Best Backpacker Travel Insurance

Mr. Travel

Getting travel insurance for long stays brings its own challenges - get the inside track here

We've ranked the best backpacker travel insurance policies of 2024 to help you compare backpacker insurance.

Top 10 Backpacker Insurance 2024

  • Outbacker - Platinum Travel Insurance 🥇
  • Explorer - Backpacker Plus 🥈
  • CoverForYou - Gold 🥉
  • InsureFor - Backpacker Travel Insurance (up to 8% cashback)
  • Flexicover - Gap Year Gold
  • Admiral - Backpacker (up to £8 cashback)
  • Columbus Direct - Globetrotter (up to 20.8% cashback)
  • Post Office - Backpacker Travel Insurance (up to 16% cashback)
  • InsureandGo - Black (up to 16% cashback)
  • Virgin Money - Backpacker Black or Gold (up to 11.2% cashback)

We created our list of the best backpacker travel insurance policies using an independent financial review service that rates how comprehensive a policy is; the score Fairer Finance gave each insurance company for customer happiness, complaints, trust, and transparency; the latest backpacker travel insurance ratings on Which?; and whether the company has won any awards.

Keep in mind that the best backpacker insurance policies won't necessarily be the cheapest. Our list should give you an impartial ranking of insurers that have an excellent level of cover and offer good customer service.

Best Backpacker Insurance: Reviews

Want to dive deeper? We have detailed reviews of many of the best backpacker insurance companies:

  • Outbacker Travel Insurance Review
  • Explorer Travel Insurance Review
  • CoverForYou Travel Insurance Review
  • InsureFor Travel Insurance Review
  • Flexicover Travel Insurance Review
  • Admiral Travel Insurance Review
  • Columbus Direct Travel Insurance Review
  • Post Office Travel Insurance Review
  • InsureandGo Travel Insurance Review
  • Virgin Money Travel Insurance Review

Designed to give you a complete picture, these reviews bring together expert analysis of the policies with feedback and recommendations from real customers. Just bear in mind that for companies that offer regular travel insurance alongside backpacker insurance, the information may not be about their backpacker travel insurance policy specifically (though it should still give you a sense of the company is seen).

Why is backpacker travel insurance important?

You could be carrying several thousand pounds on you without even realising it. An iPhone or a MacBook, a digital camera and lenses or perhaps your favourite jewellery - it all adds up.

Many of these items may make it into your bag when you set off on a backpacker trip, along with wads of foreign currency. If any of these possessions are lost, stolen or damaged while you're travelling, having good backpacker insurance can make all the difference. It means you can set out on a trip with peace of mind and make a successful claim if anything does go wrong.

Another key feature of backpacker insurance is its medical cover. British travellers often overlook these cover levels because we're used to getting free treatment on the NHS but in other countries, even those with low costs of living, medical care can cost thousands of pounds. And some hospitals may not offer you treatment unless they know you can pay for it.

Some people buy insurance and assume they're covered without looking at the policy wording.

What does my backpacking travel insurance really cover?

Travel insurance policies often look similar but subtle differences in wording can have a big impact on what you're covered for. Unfortunately, the only way to be 100% sure what your backpacker insurance covers is to spend a bit of time reading the policy document. However, we've highlighted a few things that are worth checking.

And please remember that cheap backpacker insurance is not necessarily the best backpacker insurance .

Does backpacker travel insurance cover gadgets and laptops?

Although laptops, phones and gadgets are often within your baggage limit, as high-value items they are classed by most insurers as 'valuables'. It is very likely that when you read the small print of your backpacker travel insurance policy, you’ll find it has a separate ‘valuables’ or 'single-item' limit, which is much less than the £2,000 total baggage cover. Check out our article on travel insurance cover for valuables to learn more.

For example, in Endsleigh's popular Essential gap year policy, the baggage cover gives you £2,000 but there is a valuables limit of only £250. You can’t claim more than this for ‘valuables’ so if your £1,000 MacBook Air goes missing, you won't get the full value back.

Does backpacker travel insurance cover cameras and photographic equipment?

Similar to laptops and phones, cameras and other photographic equipment (like lenses) are often classed as ‘valuables’. At this point, you might be losing faith and thinking that insurance isn't worthwhile at all but a good tip is that valuable items such as your camera or phone could be covered on a home insurance policy. Many providers will let you extend your home cover to include cover for your possessions while out of the house, including abroad.

Does backpacker travel insurance cover cash and passports?

Cash and passports are usually covered by a separate limit, similar to the ‘valuables’ one. It’s called the ‘cash and passport limit’ - for example, Outbacker's Platinum cover specifies £1,500 of baggage cover, but £400 for personal money and £350 for passport and travel documents.

In addition, many backpacking insurance providers make a distinction between "Personal Money" (which encompasses Travellers’ and other cheques, event and entertainment tickets and pre-paid vouchers) and "cash" (bank notes). So if you have all your cash stolen in Thailand but everything else is left in place, you might find you are only covered for a couple of hundred pounds rather than the thousands you expected. Outbacker , however, has the same limit of £400 for both personal money and cash across its bronze, silver, and platinum policies.

Our tip is to make sure you know your cash and passport limit and avoid carrying more than you're covered for.

Some of the best backpacker travel insurance policies may have higher limits than cheaper rivals. Their policy documents can help you compare cover before you buy.

Does backpacker travel insurance include cover for sunglasses?

Some insurers don’t separate sunglasses but some do because they are fragile and easily broken or misplaced.

For example, Columbus Direct Travel Insurance's Globetrotter policy has a £100 limit on sunglasses. With less valuable items it’s also worth checking the excess on your policy because they may be less expensive than the excess. This means the insurer will expect you to cover the costs if they go missing or get broken. If you lose a £120 pair of Ray-Bans but the excess is £100, you'll only get £20 for your claim.

Backpacker travel insurance exclusions

Backpacker insurance policies may have certain exclusions. It is important to read the small print carefully before you buy. Your policy might come with cover for certain sports and activities as standard but exclude other sports, for example. Certain items, like sunglasses, can be excluded from your baggage cover.

A lot of backpacker travel insurance, for example, will not cover you if you travel to an unstable country, or against the UK government's foreign travel advice .

Do I need special backpacker travel insurance for Australia and New Zealand?

No – Australia and New Zealand are included as standard, provided you choose worldwide cover from providers like Outbacker . The countries you need to take extra care over when it comes to travel insurance are the USA, Canada, the Caribbean islands, and (in some cases) Mexico. Because medical and healthcare costs are so high there, some insurers exclude them from worldwide cover and ask you to pay extra.

Can you buy backpacker travel insurance when you are already travelling?

Yes, some travel insurance companies will let you buy travel insurance after you've set off – two example are True Traveller and Big Cat Insurance . Bear in mind, though, that you won't be able to claim for mishaps that have already occurred, or medical problems you've already had symptoms of on your trip.

How to best compare backpacking travel insurance policies?

To get the right backpacking travel insurance for your needs you'll need to:

  • Check the valuables limits so you know your cover for gadgets, jewellery, etc
  • Ensure you consider the cash and passport limits to protect the notes you will take
  • Read the policy documentation for specific exclusions

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Travel Better, Cheaper, Longer

The Best Travel Insurance Companies for Backpackers

A budget backpacker sitting on a mountain looking into the distance

I’m a backpacker at heart. Even after traveling the world for over a decade , I still love to travel cheap, prioritizing experiences over fancy accommodation and transportation. I still love staying at hostels , meeting locals, and sampling as many local delicacies as I can.

Contrary to popular belief, being a backpacker is not about pinching every penny — it’s about finding value. If you want to have a genuine and authentic trip without breaking the bank, then you need to spend your money wisely.

And when it comes to backpacking around the world, one of the wisest choices you can make is to purchase travel insurance .

I know, travel insurance seems like just another expense that will chip away at your budget. I used to think that too.

But it also has the potential to save you thousands of dollars should something go wrong on your trip.

And after traveling around the world for over twelve years, I can confidently tell you this: things will go wrong.

To help you stay safe on your next trip, here is everything you need to know about buying insurance as a backpacker.

Table of Contents

Why Do Backpackers Need Insurance?

What does travel insurance cover, what does travel insurance not cover, the best backpacker insurance companies.

The reason you need to buy travel insurance is because accidents happen. Regardless of whether you’re at home or abroad, things go wrong. At home, you likely have access to medical care and reliable medical facilities.

On the road, that isn’t always the case.

While serious injuries are rare, they do happen. And it’s always better to be safe than sorry. But insurance isn’t just for medical emergencies. It also covers a lot of incidents that are much more common than you think!

I’ve had my bags stolen, I’ve needed to go to the hospital overseas, and I was even stabbed while traveling in South America .

I didn’t plan for any of these things to happen. But when they did, I was glad I had insurance to help me get reimbursed as well as to help me navigate the confusion that comes with having an emergency abroad.

While it’s unpleasant to spend time dwelling on these things, the truth is, you need to be prepared for the worst. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use your insurance plan, but if you need to, you want to make sure you have the coverage you need.

Here’s a quick overview of what you can expect your backpacker insurance to cover:

  • Coverage for most countries in the world
  • Medical emergencies (surgery hospitalization fees, medical evacuation to the nearest hospital)
  • Flight delays and cancellations
  • Trip cancellations (due to injury or a death in the family)
  • Emergency evacuation (due to injury or natural disaster)
  • Dental emergencies
  • Lost or stolen baggage
  • Death overseas

I know, as a backpacker you like to keep costs low. Insurance isn’t free, after all, which makes it seem like a burdensome and unnecessary expense.

But it’s much better to pay a few bucks a day than risk losing your life savings should an emergency occur while you don’t have coverage.

While most travel emergencies and injuries are covered by travel insurance, it’s important to know what is not covered by your plan. Knowledge is power, after all.

Most backpacker insurance policies do not cover:

  • Accidents sustained while participating in extreme adventure activities (which often include hang-gliding, paragliding, or bungee jumping)
  • Alcohol- and drug-related incidents
  • Carelessness or negligence (such as if your bag gets stolen after you left it unattended)
  • Pre-existing conditions or general check-ups
  • Stolen cash
  • If civil unrest makes your destination unsafe but your government hasn’t called for an evacuation (unless you have more advanced coverage from a company like Medjet )
  • Changing your mind about your trip or unfriending/breaking up with your travel partner will disqualify you from trip-cancellation coverage
  • If your visa to a destination is refused you won’t be reimbursed if you decide to cancel your trip

There’s only two companies worth using as a backpacker.

SafetyWing insurance logo

They are the best choice for long-term travelers as you can renew your plan while abroad and their $250 USD deductible keeps your monthly fee low. While their coverage isn’t as comprehensive as other companies, it covers the most important stuff, making them a good choice for travelers on a tight budget.

Here’s a quick overview of SafetyWing :

  • Super affordable plans (with a deductible)
  • Can purchase and renew plans while abroad
  • Claims can be filed online
  • $250,000 USD in emergency medical coverage
  • Friendly and responsive customer service
  • After being abroad for 90 days, you keep your medical coverage for 30 days in your home country (15 days for US residents)
  • Best for digital nomads and frugal travelers

IMT insurance logo

Insure My Trip also provides comparisons from insurance companies that cover older travelers (many travel insurance companies won’t cover travelers over 65), making them the go-to company for retirees and other senior adventurers.

Here’s a quick overview of Insure My Trip :

  • Guaranteed low prices
  • Coverage for senior travelers over 65
  • “Anytime Advocates” ask the insurer to give your claim a second look if you think it was unfairly denied
  • Compares 23 different companies to ensure you get the best plan
  • Reviews of each policy so you can see what other travelers are saying

The huge benefit of using Insure My Trip is that they guarantee you won’t find the same policy elsewhere for less money! Click here to get a quote from Insure My Trip.  

World Nomads insurance logo

Here’s a look at World Nomads at a glance:

  • Tiers for basic and premium coverage
  • Delay and cancelation coverage
  • Can submit a claim after your trip ends
  • Offers some COVID coverage
  • Everything can be done via the website
  • Trusted by brands like Lonely Planet, Eurail, and Intrepid Travel

World Nomads is more expensive than SafetyWing (roughly 3x the price) but they also cover more activities and include more coverage for things like cancelations and delays. In short, they’re best for adventurous travelers or travelers who want more more coverage and have the money to spend.

I never leave home without travel insurance. I’ve experienced first-hand how helpful it can be. It’s saved me thousands of dollars over the years — as well as countless headaches too.

Being a backpacker is all about having amazing, memorable travel experiences all without breaking the bank. And there’s no better way to insulate yourself from expensive (and unnecessary) costs than by buying travel insurance (Remember that Safety Wing is our top pick!)

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

  • SafetyWing (best for everyone)
  • Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
  • Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

Got a comment on this article? Join the conversation on Facebook , Instagram , or Twitter and share your thoughts!

Disclosure: Please note that some of the links above may be affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I earn a commission if you make a purchase. I recommend only products and companies I use and the income goes to keeping the site community supported and ad free.

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Veggie Vagabonds

The Best Backpacker Travel Insurance – 17 Options Compared

Girl on top of mountain

In this guide to the best backpacker travel insurance we compared the 17 most popular providers –  you’ll be surprised which was the best!

Do you really need to get travel insurance?

It’s probably a familiar question. It’s certainly one I ask before every single trip.

Even as a cyclist, hiker, climber, traveller and general accident-prone backpacker, travel insurance is something I’ve always been dubious of. I don’t like insurance companies and the concept of paying for something you may never use has always seemed alien.

Then, at some point or another, you have a personal experience where travel insurance quite literally saves your life. 

Whether it’s lying in a hospital bed in Indonesia with Dengue Fever, filing for a stolen bag in Barcelona, having a bot fly cut from your head in Panama or needing to return home to visit ill family… there comes a point in every trip I realise yes, yes you definitely do need travel insurance (and, yes, they are all things I’ve had to claim for). 

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy finding the right policy and travel insurance companies don’t make it any simpler. There are SO many different options, so many different prices and the small print is too often clouded behind technical jargon. Altogether it can be very hard to know what you’re getting and which policy is best for you.

Should you pay an extra £50 and get added cover?

Is it worth paying for a lower excess?

What even is liability insurance?

In this guide to backpacker travel insurance, we’ll explain all the jargon and the nitty-gritty stuff you need to consider when finding a policy. We’ve also compared 17 of the most popular backpacker insurance policies to see which is the best – y ou’ll be happy to know it’s not always the most expensive!

In this article, you’ll find:

  • What is the difference between backpacker and travel insurance
  • Why you should never travel without it
  • Insurance terminology explained
  • Things to look out for when finding a policy
  • Picking the best travel insurance for YOU
  • Travel insurance activity packs
  • When to buy backpacker insurance
  • How to make an insurance claim abroad
  • 17 popular backpacker insurance options compared
  • The best insurance policies in detail

Man in Asia riding motorbike

What is the difference between backpacker and travel insurance?

First things first, backpacker travel insurance is specifically designed for backpackers going to multiple destinations over a longer period of time. It is also sometimes under the same umbrella as long-term travel insurance. 

Compared to regular travel insurance policies, backpacker insurance can be used for trips ranging from 3-18 months (sometimes more). It covers a wider range of activities like hiking , diving, skiing, working with animals etc and has extra precautions for things more likely to occur on a backpacking trip.

The best travel insurance policies will include:

  • Medical and dental cover  ranging from small prescriptions to major surgery
  • Baggage, electrical and documents cover also covering things like bicycles, outdoors or camera equipment
  • Legal cover and advice  paying for lawyers’ fees to political support if there is civil unrest
  • Cover if you cancel or change your trip  also includes transport delays
  • Home visits  if you need to return home during your trip
  • Hostage cover  everything from ransom fees to paying for negotiators
  • Natural disaster cover  hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, wildfires etc
  • A good level of sports and activities this is often included in the price rather than an additional cost
Note. most of the insurance policies in this article require you to be currently in the UK and not already travelling

Do you even need backpacker travel insurance?

