or more once the evacuation costs to get you off the mountain are taken into account for overseas visitors to Canada. A simple spell of altitude sickness when trekking in Nepal can incur a helicopter evacuation bill in the tens of thousands in many cases.

Travel insurance needs to be seen as a necessity and not a luxury and it is vital that the correct cover is taken out by any students planning a trip this summer.

Source: Navigator Travel