The simple answer is, yes.

Whether you’re a disaster-prone adventurer cycling from England to India,  a couple planning on Interrailing through Europe or you’re going to be backpacking Asia on a gap year, insurance is a no brainer. 

These are just some things which could easily happen to anyone on any journey

  • You lose your passport and need a replacement
  • You get sick or injured during your trip
  • You miss a train and end up stranded
  • There is political unrest and you need legal support
  • A family member becomes ill and you have to return home

Many of these things could be out of your control when you’re travelling and an accident might be no fault of your own. Overseas legal or medical fees are outstandingly high so having insurance as a safety net can be life-saving. It can also protect you from the crippling financial hardship you’ll face after paying fees from your own pocket.

And, if you’re a renegade thinking “I’ll be fine” then think of your friends and family. If you need emergency medical treatment it will likely be them having to pay for it. Ask many backpackers around the world and they’ll likely have a number of tales where travel insurance has saved their skin!

Why we’ll never travel without backpacking travel insurance again

At some point during all of my backpacking trips, I’ve needed some kind of medical attention, police support or legal advice. However, during our year in Vietnam 3 things happened which made me realise I’d never travel without comprehensive insurance again. 

  • We met a friend who had developed a serious leg infection whilst hiking in China. This infection had him hospitalised, close to the point of a leg amputation and nearly death. He did have cheap backpacker insurance but it didn’t cover hiking. His family had to pay tens of thousands of pounds and start a crowdfunding campaign to get him medically transferred to a Thai hospital and then back to his home in Ireland. With the right insurance policy, this would have been covered. 
  • Whilst living in Hanoi there were constant stories of travellers and expats having fatal motorbike accidents. Without insurance, it can cost friends and family more than £10,000 to have the body sent home. Morbid I know, but a game-changer for us. 
  • The thing which really hit home was when my mum became extremely ill during our time living in Hanoi. We had very little money but we were able to immediately return to the UK and claim for our flights and possessions left in Vietnam. Mum is much better now!

Bottom line is, you might have dozens of trips without needing to make a claim but it’s worth the money for the one trip you do. Need some more convincing? Check out these travel horror stories !

Girl camping and making food in tent

The Best Backpacker Insurance Buyer’s Guide and Tips

As mentioned there are many different types of policy options, some which might be useful to you, others which might not. In this section, we’ll go through all of the things you need to look out for to find the right policy. 

1. What does it all mean? Travel insurance terminology

Before we get into things it’s probably best to go over some travel insurance terminology. It can be seriously confusing reading through the small print and policy wordings so this should help explain some of the confusing parts. 

Baggage cover

This generally covers the baggage and belongings you take with you, including travel documents and bank cards. This sometimes covers electronics and outdoors equipment too but you will need to check the small print. 

Cancellation

Cover if you have to cancel your trip before you travel.

Cooling off period

The length of time you have to cancel your policy.

Curtailment  

Cover if your travels are changed or disrupted during your trip. This often includes travel delays, like missed transport or travel changes due to injury, illness or from returning home. 

Deductible or excess fees

The amount of money you will need to pay before your travel insurance starts to make payment. This may be shown as “Baggage cover – £3,000 (£50 excess)”.

Cover for any legal costs resulting from accidents with other people or their possessions. 

Personal accident

This is a compensation payment made if you have an accident, resulting in death, loss of limbs, loss of sight etc. 

Repatriation

The costs of sending an ill or deceased person to their home country. 

Single trip Vs. Multi-trip insurance

Most travel insurance policies cover you from when you leave the country to the point you return home. Multi-trip travel insurance covers you for multiple trips taken over a certain period of time. This may be useful for business people with a number of trips in the space of a few months but is less useful for backpackers.

Single trip vs. long-term vs. backpackers travel insurance

Single trip insurance is often available for shorter trips and won’t cover as many activities. Long-term insurance is regularly aimed at travellers visiting one country for a longer period of time whilst backpacking insurance is for multiple countries, varying lengths of time and with additional cover for activities. 

Sometimes the terms  backpacker  and  long-term  are actually given to very similar policies so you need to check to see what they provide. 

Single article limit

The most you’re covered for a single item e.g. if your single article limit is £500 and you have a £1,000 camera stolen your insurance provider will only pay up to £500.

Any other terms you found confusing when you were looking for insurance? Tell us in the comments so we can add it in for other readers 🙂 

Fujifilm xt30 covered on backpacker travel insurance

2. What to look for when buying travel insurance

  • Medical, cancellation and curtailment, legal, liability and repatriation are the most important aspects – find the policy that has the best cover
  • Always read the policy wording and small print so you know what is included 
  • Check you’re covered for any existing medical conditions you may have
  • Make sure you’re covered for all the destinations you’re visiting and the activities you’re doing (sometimes they’re an add-on)
  • Check all of your baggage is covered and that gadgets cover isn’t additional
  • If you’re travelling with expensive gear or equipment make sure the single article limit is high enough
  •  A 24-hour emergency helpline is very useful to have
  • If hiking or climbing make sure you don’t go above the altitude you’re covered for, for campers check your baggage is covered whilst in the tent
  • Find out how much cash you are covered for and try not to carry more than that on you
  • See what the excess is and decide what you would be able to pay
  • Some insurance policies won’t cover periods of voluntary or paid work – check the policy
  • Age restrictions may apply and if you have pre-existing medical conditions then make sure you state them
  • It’s great having the option to return home – some providers include this

Things which are generally not covered – cruises and winter sports, alcohol or drug-related accidents, failure to declare medical conditions, stolen items which weren’t reported. 

3. What’s the best travel insurance policy for backpackers?

Everyone’s travel plans are different – if you’re planning on hiking the Dolomites your activities will be very different to someone city hopping, for example. T hink of what type of trip you’re going on and what is most important for you.

As an example, we no longer take flights and instead cycle so curtailment cover isn’t very useful. We do a lot of outdoor activities and travel with expensive camera equipment so it’s important we have good medical and baggage cover. 

Think of the where you’re going, what you’re going to be taking and what you’ll be doing. If you’re planning a city trip then having adventure activities covered probably isn’t a necessity. If you’re going to be hiking Everest Base Camp then check to see if you’re covered. 

4. Travel insurance activity packs

If you know you’ll be doing lots of potentially ‘hazardous’ activities (climbing, hiking, rafting, skiing, bungee jumping, sky diving, cage diving, martial arts training etc.) then it’s especially important to find a fitting policy. Commonly these will be covered in different ‘activity packs’ for you to choose from. 

Typically, insurance providers have a base range of activities which are automatically covered, with backpacker insurance being more comprehensive than other insurance types. Take a read through the policy to see what’s included and works for your trip. 

If you’re not covered with the base activities then you’ll normally have two options depending on the company.

Firstly , with some policies, you can buy an add-on pack which will include a larger range of more serious outdoor activities. For things like hiking and climbing, this may cover you for higher altitudes or diving for deeper water.

Secondly , other policies have the option to pay for each activity as an add-on which may be cheaper than upgrading a whole pack. If you are planning something deemed as potentially very hazardous you may need to get an individual quote from the provider. This may include technical climbing, alpine hiking, adventure races etc. 

5. When to buy your backpacking travel insurance – IMPORTANT!

As soon as you make a payment towards the trip.

If you’ve booked accommodation, tours or transport and your plans change then your insurance can cover it, even if you’ve not left the country yet. Many providers will actually require you to buy insurance within a certain window of making your first travel payment. 

6. How to make a travel insurance claim whilst you’re abroad

It’s very important to keep a copy of your insurance policy with you when you travel as each provider will have different claiming procedures . Keep a hard copy and one backed-up online just to be safe.

When making a claim for any policy you should…

  • Get a police statement if it’s relevant – if you have items stolen or broken, have been assaulted and need medical treatment etc. then make sure you have a police statement to confirm it
  • Contact your insurer  to see what they advise and to check what’s covered in your policy
  • Try and collect evidence  this may be receipts for bought items, travel tours, transport or medical bills etc. to give to your insurance provider

Girl sitting on edge of volcano

Backpacker Travel Insurance Comparison – 17 Popular Options

There are hundreds of insurance options out there, many with similar policies but very different prices. Finding out which is the best can be tough work so we’ve put it all into one place for you to compare. 

We looked at the 17 most popular options to see how they faired against each other. For the best options, you’ll also find a more detailed breakdown at the bottom so you can decide which one is best for you. 

What we searched for

To find these policies we looked for the best-rated backpacker and long-term travel insurance options in the UK on public review sites like Trust Pilot and Feefo . We also collected suggestions from Google, travel agents, insurance comparison sites and user reviews. 

All details were taken directly from the provider’s official website, searching with exactly the same details for the same trip.

This is what we searched for:

  • 12 months of cover
  • Leaving Saturday 27th July 2019
  • For one 28-year-old male
  • From the UK
  • Not already travelling
  • Travelling as an individual
  • On a single trip
  • Travelling worldwide
  • With no pre-existing medical conditions
  • No cruise, winter sports or business trip options added 

No discount codes were added and if there were multiple choices from one provider the middle tier was chosen. 

Note this information was taken directly from insurers’ websites but may be subject to change. I have not personally used all of these services but have displayed their policies without bias or opinion in the table below. Some of the options may contain affiliate links, meaning if you purchase the insurance through a link on this page it will be of no extra cost to you but we will receive a small commission. This commission enables Veggie Vagabonds to run and grow!

Man rock climbing

The best travel insurance for backpackers… and some of the worst!

Below you’ll find all of the results, user reviews and policy wordings where possible. As mentioned above, make sure you read the policy wording before making a purchase so you can be sure what’s included.

There were other options which aren’t shown below due to them being either a) pretty rubbish or b) excessively expensive.

Backpacker insurance from the Post Office cost a whopping £1,038, £838 from Flexicover and Voyager, Leisure Guard and Sports Cover Direct also had very high prices. Interestingly, none of these providers offered competitive policies despite costing more than double their competitors… 

Keep reading below the table to see a detailed breakdown of some of the better options!

In some more detail…

World nomads, true traveller, world first & sta 🙁.

Despite these options being by far the most expensive (and often the most widely recommended) they really don’t offer competitive policies, particularly with STA travel insurance or World Nomads. Admittedly for my first long-term trip, I did go with STA gap year travel insurance, but this was 10 years ago before I was aware of other options. Take a look at other policies and save your money, no matter what other travel bloggers might be telling you!

If you have used one of these providers and had good experiences then we’d be interested to hear from you in the comments below

Alpha 100 Longstay – £180 🙂

Considering this is the cheapest option reviewed it is very competitive and you’re getting a very similar coverage to many providers double the price. Their options are easy to understand and you have the choice to pay more for a lower excess or less for a higher excess. 

The medical coverage includes dental treatment and there are good levels of baggage, legal and cancellations protection. I like that extra gadget coverage isn’t too expensive, as well as cheap additional activity coverage. On top of this, it’s also got cracking backpacking insurance reviews. 

Go Walkabout Traveller Plus – £251 🙂

An option I have personally used for a year in Latin America and thought was very professional. I didn’t need to make any major claims besides a few prescriptions but it was all reimbursed very easily. 

Go Walkabout has good levels of cover where it’s most needed without breaking the bank. £10 million medical cover is competitive whilst also having cover for dental services. There’s also up to £500 covered for personal money (higher than many more expensive competitors) and £500 for kidnap, hijack and detention situations. Again Go Walkabout has good reviews online which I can personally vouch for. 

Cover for you Gold £307 😀

Cover for You has no excess charges and £15 million medical cover, that’s the highest medical cover out of all the insurance policies reviewed (and £10 million more than World Nomads travel insurance!). £3,000 is higher than average for cancellation and curtailment and they offer to pay for funeral expenses abroad. There are higher tiers which are more comprehensive and they offer one return flight home. This is an option we also considered before leaving for our current cycle tour.

Holiday Safe Backpacker and Longstay Plus £381.64 😀

Yes, this is slightly more expensive than the others we’ve picked but we think it’s worth it. It’s actually the insurance policy we’re using right now, and I’ll tell you why we went for it…

The medical (£10 million) and legal (£2 million) cover are competitive with other more expensive policies but the possessions (£2,500) and cancellation (£3,000) are higher than average. 

The extra things which sold us are the return journey home, which could make it useful for gap year insurance or new travellers, and Interrailling ticket cover of up to £500. We’re not Interrailing but it’s a nice extra. There is also up to £2,500 for clothes which is especially important if you’re doing outdoor activities with technical clothing. 

It’s also recommended for backpackers with gadgets, as there is £1,000 gadget cover, being one of the only providers to have it included without upgrading. It covers phones, laptops and computers and you are given one return journey home per policy.

I don’t know if it works but if you go for this policy and use this link (at no extra cost to you) we’ll be entered into a prize draw to win… an Amazon voucher!!!

Got your insurance? Here’s some other things to think about

Visa – many countries require a visa to visit, find out if you need one here

Vaccinations  – your insurance won’t cover you if you don’t have the right vaccinations – you can check to see vaccine requirements here

Accommodation  – find cheap deals and a variety of accommodation at  Hostel World , Booking.com or Airbnb ( £35 off your first booking with this code) . You can also use TripAdvisor to see what other travellers think!

Do you know any other great backpackers travel insurance options or tips? Maybe you have some extra questions? Drop us a comment below!

Backpacker Travel Insurance 2

A Guide to the Best Backpacker Travel Insurance

A pretty extensive guide with all the tips needed to help you find the best backpacker insurance. I think we can all agree that finding the right policy is seriously important AND it’s nice to know you can get a great deal without blowing the bank. 

If you’ve used other insurance providers and had a good experience then let us know and we can add them to this article. Alternately if you had a bad experience, tell us in the comments so we can warn other travellers to steer clear!

Keep exploring…

The Best Debit Cards to Use Abroad

10 Super Easy Tips to Planning a Trip

All the Best Budget Travel Tips

There I thought I might find a few new options as we’re currently travelling without insurance… No such luck as your parameters are all different (and wrong for us). That’s always the issue with such recommendations or affiliate post: what fits for one won’t even apply to the next. We’re both 64 years of age (where some policies become very expensive), Australians (limited choices of offerings), travelling full-time (we have left already – years ago), and we don’t need cover for missed flights or lost/stolen technology (we’re travelling in a motorhome, driving instead of flying, and I can’t see the benefit of insuring our old computers, which are usually locked away safely). There simply isn’t a “one size fits all”. We absolutely don’t want to go back to WorldNomads; in 5 years we only had unpaid claims, none was accepted – waste of our time and money! I keep searching.

Hey Juergen, thanks for your comment! Sorry none of them are fitting, we searched based on the general readers for the blog to show a rough idea of what each company provided, but yes won’t be suited to everyone.

Frustrating they become more expensive but I think a few of the options are available for Australians. If they’re not directly I remember some of them having partner companies based in Australia.

We also don’t need cover for flights as we cycle but unfortunately could only find provides with this included. We also looked at getting everything individually (medical, legal, baggage etc) to avoid paying for unneeded flight cover but this worked out more expensive.

Does insurance change dramatically for RVs? We’ve never actually looked into it – though we do hope to get an RV at some point in the future.

Completely agree about World Nomads, I was surprised how little cover they offered considering their high fees. Hope you can find the right policy soon! Where are you currently travelling?

Thanks for the wonderful post!

It’s silly just putting up a load of prices and say “Choose the cheapest”. The reason why people like Nomads and TT have a lot of mentions everywhere is that they do pay claims quickly. Nomads were bought out a few years ago and they have gone a little bit downhill.

The only way to see about these companies is to go onto TrustPilot and just read their 1 star reviews. Holidaysafe has hundreds of 1 star reviews – most of them are about them not paying claims.

We haven’t actually said choose the cheapest, we’ve said that cheaper can sometimes be better. Something both Sarah and I can confirm, having used cheaper and more expensive insurance options.

We haven’t used World Nomads or TT but their coverage is far worse than cheaper companies we have used who have paid claims without any issues. It’s also frustrating to know that Nomads particularly are generally recommended online by bloggers who are trying to make money through affiliate sales and may not be giving completely honest opinions.

We’re yet to make a claim with Holidaysafe but will make sure to update the article if there are any issues.

Which insurance policies have you used in the past? Are there any others you would recommend?

It’s great food for thought which is what you are trying to achieve and sorry you got such unnecessarily unpleasant criticism from people who clearly know all the answers already; I don’t so it helped me! I’ll research further myself but you have saved me a lot of time by removing the first step of my research. Thanks Mark

Hey there Mark! Ahh, you’ve got to take the positive with the negative, ey 🙂 Glad it could be useful to you, are you planning a trip somewhere nice?

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MyFunkyTravel

MyFunkyTravel

Backpacking | Budget Travel | Living Abroad

Travel Insurance for Backpackers from the UK – Best Options Compared

British traveller going backpacking

Within the UK, there are a wide range of options for travel insurance providers and many now offer packages tailored towards backpackers and longer term travellers. We’re going to take a look at some of the main options for the best backpacker travel insurance for UK residents and see how they compare.

Table of Contents

Best uk backpacker travel insurance reviews, price comparison, coverage comparison, best backpacker travel insurance uk – final thoughts, uk backpackers – what’s the best travel insurance to get.

One of the decisions travellers will need to make is choosing between a larger international company that offers travel insurance to people from all over the world and one that is UK-based and specifically geared towards Brits.

There are pros and cons to both approaches. International companies are more likely to have expertise in a wide range of countries and local know-how which could prove useful if you need assistance. They will also almost certainly offer 24-7 support to cater for a global userbase whereas British travel insurers may in some cases be harder to reach outside of UK office hours. 

However, having that local touch and speaking to somebody from your own country can also be reassuring if you run into problems when abroad. We’ve compared some of the main UK and international companies below to see how they stack up in terms of customer reviews, price and coverage.

We’ve looked at ten of the main options for companies providing travel insurance to UK backpackers. While Trust Pilot reviews don’t always tell the whole story and are more general reviews of the company (some of whom offer many products aside from backpacker travel insurance), they are a pretty good indicator of how customers feel.

Two companies stand out as having exceptionally low ratings. The Post Office attracted a staggering 91% of one-star reviews from a total of 374 ratings. While they do offer other services such as car and pet insurance which affect the rating, customers were far from complimentary about their travel insurance. Explorer Travel Insurance was the other to attract very bad reviews with 93% of users opting for one-star, although it was a much smaller sample size of just 44 ratings.

The other eight companies all attracted mostly positive reviews. The best rated ones were CoverForYou, Coverwise and Heymondo who all achieved scores of 4.5 or more. This points to high customer satisfaction and suggests that those companies all provide excellent assistance.

You can of course find horror stories with just about any travel insurance provider but in all cases, it is really important to understand the full terms of any cover your purchase. No insurance package is totally complete and there may be situations where you have issues abroad that aren’t covered but having suitable insurance can often be a real lifesaver should something go wrong .

The above figures are based on a 22 year old British traveller with no serious underlying health conditions visiting Thailand in August and September 2023. In most cases, it will be the same price for trips anywhere in the world, even visiting many different countries and regions, excluding the US (and in some cases, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean) which often pushes the prices up. 

Standard plans are used in each case without any optional add-ons such as winter sports or riskier activities. However some companies offer various packages and optional additions that allow you to tailor your cover to suit your trip. Currencies were converted to GBP where necessary and rounded up to the nearest pound. Heymondo prices include our 5% Heymondo discount code which is worth using if you opt for them.

At the time of research (July 2023), the cheapest option was SafetyWing Nomad Insurance coming in at just £76. This is primarily medical travel insurance though which means it excludes cover for things like theft and lost electronic items. Some other companies also offer similar slimmed down plans that focus on medical insurance but none were as affordable as SafetyWing.

Explorer was the next cheapest provider of travel insurance to UK backpackers for our trip. Meanwhile Coverwise, Heymondo and Outbacker all had standard plans in the region of £120-130 for two months of travel in Southeast Asia . Allianz Assistance was by some distance the most expensive at £275.

Travel insurance is not something you should automatically just look for the cheapest price and go with that. As with any good or service, there is normally a reason why some providers are more expensive than others and that relates to the extent and amount of cover they offer in the event that something goes wrong.

One thing to look out for is the excess or deductible. This is the amount you’ll have to pay before the balance of any claim is paid out by your travel insurance provider. Of the ones we looked at above, only Heymondo’s Premium plan doesn’t feature any kind of excess, although CoverForYou’s Silver plan features an excess waiver if purchased via their website. 

In terms of coverage, all offer medical emergency cover with Coverwise having the largest maximum limit of £20,000,000 for medical expenses. SafetyWing, the cheapest option, has the lowest medical limit of around £194,000. That’s still going to be more than sufficient for almost all medical problems but it also has one of the largest deductibles of around £194 meaning you’ll have to pay for at least the first part of your treatment.

All of those packages provide cover for things like lost checked luggage and travel delays and trip interruption. There will be subtle differences in the terms and situations where you can claim depending on the length of delays and extent of the disruption. That goes well beyond the scope of this article with full T’s & C’s often very long documents in their own right for each insurer but you can quickly get a summary by going to any of their websites and requesting a quote.

One of the bigger differentials is the amount of theft and lost property cover that is provided. This is where more expensive plans such as Allianz Assistance offer much greater protection. For example, Allianz insure you for £500 of personal money if you lose cash or have it stolen while abroad, whereas the other providers have much lower limits such as £200 or don’t cover lost money at all, at least not in their standard plans.

You also want to consider whether you’ll be doing any adventure sports or riskier activities like winter sports, rafting or high altitude hikes. Every insurer will have their own guidelines as to what they consider a “high risk activity” and you should be able to find a full list of excluded sports and activities on their respective websites. 

Typically, packages that are more specifically geared towards backpackers such as Tesco backpacker insurance and World Nomads will cover more of these types of activities than a standard travel insurance plan. Heymondo also has options for adding certain sports which is useful if you have a clear idea of what activities you may be doing.

Of the best international travel insurance companies for backpackers , Heymondo stands out as a good all-round option for those looking for a balance between cheap backpacker travel insurance and decent cover. There are a wide range of plans and ways to tailor your cover to your trip which is important for independent travellers whose needs may not be served by standard travel insurance. They are well liked by customers with an easy to use app and a 24/7 doctor chat function which is very popular with younger travellers who have grown up in the digital age.

Of the other options, Coverwise also stands out for anyone looking for the best travel insurance for backpacking South America , Southeast Asia or other popular regions. They’re a large company with much more positive reviews than some of the other British options such as the Post Office’s backpacker insurance. The price is pretty good too, ranking as the joint 3rd cheapest of the ones we looked at for our trip, with the same price as Heymondo.

Much will depend on you and the type of trip you want to have. If you’re a relatively experienced traveller on a visit to a lower risk country or region in Europe where you won’t be doing many potentially dangerous activities or exposed to any exotic diseases, then a cheaper option like SafetyWing may be adequate. We have a separate SafetyWing review which goes into more detail on them.

However if you’re not experienced at travelling and will be jetting off solo to somewhere tropical and doing lots of activities and things that may carry some risk, you may be wise to look for much more extensive cover. CoverForYou is a nice option for this and includes some extras that you may not find on cheaper deals, particularly if you opt for the Platinum tier.

This overview of the best backpacker travel insurance for UK travellers was published in July 2023. Any terms and prices mentioned are subject to change.

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The Best Travel Insurance for Backpackers

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Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

Table of Contents

What to consider when buying backpacker insurance

The best travel insurance providers for backpackers, finding the right plan for you, backpacker travel insurance recapped.

Are you currently backpacking or planning an epic around-the-world trip? Perhaps you're taking some time off from school, want a break from your job or you're a digital nomad. Whatever your situation, you may have realized that your current medical insurance may not be enough to protect you against everything you might encounter while backpacking — especially if you're abroad.

So, what is the best travel insurance for backpackers? Here's our guide to help you find the right policy for your situation, plus some top picks.

There is no one best travel insurance for backpackers. The right plan for you will depend on where you travel — Europe, Latin America, Asia? — and how long you plan to travel. You'll also want to consider the type of coverage you will need. Here are some things you might want to consider when looking for travel insurance as a backpacker:

Medical emergency insurance 

If you need medical care when traveling outside your home country, you will want to have insurance that covers your costs. In the United States, many insurance plans don't cover international travel . Those that do typically consider most services performed outside of the United States to be out-of-network. This means, at a minimum, you'll likely pay higher deductibles and fewer services may be covered.

Travel disruptions

Flight delays and cancellations happen and you'll want to be prepared. Many travelers receive some trip interruption and trip delay insurance through their credit card, but coverage limits and exclusions vary depending on the type of card you hold. Coverage for travel disruptions can also be purchased as part of a travel insurance plan and help you recover your losses if your plans change due to various reasons, from flight delays to illness.

Emergency evacuation

If you need to be evacuated from a country, you might be able to get some coverage through the credit card you used to book your trip. However, not all credit cards cover every situation. For example, some cards may cover emergency medical evacuation but won't help if you must evacuate because of political unrest or sudden armed conflict.

» Learn more: The guide to emergency evacuation insurance

Repatriation of remains

If the worst should happen and you want your remains to be shipped home should you die overseas, you'll want to be insured for repatriation of remains. Out-of-pocket costs for repatriation can be upwards of $10,000, so it can be a good idea to include this coverage in your travel insurance.

Length exclusions

Some policies only offer coverage for trips of a particular duration, while others require you to return to your home country periodically. When selecting your travel insurance plan, pay special attention to what lengths of trips are covered and make sure your plan doesn't exclude the type of travel you plan to do.

Coverage in your home country

Be sure you understand what your travel insurance covers when visiting your country of residence, especially regarding medical costs. Often, travel insurance providers exclude or offer lower coverage amounts for travel within your country of residence.

Other types of coverage

There are various options and add-ons regarding travel insurance, and some may be more important to you than others. As you shop around, consider whether you want coverage for any of the following:

COVID-19 coverage .

Baggage delay insurance .

Pre-existing medical conditions .

Accidental death and dismemberment .

Rental car coverage .

Cancel For Any Reason coverage .

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» Learn more: Best long-term travel insurance

1. World Nomads — Great insurance for up to six months

World Nomads provides comprehensive travel insurance. The company's standard plans include all the essentials: $100,000 of emergency medical coverage, $300,000 of emergency evacuation insurance, $2,500 of trip cancellation and interruption coverage and $1,000 against loss, theft or damage of your gear.

The coverage includes repatriation of remains, trip delay and accidental death and dismemberment coverage. More significant coverage limits are also available through the company's Explorer plan.

One downside to World Nomads is that their travel insurance isn't available if you will be gone for more than 180 days. So, if you're a backpacker or digital nomad traveling for longer than that, you'll want to look elsewhere.

2. Safety Wing — An option for long-term backpackers

Nomad Insurance by Safety Wing is an insurance product underwritten by Lloyd's. The Nomad Insurance policy includes medical coverage up to $250,000, including hospital stays, ambulance transportation and physical therapy. The policy also provides trip interruption, trip delay, emergency medical evacuation and political evacuation coverage.

Two notable benefits of Safety Wing are that you can purchase the insurance when you're already abroad and extend your coverage as you go — instrumental if you're not sure when you'll return home. In addition, if you sign up for an automatic renewal plan, Safety Wing will extend your insurance coverage every 28 days. Your insurance can continue indefinitely until you pick an end date.

3. Battleface — Coverage for adventurous backpackers

Some travel insurance providers exclude high-risk activities — such as scuba diving, skiing or rock climbing — from coverage. If you're more adventurous than the average backpacker and want coverage for these types of activities, consider Battleface.

The company offers policies that cover trip cancellation, interruption and delay. Its coverage also includes $250,000 of medical expenses and personal property protection. However, digital nomads or long-term backpackers may need to look elsewhere for coverage. Battleface's annual plan covers unlimited trips, but any trip can only be 40 days long.

4. Allianz — For frequent travelers who return home often

Allianz is a globally-known insurer that offers travel insurance. Its plans for travelers include coverage for emergency medical, emergency medical transport, lost or delayed baggage, travel delays, rental car damage or theft and more. Coverage levels depend on which plan you purchase, and some benefits — such as rental car insurance — are optional add-ons.

Allianz offers travel insurance per trip through its OneTrip plans and year-long coverage through its AllTrips offerings. However, most AllTrips plans only insure trips for up to 45 days, so if you travel but return home frequently, Allianz might be a good option.

» Learn more: How much is travel insurance?

When traveling, everyone's situation is different. What might be the best backpacking travel insurance for you might not work for your travel companion. To find the best plan for you, here are some things to consider:

Understand your travel plans 

Your travel plans will dictate what insurance options are available to you. Are you planning on backpacking for a month, three months, a year, or indefinitely? Which countries do you plan on visiting? Will you return home frequently? Make sure that your travel insurance plan covers your situation.

Take inventory of what coverage levels you need 

As you research, consider what coverage you think you'll need. You'll probably want basic medical and emergency evacuation coverage, at a minimum. Beyond that, consider your risk tolerance and the probability that you'll need to file a claim.

Start with our recommendations 

Our recommendations are far from the only providers of backpacker insurance out there. Use them as a starting point, but get suggestions from friends and read reviews of different insurance providers before purchasing coverage.

Finding the right travel insurance will take some time and require research. Take a look at your travel plans, understand what coverage you need and use our list as a starting point. If you put in some time upfront to find the right backpacking travel insurance, once you're abroad, you can spend your time enjoying the journey.

How to maximize your rewards

You want a travel credit card that prioritizes what’s important to you. Here are our picks for the best travel credit cards of 2024 , including those best for:

Flexibility, point transfers and a large bonus: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

No annual fee: Bank of America® Travel Rewards credit card

Flat-rate travel rewards: Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Bonus travel rewards and high-end perks: Chase Sapphire Reserve®

Luxury perks: The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business travelers: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card

Chase Sapphire Reserve Credit Card

on Chase's website

1x-10x Earn 5x total points on flights and 10x total points on hotels and car rentals when you purchase travel through Chase Travel℠ immediately after the first $300 is spent on travel purchases annually. Earn 3x points on other travel and dining & 1 point per $1 spent on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $900 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Travel℠.

Chase Sapphire Preferred Credit Card

1x-5x 5x on travel purchased through Chase Ultimate Rewards®, 3x on dining, select streaming services and online groceries, 2x on all other travel purchases, 1x on all other purchases.

60,000 Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. That's $750 toward travel when you redeem through Chase Ultimate Rewards®.

Chase Southwest Rapid Rewards® Plus Credit Card

1x-2x Earn 2X points on Southwest® purchases. Earn 2X points on local transit and commuting, including rideshare. Earn 2X points on internet, cable, and phone services, and select streaming. Earn 1X points on all other purchases.

50,000 Earn 50,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Horse riding on Noordhoek Beach and a True Traveller insurance review

True Traveller Insurance Review: The Best Backpacker Insurance for UK and EU Residents

This page contains affiliate links. Please read our disclosure for more info.

Travel insurance is essential for any trip abroad. Although it’s unlikely that anything will go wrong, it’s important to be covered as a serious accident or illness could end up costing you a fortune.

For eight years we used True Traveller insurance which is the best backpacker insurance we’ve found.

True Traveller insurance is only available for UK and EU residents, so if you’re from somewhere else we recommend SafetyWing instead—more details on that below.

Here’s our True Traveller insurance review and why we think it’s the best long term travel insurance for Brits.

True Traveller Covid-19 Coverage

Easy claims process, safetywing: the best alternative to true traveller for non-uk residents, get a true traveller insurance quote.

True Traveller  does provide medical, cancellation, and curtailment cover for COVID-19, but only if you have been vaccinated and are not travelling to a country that the FCDO advises against “all but essential travel on the current assessment of COVID-19 risks.”

To find out, go to the  FCDO Travel Advice  page and search for the country you plan to visit to see the latest restrictions. In late 2021, there are only seven countries on the list to avoid travelling to.

The True Traveller coronavirus page has the latest information.  

SafetyWing also covers COVID-19 and is a good option if you’re not from the UK or want to travel to somewhere the FCDO advises against. See our travel insurance after departure guide and SafetyWing review for more details. 

Back to Contents

True Traveller was originally an adventure travel company—their policies are designed by travellers for travellers and it shows.

They offer a flexibility that other insurance companies don’t and show a real understanding of the needs of backpackers and long-term travellers. With True Traveller you can:

  • Buy travel insurance when you are already travelling – This is very rare as most insurance companies require you to be in your home country at the time of purchase. It’s ideal if you forget to buy insurance or your policy expires and you need to renew.
  • Travel with a one-way ticket – Unlike most insurance companies, True Traveller covers you if you don’t know when you’ll be returning home (as we never do) and don’t have a return ticket.
  • Get cover for a range of adventure activities – Whether you’ll be horse riding, scuba diving, snowboarding, trekking, volunteering, or working on a gap year, True Traveller covers you. You can choose which of their three activity packs is right for you—the Traveller Pack covers 91 activities and is included as standard.
  • Choose the cover you really need – This can dramatically reduce the cost of your policy (see below).

If you are heading off on a long trip, you can buy a backpacker insurance policy for up to 18 months (and extend it if needed).

Although True Traveller insurance is ideal for long-term travellers, it’s great for short trips too.

You can purchase cover for a single trip or potentially save money with an Annual Multi Trip policy which is valid for unlimited trips throughout the year, for up to 30 days (True Value or Traveller) or 70 days (Traveller Plus).

True Traveller insurance is the best value travel insurance we’ve found for UK and EU residents.

This is because they allow you to tailor the policy to suit you. You can choose the most basic medical insurance or add extras like baggage, electronics, cancellation, extreme adventure activities, and winter sports cover.

This keeps costs down as you only buy what you really need. 

Getting a True Traveller Quote

True Traveller offers three policies: True Value (the cheapest, for backpackers and travellers under 40), Traveller (their most popular policy), and Traveller Plus (with enhanced medical and cancellation cover).

They can not insure people who are over 65 years old.

It’s very easy to get a quote on the homepage of the True Traveller website . Below is the quote I got— £392 for a one year True Value worldwide policy (including the US) .

Getting a quote for True Traveller backpacker insurance

If you exclude the US and Canada, you will save a considerable amount—£63 on this quote. On trips over six months, you can spend 14 days in the US without paying extra. 

You can see the different levels of coverage above. Traveller and Traveller Plus offer higher levels of baggage and cancellation coverage and smaller excesses (the amount you pay of any claim).

We usually choose the basic True Value policy as our main concern is medical expenses and repatriation.

I recommend paying slightly more—about £52 a year on my quote—to reduce the excess to £0. Even if you only go to the doctor once, you’ll likely pay more than this so will save money. 

You can then choose to add an Activity Pack, but for us the Traveller Pack that is included is enough.

It covers activities that we sometimes do like horse riding, motorcycling (under 125cc), kayaking, cycling, white water rafting, sailing, surfing, and lots more.

You can also add winter sports cover.

Just some of the activities included as standard on a True Traveller insurance policy

For the True Value policy baggage isn’t automatically included but you can add it. We don’t bother as it only includes valuables up to £200 total (£100 per item) and our non-electronic items aren’t worth much.

You can also choose to add electronics separately, but the value limit of £450 per item (or £750 with Traveller Plus) is not enough for our laptops and camera.

Unfortunately, we haven’t found a good option for long-term worldwide electronics insurance, so our items are uninsured and we make sure we have enough savings to replace them.

If you decide to travel for longer, you can easily extend your True Traveller policy (before the expiry date) and get a 10% discount.

Even if you let your policy expire while abroad you can purchase a new one by ticking the “already travelling” box.

The real test of any insurance is how easy it is to make a claim. I have made a claim with True Traveller and was pleased to discover that the process was simple and quick.

To make a claim you have to download the claim form from their website and return it within 60 days of the incident. Make sure you keep any receipts and doctor or police reports.

I had to visit the doctor in Bali on two occasions about ongoing stomach problems and they did various tests to find out what was wrong and prescribed antibiotics.

The total cost wasn’t a huge amount over my £125 excess, but it was worth putting in a claim anyway. After this I learnt to pay a little extra to reduce the excess to zero.

The claims form was a little intimidating at first, but it was straightforward once I started and it didn’t take long to fill out.

As I was still travelling I was able to send the form by email along with scanned copies of the doctor’s report and receipt and my certificate of insurance. Scanning was easy with the Notes app on our iPhone or you could just take a photo.

Claims are supposed to take up to 10 working days, but two days later I received an email saying my claim had been processed and a day later the money was in my bank account.

I was impressed by how easy and quick making a claim was. I was also pleased that they hadn’t quibbled over the fact that the doctor had got my date of birth wrong on my report.

My claim was a small one, so much larger claims may be more difficult, but True Traveller has excellent reviews on Trust Pilot and I feel confident continuing to use them.

If you are not from the UK, the best alternative to True Traveller we have found is SafetyWing . It’s designed for nomads and is payable as a monthly subscription (cancellable anytime). They provide COVID-19 cover worldwide. 

The standard policy costs a flat rate of US $45 per 4 weeks which is automatically charged every 4 weeks until you cancel. This is for ages 18-39; other ages are available but will cost more. Travel to the US adds an extra $38 per 4 weeks.

Visit the SafetyWing website for a quote or see my SafetyWing insurance review for more details and a comparison with True Traveller and World Nomads. 

Another travel insurance option available worldwide is Heymondo , which has higher levels of cover but is more expensive.

If you are from the UK or Europe, I highly recommend True Traveller insurance. Their website is really easy to use and you can play around with the different options to find the most affordable cover that meets your needs.

Click here to get a quote from True Traveller .

Which backpacker travel insurance do you recommend? Have you made any claims with True Traveller or SafetyWing? We’d love to hear about your experiences—leave a comment below.

If you enjoyed this post, pin it!

Here's why you should use True Traveller Insurance. It's great for all types of travellers, but especially backpackers!

So glad I found this! I’ve been working in China and will soon be heading off travelling for 6 months. I looked at World Nomad insurance and couldn’t believe how expensive it was. Then your blog explained that there was another option! Really chuffed with True Traveller insurance….hope I never need it, but so relieved I’ve got it. Happy travels and cheers!

Reply ↓

Glad it worked out for you Clare!

Hi Erin, I’m going away for 6 weeks later in the year to Sri lanka, Cambodia and Thailand. Do you think that True Traveller insurance is the right insurance for such a short trip?

I think True Traveller is good value for any length trip. You could always do a search on a travel insurance comparison site to see if you can find something cheaper (just make sure you compare the coverage). Have a great trip!

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What’s the Best Backpacker Travel Insurance?

Travel insurance for backpackers should be both flexible and affordable. Is that too much to ask?

What’s the Best Backpacker Travel Insurance?

When I was a backpacker, my low-budget lifestyle often took me off the beaten path, and rarely did I follow a fixed itinerary. Anything could happen, and that was the whole point.

In that same vein, it’s important that backpacker travel insurance coverage fits a lower budget yet is flexible enough to work with changing plans.

Within my fourteen years of travel, I’ve cashed in a travel insurance policy more than a few times. And while the industry has certainly changed in that time, general policy and coverage needs haven’t.

Based on years of travel, first-hand experience, extensive industry knowledge and deep research, I believe the following five companies offer the best insurance for backpackers because they are both flexible and affordable.

  • Best Backpacker Travel Insurance Overall: Heymondo
  • Best Long-Term Backpacker Travel Insurance: Safety Wing
  • Most User-Friendly Backpacker Travel Insurance: Faye
  • Best International Backpacker Travel Insurance: Tin Leg
  • Best Medical Coverage: Seven Corners

Heymondo : Best Backpacker Travel Insurance Overall

HeyMondo

The word “insurance” can be intimidating, and it’s easy to assume that buying insurance for your trip will be a frustrating process that will leave your head (and wallet) aching.

Fortunately, there are more and more companies out there trying to create a more user-friendly approach to travel insurance. Heymondo is a modern travel insurance provider that has a straightforward process to buy a plan, and their insurance policies are very affordable.

Plus, their coverage is great. The lowest level plan pays up to $100,000 for emergency medical bills and $250,000 in medical evacuation coverage. That’s better than most companies’ upper-tier plans which cost much more!

In addition to emergency evacuation and medical costs, you also get protection for trip cancellations, missed flights, lost baggage, electronic equipment, and more. Heymondo also includes several benefits that many travel insurance companies don’t cover (or charge you extra for) like coverage for adventure sports and pre-existing conditions.

I also love that Heymondo has an easy-to-use app that lets you manage your plan and submit claims straight from your phone. It’s much easier to deal with than waiting for hours to speak to an agent on the phone. I’m a big fan of anything that streamlines and simplifies my travel experience.

Heymondo also has a medical-only plan that doesn’t include coverage for canceled trips, baggage loss, flight delays, or the other trip protection benefits. This plan is extremely affordable and is a great way to get the most important protection for your health if you don’t need or want anything else.

Heymondo doesn’t offer a ton of customization options, but their base plans are great and much less expensive than most competitors. That’s awesome for us backpackers who are pinching pennies to save up for our next flight!

  • Pros & Cons
  • Great standard coverage for medical and trip protection
  • Very affordable rates
  • Included protection for adventure sports and pre-existing conditions
  • Plans for trips of up to six months
  • Skiing and snowboarding aren’t covered activities (even with the adventure sports add-on)
  • No Cancel For Any Reason coverage
  • Will only cover travelers up to 68 years old

Safety Wing : Best Long-Term Backpacker Travel Insurance

SafetyWing

As one of the newest names in the insurance biz, Safety Wing is an excellent option for long-term travel insurance. Safety Wing is a bit different from most backpacker insurance providers in that they don’t offer policies for single trips. Instead, they have “nomad insurance” that has no fixed start and end dates. It uses a monthly subscription model, meaning you can travel as long as you want and still have insurance for medical emergencies.

SafetyWing’s plans range from emergency medical coverage while traveling outside your home country to full-blown health insurance for remote workers and digital nomads. Their goal is to create a global financial safety net by providing affordable insurance for anyone around the world. That also makes for great backpacking travel insurance.

Plus Safety Wing is one of the most affordable companies on this list. They have budget-friendly options that still offer good coverage for medical expenses, travel delays, and more.

All of this makes Safety Wing a fantastic insurance policy for anyone looking to travel for an extended period of time. Their coverage for medical expenses is fantastic, and they also include good protection for trip delay, lost luggage, and more.

So is this a perfect option for everyone? Well, no. Safety Wing doesn’t offer single-trip policies, so it really works best for folks traveling long-term. Also, medical protection limits drop if you’re over 65, and adventure sports and pre-existing medical conditions aren’t covered. Lastly, there is no coverage for canceled trips.

Click here to read our full Safety Wing review , or check out our Safety Wing vs World Nomads comparison.

  • Flexible travel insurance for long-term travel
  • Your plan automatically renews until you decide to cancel
  • Trip delay coverage and trip interruption coverage are included
  • Offers medical insurance that has you fully covered, even in your home country
  • Just a single standard plan to purchase (no customization)
  • No trip cancellation coverage
  • No protection for electronics
  • Doesn’t offer coverage for single trips
  • No home country insurance for US residents

Faye : Most User-Friendly Backpacker Travel Insurance

Faye

When you’re out backpacking around the world, you probably don’t want to spend any extra time waiting on phone calls or filing claims. Unfortunately, many travel insurance providers aren’t known for being easy to deal with.

It doesn’t have to be that way though.

Faye is a newer insurance company on the market that offers a refreshing take on backpacker insurance policies with an app-based interface that makes it much easier to manage your plan or file claims. Sick of dealing with stuffy, difficult-to-navigate insurance? Faye might be a good option.

In addition to their easy user interface, I also love that Faye has a lot more customization options than other insurance providers. Going skydiving? You can add adventure sports coverage. Renting a car? They can insure that and will pay for rental car damage. Worried about taking care of your pet if your return home is delayed? They have an option that will pay for kennelling until you make it back.

There’s a lot to love, but (there’s always a but, isn’t there) Faye definitely isn’t the cheapest option on this list. They have great protection for medical costs, canceled flights, and more, but budget travelers will be able to get a better bang for your buck with Heymondo or SafetyWing .

  • Super easy app-based system
  • Included coverage for pre-existing conditions
  • Covers flight cancellations
  • Lots of add-ons to customize your policy, including Cancel For Any Reason
  • Telemedicine feature gives you access to thousands of medical providers wherever you are
  • Limited lost/damaged item coverage
  • Not the cheapest option

Tin Leg : Best International Backpacker Travel Insurance

Tin Leg Travel Insurance

If you’re traveling overseas, it’s especially important to be able to rely on having your travel insurance cover anything unexpected. Tin Leg is a highly-respected travel insurance company that has a good reputation for offering high-value policies, and paying out claims when you need them.

When it comes to international travel, Tin Leg has some of the best backpacker insurance policies out there. They offer a great balance of comprehensive coverage and affordable prices.

With Tin Leg, you get all the coverage you expect. Flight delays, baggage protection, and canceled trips are all covered, though you have to cancel for a “covered reason,” like natural disasters or severe illness. This doesn’t include civil unrest, severe weather, or changing your mind. Fortunately, they offer an optional upgrade to Cancel for Any Reason coverage.

Unlike many other travel insurance providers, Tin Leg has a wide range of plans to fit your needs (9, in fact).

My top pick is their Luxury Plan, which is actually quite affordable despite the name. This plan offers great emergency medical protection and trip insurance at an impressive price.

Looking to save your pennies? Tin Leg’s Basic Plan is awesome for low-budget travelers.

They also offer an Adventure Plan, which includes high medical limits plus included coverage for extreme sports and adventure activities. This is perfect backpacking insurance for many of the adventurous travelers out there.

Tin Leg is one of the best overall backpacker insurance companies on the market. They are flexible, offer good coverage, and (most important for many of us) are very affordable.

  • Lots of plans to choose from
  • Travel freely for a year on an annual plan
  • Great trip cancellation coverage (including optional cancel for any reason)
  • Fast and reliable service
  • Optional add-ons, like car rental coverage
  • Lower emergency medical limits compared to other plans

Seven Corners : Best Medical Coverage

Seven Corners Logo

Insurance for medical emergencies is the most important thing you can have while traveling abroad. Sure, losing money on a canceled trip or missed flight is frustrating, but bills for a medical emergency can add up to much, much larger sums. We’re talking tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, which is why the best travel insurance companies have high emergency medical coverage limits.

Seven Corners offers two plans to choose from: Trip Protection Basic and Trip Protection Choice, and both have great medical emergency coverage.

With the Choice plan, you get up to $500,000 for medical care and $1,000,000 in emergency evacuation coverage. Those limits are some of the best in the business, and offer a lot of peace of mind on your travels.

However, you can forgo trip cancellation coverage and just purchase a travel medical policy instead. These customizable medical plans allow you to choose your maximum limit as well as the deductible. And, you’re covered for medical and dental treatments, emergency evacuation, and even personal liability.

  • Customizable group plans are available
  • Good medical cover limits
  • Seven Corners has consistently positive reviews
  • Solid trip cancellation and trip interruption protection
  • Must pay more for pre-existing medical condition coverage
  • No cancel for any reason coverage with Seven Corners

Why Backpackers Need Travel Insurance

When it comes to planning your once-in-a-lifetime backpacking trip, travel insurance may be the last thing on your mind. Honestly, isn’t it more fun to spend time picking out the right backpack or booking the coolest hostel?

Well, your health and safety is also something to consider. That’s why travel insurance is the single most important thing to bring on your trip. It protects you against any unforeseen accidents or emergencies that you may encounter on your journey.

  • Broken leg from a scooter crash? Your backpacker insurance policy covers your medical bills.
  • Stolen camera on the train? Backpacker insurance reimburses the cost of your belongings.
  • Tropical thunderstorms cancel your flight to Thailand? You’ll be reimbursed and scheduled on the next flight out.

It’s easy to see why travel insurance is worth it how insurance can protect you in a variety of unfortunate situations. It can also save you thousands of dollars in medical expenses. For this reason alone, travel insurance is absolutely worth it .

What to Look for in Backpacker Insurance

From digital nomads to adventure seekers, everyone traveling abroad needs good insurance to cover unexpected events on their backpacking trip. However, there is not a recommendation for a single plan that’s good for everyone.There are several key factors to consider when looking at backpacker insurance.

Some travel insurance providers offer specific benefits that cater to adventurous backpackers and long-term travelers, while others specialize in medical protection for folks with a pre-existing condition. Maybe good baggage cover and cancellation cover are important to you, or maybe you just want low-cost travel insurance policies that cover the basics for your backpacking trip.

Take the time to look for a plan that fits your travel plans.

Flexibility is Key

Backpackers, digital nomads, and long-term travelers often don’t stick to a fixed itinerary for their backpacking trips. Just like your plans, your backpacker insurance should be flexible.

Let’s look at an example.

You decide at the last minute to go skiing in Germany and Austria, two countries that weren’t originally on your itinerary. Or perhaps you spontaneously decide to extend your vacation by a few months.

In these situations, you’ll be thankful to have insurance that you can adjust on the go. You might look for backpacker insurance that is paid in installments, or that can be updated and changed midway through your trip.

This flexibility is great, and it lets you travel on your own terms.

Coverage for Medical Expenses

Your health is your most important asset, and it’s important to take care of it, especially when you’re traveling. The most important thing to look for in good travel insurance is solid coverage for medical emergencies. If you get sick or injured while traveling, you don’t want to be stuck with hefty hospital bills.

Most travel insurance will provide cover for up to specified benefit limits. I like to look for an insurance policy that provides at least $100,000 in medical care and $250,000 for emergency evacuation and repatriation cover. More is always better in this case.

Of course, no one expects to get severely ill or injured on their backpacking trips, but the worst can (and does) happen. Good medical coverage is an absolute essential. That way you know that if anything goes wrong, you’ll be taken care of and not have to foot the bill.

Coverage for Extreme Sports and Adventures Activities

Let’s face it; backpackers love their extreme (and sometimes reckless) activities. Did you know that most travel insurance won’t provide medical cover if you’re injured in what they deem extreme sports or other risky activities?

That’s why you should look for backpacker insurance that provides protection for whatever adventure you may encounter on your trip. From scuba diving in Indonesia to rock climbing in Morocco, you’ll want coverage for all those fun and exhilarating moments.

However, many traditional travel insurance companies don’t offer protection for these events. So if you plan on doing any extreme sports, make sure your backpacker insurance provides activity coverage.

Some quick safety advice: never participate in an activity that isn’t covered by your insurance, or you may end up paying potential hospital bills with your own money.

An Affordable Price Point

Finally, good backpacking travel insurance should be affordable. Flights, hostels, and food costs quickly add up. This can make price a big factor when choosing a plan.

Even if you’re hoping to keep your trip low-cost, you should still invest in travel insurance. Fortunately, there are several backpacker insurance companies that offer comprehensive insurance that won’t break the bank.

Final Thoughts on the Best Travel Insurance Companies for Backpackers

Besides your passport, backpacker insurance is one of the most important things to take with you on your trip. It’s there to protect you against unexpected incidents from bike accidents and food poisoning to stolen luggage and misplaced smartphones. It can save you serious money on hospital bills, legal expenses, and lost stuff.

One of my top travel tips for anyone is to buy good insurance.

And you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg to protect, well, your arms and legs! There are plenty of companies and policies that offer decent coverage for just a few dollars a day.

With affordable and comprehensive coverage, World Nomads is our backpacker insurance provider of choice. However, you may find that there are other companies that are better suited for your trip.

Check out different policies, compare companies, and shop around for good deals. But at the end of the day, just make sure you purchase insurance from somewhere. Because if you can’t afford travel insurance, you really can’t afford to travel!

Travel Insurance FAQs

Which insurance is best for travel.

AXA Assistance USA offers impressive comprehensive plans at affordable prices.

What is the best travel insurance with COVID?

John Hancock is the travel insurance company that offers the best insurance for COVID expenses.

What are the 3 things travel insurance covers?

Travel insurance insures emergency healthcare, trip expenses, and personal belongings.

Is it better to buy travel insurance early or late?

It is best to buy travel insurance as soon as possible after you book your trip.

What's the best travel insurance for backpackers?

Heymondo is our top choice for the best travel insurance for backpackers.

Jeremy Scott Foster

Jeremy Scott Foster

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Best backpacker travel insurance

Candiece Cyrus

Updated: Mar 27, 2024

This content has been independently collected by the Evening Standard team and is offered on a non-advised basis. Evening Standard may earn a commission on sales made from partner links on this page, but that doesn’t affect our editors’ opinions or evaluations.

Looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience that only a backpacking trip can offer? You’ll need a specialist backpacker insurance policy that’s specifically designed for getaways lasting up to 24 months across multiple destinations.

It will offer essential levels of cover for emergency medical expenses, trip cancellation and lost or stolen baggage. Some policies also cover the damage, loss or theft of your gadgets and allow you to return to the UK for home visits during the period of cover.

Here are the five backpacker insurance policies we found which balance good levels of cover with a competitive price. While information was correct at the time of writing, deals and premiums can vary.

For more information on how we scored the policies, refer to our Methodology section, below.

Best backpacker insurance

Methodology, what does backpacker insurance cover, what isn’t covered by backpacker insurance, how does it differ from standard travel insurance, find the best backpacker insurance, when should i take out backpacker insurance, is there an age limit on backpacker insurance, do i need backpacker insurance if i have a global health insurance card (ghic), insure for travel premier backpacker.

Insure For Travel PREMIER BACKPACKER

Gadget cover

£1,000 – £3,000

Can return home temporarily

Offers a competitive premium of £313, and cover for more than 50 sports and activities as standard, including bungee jumping, safari and trekking.

Covers working abroad provided it does not involve manual labour.

There’s £3,000 for trip cancellation, £200 for travel delay, £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings, £300 for lost or stolen money and £2 million in personal liability cover.

Personal accident cover ranges from £10,000 to £15,000 depending on your injuries.

Winter sports cover for activities such as skiing and snowboarding can be bolted onto your policy at an additional cost.

Gadget cover for lost or stolen devices also comes at an extra cost.

  • Competitively-priced
  • £1,500 baggage cover
  • £3,000 cancellation cover
  • No trips home allowed

Explorer Insurance Backpacker Plus

Explorer Insurance Backpacker Plus

£1,000 – £2,000

Can return home temporarily during policy term

Covers 50 adventure activities including bungee jumping and canoeing, and you can bolt on extra cover for 50 more extreme activities, at an additional cost.

Offers £2,000 in trip cancellation and £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings, £300 for lost or stolen money and travel documents and £1,000 should your airline go bust.

There’s also £15,000 if you’re injured as the result of an accident, £500 in hospital benefit, for essentials such as food and drink during your hospital stay as well as up to £250 for hijacking and mugging.

Gadget cover comprises a £1,000 Standard extension or the £2,000 Superior extension to cover your devices. They are priced at £160.50 and £262.92 respectively.

A £100 excess is payable on claims, but you can waive this by paying an additional £65.35.

  • £1k – 2k in gadget cover
  • Excess waiver
  • £100 excess

Outbacker Platinum

Outbacker Platinum

Yes, one trip of 14 days

Competitively-priced at £368.45.

Covers working a paid or unpaid job abroad, but it must not involve heights of more than two storeys or heavy manual labour.

Also offers cover for an array of sports as standard, as well as extreme activities .

For cover for more sports and activities there are optional add-ons costing £368.45 and £552.67 respectively. A winter sports add-on is available at a cost of £736.90.

Also included is £2,500 for trip cancellation, £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings, £500 for a missed departure and £2 million if you injure someone or damage someone’s possessions.

You can purchase one of three levels of gadget cover ranging between £148.39 and £284.11 in cost.

This policy permits one trip back to the UK for up to 14 days.

  • Three levels of gadget cover
  • Only one trip home for 14 days

CoverForYou Gold

CoverForYou Gold

2 trips for max of 31 days

Gadget cover ranges from £1,000 – £3,000, at a cost of £114.25 to £218.56.

There’s also cover for golf, hot air ballooning, safari, trekking and more, as standard.

Cover for a broader range of activities is available from £85.25 to £340.75.

Provides £3,000 for trip cancellation, £1,500 for lost or stolen baggage and belongings, £2 million for personal liability, and £550 for inhabitable accommodation.

You can return home twice for up to 31 days.

  • Two trips home up to 31 days
  • Relatively expensive

Post Office Money Economy Backpackers

Post Office Money Economy Backpackers

3 trips for max of 7 days

Covers a comprehensive list of sports and activities, ranging from abseiling to zip-lining.

Cover for activities such as bungee jumping, scuba diving and golf is available to bolt on to your policy.

You can also opt for an optional gadget cover add-on of £1,000.

Offers £1,000 in cancellation cover, £1,500 for baggage and belongings and £2 million for personal liability included as standard.

  • Broad range of activities covered as standard
  • Allows three trips home
  • £1,000 cancellation cover
  • Trips home only for seven days

Firstly, we analysed the insurers in our travel insurance journey powered by CYTI, to identify the top 10.

We ran quotes for an 18-year-old taking a worldwide trip for 12 months, on the sites of the insurers that offer backpacker insurance. Where an insurer doesn’t offer backpacker insurance we compared the backpacker policies of another brand under the same group, if possible.

We scored the policies on price, cover for damaged, lost or stolen gadgets, sports and activities cover and the number of times you are allowed to return to the UK during your travels.

All policies offer at least £2,000 in cancellation cover, £1,500 for lost or stolen belongings and £5 million for emergency medical costs and repatriation expenses to get you back to the UK following an accident, injury or illness.

We awarded each policy a score out of five.

Typically, backpacker insurance includes the following cover as standard:

Medical and repatriation cover – to cover emergency expenses should you get injured or fall ill while away

Cancellation or curtailment of your trip – due to an emergency such as falling ill, or a family member dying, either prior to departure or during your trip

Personal liability – in the event you injure someone or damage another person’s property

Extreme sports and activities – typically 50 to 100 are covered automatically.

Should you need it, you can pay an additional premium to add optional extras such as cover for:

Additional sports and activities – covers a wider selection of sports and activities

Winter sports – usually covers skiing, including your equipment.

If you want to work while away, it’s worth checking the sports and activities sections of a policy to see if cover for work is offered, either as standard or at an extra cost. Some policies may only extend to certain types of job, and work that does not require manual labour or working over a certain height.

As with standard travel insurance policies, there are typical limitations to cover. Insurers usually will dismiss claims that resulted from being under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or disorderly behaviour.

Certain policies specify that you need to be vaccinated to claim medical costs for the illness concerned.

If you have a pre-existing condition, you may need to purchase specialist cover as a standard policy won’t necessarily cover you. This is because insurers view travellers with pre-existing conditions as more likely to make a claim.

Also, before booking your holiday and purchasing travel insurance, as well as before you leave for your trip, it’s best to check the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office’s advice on your destination. Travelling to a destination where it advises against all, or all but essential travel, could invalidate your policy.

Whereas a standard travel insurance policy will cover trips of up to 30 days, backpacker policies typically can cover trips of up to 18 months, sometimes even 24 months.

They can also cover trips to multiple destinations, as well as various activities from bungee jumping to sky diving, as standard.

It’s a good practice to compare policies before purchasing, checking the following:

  • whether activities you have planned are covered automatically, or can be covered at an extra cost. Look out for requirements such as wearing safety equipment in order to be able to claim
  • whether all the countries you will be visiting are covered. A policy including countries outside of Europe tends to be more expensive than one that only covers Europe. Cover for destinations such as the US, Canada, the Caribbean and, depending on the insurer, Mexico, can also bump up premiums, due to higher medical costs in these countries
  • the amount of excess levied, as well as the policy price. The excess is the set sum you will be required to pay on any accepted claim that you make. The lower the policy price, the higher the excess tends to be. You may be able to waive the excess by paying an additional premium. This will be stated in the policy wording.

The best time to purchase any travel insurance policy is as soon as you’ve booked your trip. This will allow you to take advantage of cancellation cover should you need it.

Insurers usually accept cancellation claims for reasons such as falling ill or getting injured, or a close relative dying.

Certain insurers may put an age limit as low as 36 on their backpacker policies, but there is insurance that caters to more mature travellers. Note that policies particularly tend to get more expensive for the over-65s.

A GHIC, the post-Brexit successor to the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), despite the name, is still only for use in Europe.

While it does allow you to access medical care as a local would, which can mean for free or at a reduced price – it does not cover all the costs a backpacker policy would.

For instance, it does not cover private medical care or repatriation costs. Neither will it pay out for non-medical related issues.

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Backpackers on a trail

Backpacker Travel Insurance

  • Full access to HealthHero - a 24/7 GP via telephone and video based in the UK
  • Up to £10m Emergency Medical expenses covered
  • Personal liability covered over £1m on all policies 
  • Over 23,000 UK travellers covered in 2022 for journeys across the globe

What is backpacker insurance?

Nothing's quite as exciting as embarking on a journey to uncover and explore new corners of the globe. Whether you're travelling for adventure, escapism, self-discovery or curiosity, we know that part of the excitement comes from not knowing exactly what lies ahead, throwing routine out of the window and leaving the ordinary behind.

Our Backpacker insurance provides you with cover if your trip doesn't go to plan. If you're under 50 and you're planning the adventure of a lifetime, our Backpacker travel insurance offers protection against risks such as cancellation, delays, missed departures, lost or stolen baggage, medical expenses and repatriation to the UK . Whether you're trekking around , discovering Asia , wandering the outback of Australia  or exploring every corner of the globe on a gap year, our Backpacker insurance is appropriate for most travellers.

How could Allianz Assistance offer the best backpacking insurance?

With over 13,000 people working across five continents, speaking 58 languages, we’re as local as we are global*. We have a deep understanding of the markets in which we operate, and we’re experts in helping our customers in the event of a medical emergency – 24/7, 365 days a year. Whether you’re travelling for the first time or not, knowing you’ve got someone on hand who can help is invaluable. 

Let us protect you for your next adventure with our backpacker insurance. 

*correct as of 08/09/2023

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What does Backpacker travel insurance cover?

Our Backpacker insurance can protect you against potential risks from the moment you book your holiday to the second you return home.

You should buy your backpacker or gap year travel insurance as soon as you book your trip, because then you're protected if you need to cancel it.

While you're away, your Backpacker travel insurance provides cover if you need to curtail your trip and fly home. Plus, there's cover if you miss your departure, or if your departure is delayed. The policy will also help protect you if your personal items are delayed, lost, stolen or damaged. This includes your personal money and your passport.

There's also no need to worry if you suffer from an illness or an injury while you're away. Our Backpackers travel insurance includes personal accident cover, and will pay for emergency medical expenses if you need medical treatment abroad. Repatriation cover helps if you need to be flown back to the UK for medical reasons. We'll also provide you with legal support for any personal liability claims made against you. 

 Please see the  policy  handbook for full terms and conditions.

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Backpacker without ski

Backpacker with ski.

GP consulation service over the phone 24/7 or online video conference between 8am and 10pm to discuss your medical concerns.

Frequently Asked Questions

We know that you’re heading on a backpacking holiday to enjoy an adventure and try new things. That’s why our Backpacker insurance comes with many sports and leisure activities included, such as snorkelling, scuba diving and bungee jumping.

But, if you’re planning to take part in some high impact winter sports while you’re away, then you’ll need our Winter Sports and Ski add-on. This will cover you for adrenaline-pumping activities such as skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing. Additionally, it provides cover for things like piste and avalanche closures, and lost, damaged or delayed ski equipment.

To understand exactly which sports and leisure activities are covered by your Backpacker policy, take a look at your policy handbook  and our  sports and leisure activities  list. 

If you’re searching for travel insurance for working abroad, our Backpacker insurance could be the right fit. The policy covers non-manual work, including professional, administrative and clerical duties (although claims under the Personal liability section will be excluded).

If you’re planning on working while you’re away and you’re unsure if your job will be covered under your policy, please contact us.

Our Backpacker insurance can last for a full 365-day period, so if you’re travelling on a gap year, it may be the right type of insurance for you.

If your trip lasts for longer than 365 days, then we’ll sadly be unable to cover you. Please note that no part of a trip booked to last longer than 365 days is covered.  

To qualify for our Backpacker insurance, you need to be aged 50 or under on the day your policy is issued.

If you’re aged over 50, then unfortunately we won’t be able to provide you with Backpacker cover. But, depending on the type of holiday you’re taking, we may still be able to cover you under our Single Trip and Annual travel insurance policies, where the age limit is 80 or under and 65 or under respectively (at the time of booking). 

Our Backpacker insurance policies can protect you all over the world in multiple countries*. You can select just the countries you're travelling to, which will help make sure you only pay for the cover you need. 

Check your confirmation email to make sure that all the destinations you are travelling to are listed.

*Please note that you will not be covered to travel to a country or region that the FCDO have advised against all travel or against all but essential travel. 

The best time for you to take out Backpacker insurance is as soon as you’ve booked your trip.

Sadly, accidents do happen and there might be a reason why you can no longer travel. But, if you’ve taken out Backpacker travel insurance, you’ll have cover for cancellation. Your cover starts as soon as you buy your policy, and we’ll pay up to the amount shown in your policy documents for unused accommodation, transport, excursions and other travel expenses you have paid or will have to pay, and that you cannot recover from anywhere else.

Terms and Conditions apply.

How to ensure you have the right cover

Does your bank or credit card company provide cover.

Many bank accounts and credit cards come with some level of travel insurance cover. While some may be comprehensive, they may not cover you for everything you have planned whilst you’re away, particularly if you have adventurous plans or unusual excursions booked. 

Make sure you look into the travel insurance policy that you have before every trip, to make sure it’s suitable for you and your plans.

Purchasing a holiday using a credit card means you are often protected by Consumer Protection cover. In most cases, it allows you to get your money returned to you if your provider defaults and you cannot travel.

Are you covered by ABTA or ATOL?

If you have booked a holiday through a tour operator or travel agent, it may be worth checking if you are covered by ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) or ATOL (Air Travel Organiser’s License). This type of cover means that your package holiday is protected if, for example, the travel company providing your holiday arrangements or the travel agent themselves fail financially or close down.

Your travel agents will be able to tell you if your holiday is ABTA or ATOL protected. Alternatively, use the links provided to check your cover at home.

What is an EHIC or GHIC and what can it offer you?

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Insurance options for backpackers

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Annual Multi-Trip Travel Insurance

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Single Trip Travel Insurance

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Winter Sports & Ski Travel Insurance

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Sports & Leisure Insurance

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Backpacker insurance for popular gap year destinations

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Backpacker travel insurance for Asia

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Backpacker travel insurance for Europe

Australia Travel Insurance

Travel guides and advice

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The GHIC card explained

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The worst backpacking advice

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The world's greatest road trips

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How to go backpacking safely

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Policy documents

You'll need your policy number to submit your claim to us. This is available in your certificate of insurance which is sent to you when you take out cover. 

It's a good idea to take your policy information with you on your trip so you can provide us with all the necessary details in order for us to help.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Claims assessment

Once we receive your claim, it'll be assessed by our experienced team. 

To speed up the assessment of your claim please make sure to include all applicable information and evidence such as receipts, booking confirmations, hotel reservations and crime reference numbers. If you fail to provide all the necessary information this will cause a delay in processing your claim. 

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Your claims outcome

Once our team has assessed your claim we'll be in touch with you via your preferred contact method to confirm the outcome and inform you of any next steps.

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Make A Claim?

Policy documents.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition that we are unable cover under our own policies, you may be able to obtain an alternative travel insurance policy through one of the providers  featured in the MoneyHelper  directory  of specialist travel insurance providers for people with serious medical conditions. Do take time to study and compare the terms and conditions to ensure you have the cover you need. To contact the Money Advice Service for further details of the directory

Call: 0800 138 7777 (lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) or Email: [email protected]

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assurance voyage longue durée et tour du monde

True Traveller insurance review: one of the best and cheapest backpacker insurance for UK / EU residents

Last Update: 01/03/2024 0 COMMENT

If you ended up on this page it’s because you might need a travel insurance for your next adventure and you want to know more about the True Traveller insurance company . Well you’re at the right place!

assurance voyage truetraveller

If you have made some research online to look for the best (or maybe the cheapest ;)) backpacker insurance for your next trip, I’m sure you read about WorldNomads or SafetyWing as they are the most widely recommended on travel blogs! But in our opinion, in most situation, these travel insurances do not offer the best value for money for backpackers or long term travellers.

If you are from the UK or Europe, one of the best travel / backpacker insurance out there is definitely TrueTraveller (if you’re not from UK / EU, check out Heymondo or ACS which offer coverages Worldwide). They offer a solid range of travel coverages that you can easily customize for your needs.

So in the following lines we will review the different travel insurance options they offer and give you our opinion on the guarantees / coverage limits they have.

Who are True Traveller insurance?

Truetraveller true value: the cheapest backpacker insurance on the market, truetraveller traveller: the backpacker insurance with the best value for your money, truetraveller traveller plus: the travel insurance with very high coverage limits, alternative to truetraveller insurance for non uk / eu residents.

This page about True Traveller insurance complements our guide and comparison of the best long term travel insurance for backpackers . We hope the infos you will find in our TrueTraveller review will help you choose the best travel insurance for your needs

The story of TrueTraveller is quite an interesting one as they were not a travel insurance company at the beginning (in 2010) but a travel company specialising in adventure holidays. Since they had specific travel insurance needs for their clients, they created their own custom insurance scheme covering “more adventurous” holidays.

But eventually, the demand for their travel insurance products started exceed the demand for holiday and since 2014 they only do travel insurances! That’s the reason why they claim on their website they are “a travel insurance designed by travellers” .

truetraveller backpacker insurance

If you are wondering if they are a serious travel insurance company, their travel policy is backed by AXA Group which is one of the biggest insurance company in the world. So if anything happens during your trips, you can be sure you’re in good hands.

But now, let’s move on to the different travel coverages they offer and check which one would be the best for you. For backpackers and long-term travellers, TrueTraveller offer 3 different coverages:

  • The Traveller
  • Traveller Plus

Each one of these coverages can also be customized to your needs!

TrueTraveller coverage price in 2023

True Value is the cheapest backpacker travel insurance offered by True Traveller and was designed for backpackers under 40 . It offers a very good coverage for the most important points that every backpacker travel insurance should provide:

  • Medical expenses up to 10’000’000€ which is already really good compared to most of the other insurances.
  • Repatriation (100% of actual costs up to 10’000’000€)
  • Personal liability (1’000’000€ for bodily injury and 1’000’000€ as well for material damage)

One thing that is really cool with TrueTraveller is that the most important points are included in the base coverage but if you need some additional options, you can add them separately . True Traveller is the only insurance company offering such a level of flexibility to customize your coverage. This shows that they have a real understanding of the backpackers or long term travellers needs.

Here are the options they provide (most of these options are available for their 3 coverage levels with different expenses limits):

  • Activities : By default, you already have a lot of activities included (like scuba diving up to 18m, surfing, kite surfing…). But if you’re gonna do more “adventurous” activities, they have 3 other levels of coverages for activities going from water rafting, trekking at high altitude, rock climbing, via ferrata, parachuting, mountaineering… Just be aware that taking one of the option can increase the price substantially.
  • Winter sports : If you plan to some ski or snowboard on your trip, Truetraveller also have 2 options for that.
  • Baggage & Personal Effects : I personally think it’s great they don’t include baggage by default. You really need a travel insurance for the most important things that can put you in financial troubles (repatriation, medical expenses, personal liability)… Of course it’s annoying if your camera gets stolen but you can always buy a new one. So think twice before taking this option.
  • Valuable items : They also have an option for more expensive items like cameras, laptops, mobile phone… But my previous remark remains for this point.
  • Already Travelling : If you are already travelling, you can still subscribe to their coverage for a small additional fee.
  • Excess removal : You can pay a little extra to remove the Excess (or deductible) you have to pay by default for each claim.
  • … and a few other options

It’s definitely the most popular insurance coverage from True Traveller . First, it takes all the good things from the True Value coverage but with higher expenses limits for the important things:

  • Medical expenses up to 10’000’000€ which is more than enough in our opinion.
  • Personal liability (2’000’000€ for bodily injury and 2’000’000€ as well for material damage)

They also added some interesting options like the “Search & Rescue” which is in our opinion an important option if you plan to do some trekking for exemple.

But the most important, this coverage covers travellers up to 65 years old wich makes it in our opinion the best travel insurance for older backpackers and long term travellers (> 50 years old)

Nothing complicated here, they take everything from the Traveller coverage but with higher expenses limits:

  • Medical expenses up to 10’000’000€ which potentially covers you for anything that can happen.

Unless you think you really need higher medical expenses limits, we don’t think you need such a level of coverage.

If you are under 40, we honestly think that the True Value coverage is the best value backpacker insurance you can get for a long-term trip. Even if it their cheapest coverage, their expenses limits are already better than most of the other travel insurances on the market (you can compare for yourself here ). Starting at 29€/months, it’s really hard to beat!

If you would prefer to have higher expenses limits or you are older than 40, the Traveller coverage is the travel insurance you need. In our opinion, it’s not necessary to upgrade to the Traveler Plus coverage.

The title of this page says it all, Truetraveller is unfortunately available only for UK / EU residents. So if you’re not from one of these countries, you still have several options available.

Most of the travel blogs will recommend you to buy a WorldNomads (too expensive in our opinion) or a SafetyWing (really weak personal liability) coverage. But in our opinion, you can find better travel insurances than these ones.

One of the best value for money you can get worldwide is definitely ACS travel insurance . Their Globe Partner coverage is one of the cheapest on the market and offers a very decent coverage starting at 36€/months.

heymondo backpacker insurance for long term travels

If you want higher medical expenses limit (ACS offers 300’000€ which is ok but not incredible), you can also check out Heymondo and it’s long stay coverage (-5%) which covers you up to 2’500’000€ for medical expenses and repatriation starting around 40€ per months. But the easiest way is still to compare these coverages using our interactive table below:

That’s it for our truetraveller insurance review. As you will have understand by now, we think truetraveller offers some of the best backpacker and long term travelers insurance on the market. If you live in the UK / EU, their True Value coverage offers really good value for your money. If we would go backpacking right now, it’s definitely the travel insurance we would chose (as of 2024).

P.S.  If you buy an insurance through one of our links, you will pay the same (or even get a small discount) but we will get a small commission. This has in no way influenced what we wrote above but will help us keep creating free and independent content on this blog.

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Best travel insurance UK 2024 guide

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

We all deserve a break now and then. And the last thing you want to think of when booking your holiday is something going wrong. But it’s better to be prepared than caught off guard. That’s why you should always consider travel insurance when going on a trip.

But how can you find the best travel insurance policy for your needs? Read our guide below to find out more.

Why do I need travel insurance?

Travel insurance protects you financially if your trip away doesn’t go as planned and you incur unexpected expenses for delays, losses or medical treatment.

All travellers can benefit from travel insurance. But travel insurance is particularly important if you are going on an independent trip without a tour operator, because if something goes wrong, you will have no other help.

There are three main types of travel insurance:

  • Single-trip cover: this is the most typical form of travel insurance, covering you for a one-off trip or holiday. There will be a time limit on the cover that can range anywhere between one month and 365 days
  • Annual multi-trip cover: this allows you to make multiple trips, or have multiple holidays, in a 12-month period, all under the same travel insurance policy. There may be a cap on how long each individual trip can be
  • Long stay, or backpacker, cover: this is normally used for around the world trips, gap years, and longer cruises, and can last for up to 18 months

To find the best UK travel insurance, compare policies before you go to ensure you get the right coverage for you and the specific trip you’re planning.

How to find the best travel insurance policy

icons8-scales-96

When comparing policies to find the best travel insurance for your trip, you should consider: 

  • Type of cover you need
  • Excess (how much you’ll be expected to pay out yourself before the policy will cover you)
  • Amount of medical coverage, and why pre-existing conditions aren’t included
  • Limit on baggage claims
  • Coverage for specific sports and activities
  • Any potential rewards and discounts
  • Add-ons, such as gadget insurance

Best travel insurance deals and discounts

Looking for the best travel insurance deals from the best travel insurance companies? In most cases, the easiest way to find the best travel insurance deals is to use a comparison website. Travel insurance comparison websites let you compare costs and coverage side by side to find the best UK travel insurance.

The four main comparison websites – Moneysupermarket, Comparethemarket, Confused.com and GoCompare – also often have certain deals and discounts when you buy travel insurance from them, offering some of the best travel insurance deals on the market.

Moneysupermarket : Find the same deal for less, and it will price match and give you a choice of a £20 gift card. Only on annual travel insurance.

Comparethemarket : Two for one cinema tickets with Meerkat Movies and savings at restaurants when you dine out or order pizza in with Meerkat Meals, as well as 25 per cent off coffee and pastries at Caffè Nero every day of the week through the Meerkat app.

(In November 2023, Confused.com and GoCompare had no deals or discounts for travel insurance).

Price is obviously a big consideration when you are looking for the best travel insurance – you’ve probably already spent a lot on your holiday. But you may be able to get much better coverage for just a few pounds extra, so it’s worth scrolling down the comparison site’s list of providers before buying.

Medical costs abroad will undoubtedly be the biggest expense you face if you fall ill abroad, so don’t scrimp on those.

Then think about your next biggest expense (probably cancellation/interruption of your trip) and make sure that you have high-value coverage for that.

If you find you can get much higher coverage (the maximum amount you can claim per type of claim, such as medical or baggage) for not very much more money, go for the slightly more expensive option.

Going direct

Comparison sites won’t always find you the cheapest deals, however. For example, Direct Line offers some of the best travel insurance with Covid cover and is not on comparison websites.

Some of the best travel insurance companies also offer discounts for buying directly from them, as follows:

Bundled coverage options

When looking for the best travel insurance for your holiday, it can make sense to buy a bundle of coverage under one policy.

Comparison websites will often offer add-on gadget cover, winter sports cover or cruise cover all under the one policy. If you need that extra cover, it is typically cheaper to buy your travel insurance this way rather than as separate policies.

What is covered by travel insurance?

The best travel insurance companies will offer you comprehensive coverage across all types of claims. It’s easy to compare the best travel insurance deals using a comparison website.

Medical coverage

This covers you for medical expenses you incur if you become ill or have an accident while away. The best UK travel insurance will have a high level of medical coverage.

For example, medical coverage will pay for any necessary treatment if you come down with severe food poisoning or you fall through a window and have to be taken to hospital in an ambulance.

  • Avoid hefty bills or debt for medical assistance outside the UK
  • Access better treatment – for example, at private vs public hospitals
  • Often, as long as you declare existing conditions or pending treatment or tests, you are covered if you fall ill during your trip (check policy exclusions)
  • Even the best travel insurance companies will likely charge you more if you have a pre-existing medical condition
  • You might have to pay part or all your medical expenses first, then claim on the policy afterwards
  • Even the best travel insurance companies do not cover events that happen after you have consumed alcohol excessively or taken recreational drugs or other substances

Trip cancellation/interruption

This insurance pays out the cost of your missed trip if you have to cancel or cut your holiday short due to unforeseen circumstances.

Young woman in international airport looking at the flight information board, holding passport in her hand, checking her flight

For example, cancellation insurance would normally pay out if you broke your leg just before you were due to travel and had to cancel your trip.

Interruption insurance would cover you if you had to come home early for certain reasons beyond your control – for example, if the area you were staying in was engulfed in wildfires.

  • Money you would have lost on pre-paid, non-refundable travel expenses is paid to you under the policy
  • It can be especially valuable if the trip you are planning is very expensive, as this is money you would lose if you couldn’t go
  • You’ll usually only be covered if your trip is cancelled or cut short for specific reasons listed in your policy
  • You usually won’t be covered if you miss your flight because you are held by customs or cancel because of a work issue or a pre-existing medical condition that is not covered

Baggage cover

This insurance covers the cost of replacing your luggage if it is lost or stolen.

For example, if an airline loses your luggage in transit or your suitcase is stolen from your hostel while you’re away, you can make a claim for the cost of replacing its contents.

You may also be able to claim for costs related to baggage delay if the airline temporarily misplaced your baggage.

  • You can claim for the actual cash value of your belongings or the cost of replacing them (whichever is less)
  • High-value items, such as jewellery or sports equipment, can be very expensive to replace without travel insurance
  • Standard policies usually place per item and total limits on claims.
  • If you are taking very expensive items away, check your policy carefully to ensure that you’re covered (and potentially get a separate policy)
  • Some items could be covered by your home insurance policy, so check your policy carefully to see what is any isn’t. It’s also important to note that, should a lost item be covered by both policies, you can only claim once; an attempt to claim twice would be considered fraud

Personal liability

This insurance covers you if you are held responsible for harming another person or damaging their property.

For example, it covers you in situations where you cause serious damage to your holiday accommodation or accidentally stumble into someone else, causing them to need medical treatment.

  • The cost of defending yourself in a legal case or repairing/replacing damage could be extremely costly without travel insurance
  • Your travel insurance company will take over dealing with a foreign legal system
  • You’re covered for the cost of any compensation (up to certain limits)

Limits: 

  • Not all travel insurance provides personal liability as standard
  • Policies may exclude personal liability while you partake in adventure activities
  • Claims related to you committing a crime or damage by wilful negligence won’t be covered
  • You likely will not be covered if you admit liability or make an offer to pay before talking to your insurer

Finding the best travel insurance with Covid cover

Looking for the best travel insurance with Covid cover? Many travel insurance policies now include cancellation cover for reasons related to Covid. This often applies within two weeks of being due to travel, according to the Association of British Insurers, but individual policies can vary.

To make a claim, insurers often require proof in the form of a medically approved positive Covid test. A lateral flow test or self-diagnosis is usually not accepted.

What Covid-related cover to look for

The best travel insurance with Covid cover should include the following:

  • Cover if you can’t start your trip because you tested positive for Covid before travelling
  • Cover if you or family members cannot return home because you/they test positive for Covid during the holiday
  • Cover for additional costs, such as alternative flights, accommodation and Covid tests
  • Cover if you cannot reach your final destination during transit due to Covid-19

Travel insurance providers with comprehensive Covid cover

Looking for the best travel insurance providers with Covid cover? Most travel insurance policies now offer some kind of Covid cover, but Churchill, Direct Line, M&S and Aviva have some of the most comprehensive offerings, with cover for cancellations and expenses related to Covid.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • Covid covered as standard on travel insurance policies
  • Cover for trip cancellations if you, a close relative or a travelling companion is diagnosed with Covid-19 or another pandemic disease
  • Cover if you or a person you’re planning to stay with must quarantine (abroad or in the UK)
  • Cover if you can’t use pre-booked and pre-paid accommodation affected by Covid-19
  • Cover for quarantine or where the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) advises against travel within 28 days of departure
  • Cover for emergency medical expenses abroad due to Covid-19

Direct Line

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • Cover for travel to a destination where the FCDO is advising against all but essential travel 
  • Cover for medical expenses if you catch Covid-19 while you’re away 
  • Cover for additional accommodation and transport if you have to quarantine due to Covid
  • Cover for cancellation costs if you or a close relative get Covid-19 before you go
  • Cover for quarantine or if the FCDO changes its advice after you book your trip
  • Cover if you have to cut your trip short if the FCDO changes its country advice unexpectedly

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • Cover for emergency medical expenses if you catch Covid-19 during your trip
  • Cover for unrecoverable costs up to £6,000 if you must cancel your trip or return early, including if you have to self-isolate or quarantine before you travel due to Covid-19
  • Cover for if you need to cancel your trip due to a positive Covid-19 test or if the FCDO advise against travel to your destination in the 31 days leading up to your trip
  • Providing you haven’t travelled against FCDO advice, you’ll also be covered if you catch Covid-19 while abroad

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • Coverage of up to £5,000 per person if you must cancel your trip due to getting Covid (you’ll need to provide confirmation and evidence of a positive test result)
  • Cover for Covid-related emergency medical treatment and expenses while away
  • Cover if you unexpectedly need to quarantine, including extra travel and accommodation costs to get home (provided a return trip was booked) 
  • Cover for costs for any accommodation and excursions unused due to getting Covid where the costs can’t be recovered elsewhere
  • No cover you if you travel against FCDO advice*
  • No cover if you can’t travel because you don’t meet the entry requirements of a country (such as having had Covid vaccinations)*

* It’s worth noting that these clauses are not unusual and the majority of providers will have something similar

Tips for selecting the best UK travel insurance packages

Need some help picking the best UK travel insurance packages to make sure that you get the best travel insurance deals? Here are some tips for picking the best policy features for you.

Coverage limits

When looking for the best travel insurance companies to go with, check coverage limits. These are the maximum amounts your travel insurer will pay if you need to claim. You’ll see when you compare travel insurance policies that coverage limits vary for each type of claim and between policies.

The government-backed MoneyHelper website recommends that the best UK travel insurance should have the following minimum coverage for each type of claim:

  • Medical: £1m or more for travel to Europe and £2m or more for the US
  • Cancellation/interruption: £2,000 or more
  • Missed departure: £500 or more
  • Delay: £200 or more
  • Baggage cover: £1,500 or more
  • Personal liability cover: £2 million or more

Deductibles/excess

Deductibles, also known as the excess, is the amount you have to pay out of your own pocket before your travel insurance will start paying for your claim.

You have to make a trade-off when it comes to choosing the excess and the best travel insurance policy for you.

The lower the excess on a travel insurance policy, the better for you if you have to claim because you will have less to pay from your own pocket (or, more often, deducted from your claim).

But lower excess travel insurance policies are more expensive because the insurer knows it has more to pay out if you claim. Higher excess policies are cheaper, but you’ll have more deducted from your claim.

An exclusion on a travel insurance policy is an event the policy will not cover you for.

Common exclusions on a standard travel insurance policy may not be obvious. According to the ABTA – The Travel Association, these include:

  • Incidents that occur after drinking too much alcohol or taking drugs
  • Theft of unattended possessions
  • Sports, extreme sports and activities such as skiing, white water rafting and bungee jumping
  • Medical treatment resulting from existing medical conditions you have not declared or conditions preventable by vaccine or advisable medication, such as antimalarials
  • Medical costs if you stay abroad after your doctor says you are fit to return to the UK
  • Strikes and industrial action if it was known when you booked your trip
  • Rescheduled flights where the airline has cancelled and then rescheduled your flight
  • Travel to destinations where the FCDO advises against all but essential travel

To get the best travel insurance deals, one way around some of these exclusions is to buy add-ons for adventure activities. In addition, make sure to declare all pre-existing conditions and keep an eye out for any travel disruptions before you book.

Pre-existing conditions

Pre-existing conditions are illnesses or medical conditions you have and are aware of before you travel.

Travel insurance companies will ask you to disclose any pre-existing conditions. If you use a comparison website, it will be among the first questions you’re asked before it shows you quotes. It’s important to be honest.

Some travel insurance companies, but not all, will offer cover for pre-existing medical conditions, while others will offer cover but exclude any claims arising from that medical condition. This will depend on the person being covered and the medical condition.

Most price comparison websites include an option to show insurers who do offer coverage for pre-existing conditions, so that would be a good place to start.

The following are likely to be considered pre-existing conditions you should disclose, according to the government-backed MoneyHelper website:

  • A condition where you are on a list for an operation
  • A condition where you are waiting for test results
  • Anything you have been to the doctor about in the last year, including minor things
  • Any serious conditions you’ve ever had – for example, cancer, heart trouble, respiratory problems or a mental health breakdown

A good tip for everyone, but especially if you have a pre-existing condition, is to buy your travel insurance as soon as you book your holiday. If your condition gets worse and forces you to cancel your plans, you’ll be covered from the day the policy starts.

On family group policies, the cost will be determined based on the riskiest traveller (according to insurers), which could be someone with a pre-existing condition or an older individual. In this case, it is often cheaper for the group for that person to get a separate policy.

Add-on options

Add-ons are extras you can purchase in addition to a standard travel insurance policy. They cost a bit more, but you may find you’re not covered without them. 

Gadget insurance

This covers things that a standard policy may not, such as your mobile phone or laptop. If these items are covered, you may find the claim limits are far less than the cost of replacing them.

Close-up of a person holding a phone taking a picture of a beaut

Before you add this option to your travel insurance, check your home insurance policy, because you may already be covered.

Winter sports/adventure activities

Riskier activities, such as skiing or white water rafting, often require extra holiday insurance because insurers think that you are more likely to need to make a claim doing these things.

Winter sports/adventure activities cover is worth getting, or you may find you are not covered for medical expenses if something goes wrong.

Standard travel insurance is generally meant for land-based holidays so you’ll need to opt for a specialist cruise policy if your holiday is a cruise.

European FCDO travel advice extension

Most standard travel insurance policies are invalid if you travel when the FCDO advises against “all but essential travel”.

This add-on allows you to travel to Europe with a valid travel insurance policy, even if the FCDO has advised against it.

This can be an expensive add-on, but if you really must travel to a risky area, you will need this extension in order to make sure you have cover.

Best holiday insurance summary

Choosing the right travel insurance is an essential part of enjoying peace of mind while you are on holiday.

When looking for the best travel insurance deals, don’t just pick the cheapest policy. Instead, look for the cover limits that match your requirements. For example, baggage cover of £5,000 isn’t worth having if your baggage is worth £1,000; cancellation cover up to £10,000 isn’t worth having if your holiday cost you £2,000.

The easiest way to compare the best travel insurance is usually by using a travel insurance comparison website.

Think about the sort of activities you’ll be doing while you’re away. You may need extra holiday insurance for things such as winter sports or scuba diving or if you are going on a cruise.

Be honest about any pre-existing conditions when buying your travel insurance, or you won’t be covered if you have to claim.

The best travel insurance is a safety net for you and your family to enjoy your trip away stress-free, knowing that you’re covered for everything from medical expenses to cancellations if things go wrong.

Frequently asked questions about the best travel insurance UK packages

Is travel insurance necessary for domestic travel within the uk.

Even where medical costs in the UK are covered by the NHS, a sudden illness could lead to other expenses, forcing you to cancel your trip, the costs of which travel insurance would cover.

Lost or stolen luggage and broken gadgets or other claims for damage can just as easily occur in the UK as abroad.

What is annual travel insurance, and is it a good option for frequent travellers?

Annual travel insurance is a policy that covers you for multiple trips away within any 12-month period. It is often cheaper than buying a separate policy for each trip if you are planning to go away multiple times in one year.

Annual travel insurance is also useful if you are planning a long trip visiting several countries, as often insurers require you to buy travel insurance before you leave the UK rather than abroad mid-trip.

Are there any travel insurance companies that specialise in certain types of trips or travellers?

Specialist travel insurers cater to specific groups of people. It can make sense to seek out travel insurers that cover your needs.

Adventures Insurance, Sports Cover Direct and Snowcard tailor their travel insurance to those who enjoy activity holidays and extreme sports, for example.

Senior travellers are the focus of policies from All Clear, Avanti, Co-op Insurance Services, Free Spirit Flex, Good 2 Go Extra, Goodtogo Insurance, Saga, Staysure and Total Travel Protection.

Insurers offering business trip cover include Allianz, Direct Line, Coverwise and Insure & Go.

How do I make a claim with my travel insurance company?

To claim on your travel insurance while you are away, make sure that you take your policy number with you and the emergency number for your insurer. If you are travelling abroad, take any international numbers too.

Call your insurer as soon as you realise you need to make a claim. Keep all receipts and medical expense forms. If you are travelling with other people, make them aware of your policy details and the insurer’s phone number in case they need to call on your behalf.

To make a claim when you return home, check the following:

  • You haven’t left it too late to make a claim
  • What you’re claiming for is covered
  • The excess is not more than the value of your claim (if so, it’s not worth claiming)

Notify your insurer as soon as possible for a claim form, send it back fast and keep a copy of it. You should also include copies of paperwork to support your claim, such as receipts or medical certificates (keep copies of the originals in case your claim is queried or refused).

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Laura Miller

Laura Miller is a freelance journalist, editor, and producer. She has a wealth of consumer finance experience, having written about money matters and business for over 15 years.

During her tenure as a freelance writer, she has worked for ITN, Wired, and The Sunday Times, as well as financial institutions such as Aegon, the Chartered Insurance Institute, and Pension Bee, where she’s presenter of the Pension Confident Podcast.

Laura has previously held roles at The Times, where she was the Acting Editor of Times Money Mentor, The Telegraph as a senior finance reporter and was the co-host of the It’s Your Money Podcast, which was renowned for making complex finance issues accessible, and The Financial Times, where she worked as a News Editor. Laura has also worked at CNN, Politics.co.uk, and as a producer at Radio 5 Live.

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Connor Campbell is an experienced personal and business finance writer who has been producing online content for almost a decade. 

Connor is the personal finance expert for Independent Advisor, guiding readers through everything they need to know about car insurance and home insurance. From how much it costs to the best insurance providers in the UK, he’s here to help you find the right policy for your needs. 

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The best travel insurance for backpackers from the UK

When you’re off backpacking, getting specialist insurance is absolutely essential. Here’s your guide to finding the right cover for your upcoming adventure.

man standing on top of mountain view with orange backpack

What is backpacker insurance? 

Specialist backpacking insurance is a type of travel insurance designed to cover extended trips overseas to multiple countries. It covers a longer period of time than standard, single-trip insurance which usually covers just 30 days at a time.

Sometimes known as ‘extended trip’ insurance, the best travel insurance for backpackers provides extra cover – including vital medical coverage – for up to 18 months or even 24 months, while you’re away. It also covers a broader range of activities .

Backpacker travel insurance is ideal for long-term travellers with multiple destinations and flexible travel plans, rather than a set itinerary. There’s a wide range of cheap backpacker insurance options out there, so when you’re comparing insurance quotes, always look closely at what’s included.

two people studying map while hiking with backpacks

For example, it’s a good idea to check whether or not your backpacker insurance policy allows for the odd trip home. The best travel insurance for backpackers will allow you to interrupt your backpacking trip to head back and see family or friends, attend a wedding or help out in a family emergency. Some backpacker insurance providers don’t include this type of cover, so your policy would be invalidated if you took a quick break from your travels. 

With the rise of digital nomads, those who can take their work with them are enjoying the flexibility and freedom of working anywhere in the world. This type of trip also calls for specialist backpacker travel insurance that provides for the unexpected – medical expenses, the loss of vital computer equipment and devices, or travel delay. 

Of course, lots of travellers take on temporary work while they’re away, to help fund their globe-trotting adventures. If this is you, look for insurance for backpackers that includes working holiday cover for both manual and non-manual jobs, to cover bar, retail and clerical work. 

In this article, we’ll highlight some of the best insurance for backpackers, designed to give you all the support you need while you’re away. Read on to find insurance for backpacking adventurers – and digital nomads – that gives you the protection you’re looking for.

happy couple taking phone photo while backpacking in nature

What's the Best Travel Insurance for Backpackers?

We’ve selected a range of backpacker insurance providers, based on different scenarios and circumstances. The list below sets out our top picks for the best travel insurance for backpackers around today. These bring together good levels of cover, value for money and reliable customer service. 

Best backpacker insurance for older travellers:

The Post Office is obviously a trusted name for UK consumers and their backpacker travel insurance policy is comfortingly comprehensive. Covering accidents, lost valuable and sporting activities, there is already a lot of reassurance to be had from the cover offered by this household name. But if its familiarity alone isn’t enough to convince you, consider that the Post Office won a “Best Travel Insurance provider” award at the British Travel Awards in 2022.

person paragliding in the sunlight

Best backpacker insurance for high-octane adventures:

Younger backpackers are more likely to want to engage in those high-adrenaline activities that their older counterparts might want to give a miss. They may also be more inclined to work while away. If you envisage your backpacking trip as an action-packed working holiday, Outbacker could be your best bet. Working holiday cover comes as standard as does insurance while participating in up to a mind-boggling 230 different sports and activities. How’s that for comprehensive cover?

Best backpacker insurance for Australia & New Zealand:

If you’ve got specific geographical regions in mind for a backpacking trip there's little point in paying for worldwide cover. Coverwise allows you to tailor your policy to specific regions, avoiding, for example, the expense of paying for cover in the USA where the cost of medical treatment can significantly push up the cost of travel insurance.

man hiking in forest with backpack and view

Best insurance for backpacking family trips:

Some people never grow out of the backpacking bug and it’s perfectly possible to backpack with children in tow. If this appeals to you, then another familiar British name, the RAC, might just have the right policy for your circumstances. With Orange, Silver and Black cover levels, you can pick what’s right for your family and if you’re already an RAC member there’s a 10% discount applied to your policy.

Best backpacker insurance for flexible cover with multiple add-ons:

Sometimes your personal circumstances and the trip you’re planning may not fit into a ready-made insurance box. In these cases, you need the flexibility offered by an insurance provider such as Oasis. They can tailor a policy to your specific requirements and ensure you get the policy you need and don’t pay for things you don’t.

skiier on snowy ridge with lifts in background

Best backpacker insurance for winter sports including skiing and snowboarding:

If you enjoy winter sports, you’ll already know that having adequate insurance cover in place is absolutely essential if you want to avoid potentially astronomical medical bills when disaster strikes. Clearly the same goes for backpacking trips that might involve skiing or snowboarding. Medical travel insurance can even arrange winter sports cover for backpackers with pre-existing medical conditions, something that might suit older adventurers.

What to look for in backpacker travel insurance?

When you’re looking for the best travel insurance for backpackers, you need to be specific. You’ll want a specialist backpacker insurance policy that’s designed for longer trips abroad, across many different destinations. Insurance for backpackers should provide adequate levels of cover for emergency medical expenses; holiday disruptions; trip cancellations and delays; lost or stolen luggage; and legal fees. The policy will also help protect you if your money, travel documents or other personal belongings are delayed, lost, stolen or damaged. 

Backpacker travel insurance should also provide cover if you’re forced to curtail your trip and fly home. Personal liability cover is also included, plus additional cover for trip cancellations, and delayed or missed departure.

Many backpacker policies cover a range of more extreme sports activities as standard, such as scuba diving, bungee jumping, white-water rafting and off-grid hiking over rough terrain. This may also extend to winter sports including skiing and snowboarding. Read the small print to see if they’re included and if necessary, take out a separate cover. That way, you won’t have to think twice about taking on the more adventurous activities and challenges you’ll remember forever. 

Backpacker travel insurance should also provide for any conservation or volunteering work you might choose to take part in. Cover may also be available for natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods or tsunamis. Again, you’ll need to make sure these are included by your insurance provider. 

Equally, some backpacker insurance companies set out certain exclusions, such as treatment for pre-existing medical conditions or unattended possessions. This is particularly important for older travellers who might be living with long-term health conditions such as diabetes or high blood pressure. Keep a lookout, as policies vary. 

Always inform your insurance provider of any pre-existing medical conditions, as they’re unlikely to accept your claim if they discover you didn’t disclose full details or provided incorrect information. You may also want to check if your insurance provider offers COVID-19 protection at no extra cost.

Read on for our Best Buys and keep your travel insurance plans on track.

two girls backpacking at train platform

Why do I need backpacker insurance?

Backpacking isn’t like a two-week all-inclusive – you want to keep things spontaneous and flexible. But if you skip the insurance, or get inadequate cover that isn’t tailored specifically to this type of trip, things can go downhill fast.

When you travel, you jump out of your comfort zone and take more chances. With so many tempting adventure activities on offer, you’re likely to take a few more risks than you might do back at home. And that means you might need to make medical claims fast if you suffer a medical emergency.

Stories regularly hit the headlines featuring well-meaning – but uninsured – backpackers who find themselves in dire straits when disaster strikes. Without specific backpacker travel insurance, they’re suddenly relying on family, friends or even crowdfunding to bail them out. Emergency medical costs, emergency evacuation and repatriation can all be exorbitant when you’re abroad. 

It’s important to keep in mind that insurance is your responsibility. The UK government will not generally come to your rescue and pay for repatriation or emergency medical expenses if you’re suddenly hospitalised abroad. In these circumstances, you need solid backup with the best travel insurance for backpackers – including medical coverage – that you can find. 

As you’re planning your trip, take the time to explore the different levels of cover available from your chosen travel insurance companies. Make sure you select an insurance provider with cover that’s right for your particular travel plans.

people hiking down dirt path

Our verdict: what is the best travel insurance for backpackers?

Long-term travellers don’t always prioritise travel insurance when they’re planning their next adventure. But sorting out your travel insurance plans could save you thousands of pounds if you run into trouble far from home.

Most importantly, you need a wide range of cover for activities that are often dangerous, such as the cover provided by Outbacker and health insurance that pays for medical care when you really need it, which is where the company Medical Travel Insurance excels. For the reassurance of a well-funded, household name providing your backpacking travel cover, the Post Office policy is hard to beat.

Backpackers’ adventure travel insurance gives you security and reassurance. It’s absolutely vital if you do find yourself facing a medical emergency while you're abroad – and that initial outlay gives you total peace of mind. It’s easy to find dedicated insurance for backpackers that’s carefully designed to meet your needs, and we think the three providers above are excellent choices.

Once your cover is in place, you can set off on the backpacking trip of a lifetime, secure in the knowledge that you’ve chosen the best travel insurance for backpackers out there.

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Prices updated on 26/09/2023. We are not responsible for any changes made to the prices listed.

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Home » Budget Travel » best travel insurance

Are These The Best Travel Insurance Companies? UPDATED For 2024

Our big, beautiful world is truly vast and fascinating. Nothing can replace exploring and experiencing it first-hand and deciding to travel, was certainly one of the best decisions that I ever made. However, when we are preparing for a trip, it can be all too easy to get caught up in the excitement and forget about the boring, but seriously important little details such as checking that our passport is in date, and getting travel insurance.

But, not purchasing travel insurance can  sometimes, sadly prove to be one of the biggest mistakes a person can make. No one is immune from unfortunate accidents when traveling the world and the worst can and does happen out there. I have personally had to claim on mine several times over the years and I never take a trip without it.

If you are reading this, then you probably already know why you need travel insurance so in this post we are simply going to help you try and find the  best travel insurance  for you.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Quick Answers – Are These The Best Travel Insurance Providers?

SafetyWing

  • > Starts at $42 for 28 days
  • > Primarily for medical expenses
  • > Subscription-based payment system

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • > 24/7 worldwide assistance
  • > streamlined app for easy claims
  • > plans cover people from all over the world

World Nomads

World Nomads

  • > 2 Plans available
  • > Can cover over 140 countries
  • > Easy to purchase and customize

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

  • > Excellen value
  • > Instant payouts via e-Wallet
  • > Excellent customer service

InsureMyEquipment

Insure My Equipment

  • > From $350/500 a year
  • > Travel insurance for expensive equipment
  • > Works with other cheap travel insurance

RentalCover

RentalCover.com

  • > Only $7 – $20 a day!
  • > Affordable & easy to claim
  • > Cover any rental vehicle

InsureMyTrip

Insure My Trip

  • > For travelers over 65 years of age
  • > Allows you to compare quotes

Columbus Direct

Columbus Direct Insurance

  • > Travel Insurance for residence of the UK
  • > Offer some kickass deals

Gadget Cover

Gadget Cover

  • > UK-specific travel insurance
  • > Cover your pricey and precious electronics

Best Travel Insurance: Company Breakdowns

More of the best travel insurances, why do you even need travel insurance, travel insurance and covid, top tips for buying and using travel insurance, faq about the best travel insurance, final thoughts on the best travel insurance.

Choosing the  best travel insurance for yourself  is a matter of individual need. Each policy is different and will be more or less catered to different travelers. This in-depth review highlights some travel insurance companies that I personally used and will hopefully help you to make an informed choice regarding what type of insurance you need to cover your specific adventure.

Below I will break down the top travel insurance policies, what they cover, how much they cost, and everything else you need to know to be prepared for your next trip. I have organized each of the best travel insurance reviews by category to try and make finding the right cover for your unique, personal needs that little bit more easy and straightforward. For example, will you need medical evacua tion coverage or gadget insurance?

Each company will be examined and broken down by the following details:

  • General Overview of the travel insurance
  • What may the travel insurance cover ?
  • What are the cons of travel insurance?
  • How much does the travel insurance cost?

#1 SafetyWing – Excellent Medical Insurance for Travelers

SafetyWing is a budget, easy-to-use and overall good travel insurance that is meant to be used primarily for medical expenses. With affordable rates, a very convenient payment system, and some notable perks, SafetyWing is a great choice for those who need flexible medical insurance while traveling. It is cover intended for long term travelers who don’t really need much in the way of trip interruption or cancellation cover which makes it ideal for Digital Nomads , and slow travel budget backpackers.

SafetyWing uses a subscription-based payment system , wherein travelers pay for insurance on a monthly basis, as opposed to all at once in the beginning. This method of payment can be easier on a backpacker’s wallet, especially when you consider that rates can be as low $42/month.

graphic image promoting SafetyWing insurance for digital nomads with girl sitting by the pool with laptop

Of special note is the fact that SafetyWing may even offer you some medical coverage in your home country ! This means you can visit home for the holidays, a breather, a family reunion, whatever, and may still receive medical support. This sort of provider coverage is unheard of in travel insurance and makes SafetyWing really stand out from the rest. I can personally vouch for how user friendly Safety Wing are, the policy can be set up within minutes, cancelled just as easily and I found their online support to both fast and thorough in their responses.

Convenient monthly subscription model.

Can cover medical expenses when overseas.

Evacuation repatriation, and trip interruption.

Limited medical coverage in home country – 15 days out of 90 for Americans and 30 days out of 90 for everyone else.

Limited travel insurance perks stuff like baggage, disaster-relief, and travel delays.

No coverage for personal electronics e.g. computers, phones, cameras, etc.

How Much Does a SafetyWing Policy Cost?

SafetyWing can cost as little as $42 for 28 days! Compared to some private medical insurance policies, which can cost hundreds of dollars, SafetyWing has definitely earned its spot as a cheap travel insurance.

SafetyWing’s monthly premium varies depending on a set of factors, most notably the age of the applicant. You will also have higher premiums if you visit the USA (probably due to the shitty American healthcare system). Each quote is made on a case-by-case basis though, so we suggest that you go and make your own at the official SafetyWing website . We’d still consider SafetyWing to be one of the best holiday insurances as well as one of the cheapest.

In some cases, you will need to make a co-payment at treatment e.g. $50 when being admitted to Urgent Care. Be sure to consult the policy packet for more details on this.

Need help deciding between Safety Wing or Hey Mondo ? Check out our helpful guide.

#2 My Global Shield – Bargain Cover

My Global Shield is a travel insurance product that focuses on the specific needs of long-duration, frequent, and special-purpose international travelers.

My Global Shield provides insurance coverage tailored for international travelers, students, immigrants, and others. They offer a range of comprehensive options including visa traveler medical insurance, visa health insurance, visitors insurance, international travel medical insurance, trip insurance, and study abroad insurance??.

MyGlobalShield

Some specific coverage details include medical coverage for accidents or illnesses while outside one’s home country, travel coverage for travel delays, lost checked luggage, emergency response, natural disasters, and personal liability. The medical coverage extends to hospital room and board, intensive care unit costs up to the overall policy limit, and local ambulance services. 

Their policy prices are very reasonable but in terms of downsides, they don’t seem to offer a multi-country “backpacker” cover at this time.

Competitive prices on cover

Plans available for short or long trips

COVID-19 coverage included

Serves travelers from most countries in the world

Not offering multi-country/backpacker policies

Some high risk activities not covered

How Much does My Global Shield Insurance Cost?

Prices vary depending on where you are going and when as well as the travellers age, health and all kind of factors. However My Global Shield do offer some good, competitive rates of cover including a 4 week premium cover that starts at $23.52.

#3 Heymondo – Effective and Efficient

Heymondo are up-to-date when it comes to combining travel insurance with technology for a quick and easy experience. What truly sets them apart is their assistance app offering a 24-hour medical chat, free emergency assistance calls and incident management. How reassuring is that?! They also have a complication-free way to make a claim straight from your phone. No deductibles are also an added bonus.

Medical expenses are covered up to $10,000,000 USD so try not to damage yourself anything over that amount… If you’d like travel insurance that operates with that little extra swiftness and ease, give these guys a go.

24/7 help-line for medical chats, free emergency assistance calls and incident management

plans available for long, short-term and annual multi-trip travel

COVID-19 coverage included in each plan

Serves travelers from any country in the world

Baggage/personal property, travel disruption are NOT covered in the medical insurance plan

You’ll have to pay extra for more “extreme” activities such as white-water rafting, deep water sports, high altitude trekking, mountain biking, horse-riding etc…

How Much does Heymondo Travel Insurance Cost?

Each Heymondo insurance policy is customizable by date, countries you want coverage for, length of trip, and what type of plan you go with.

Here’s an example price quote for a person taking a 4-week trip to Europe from the USA.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

There you have it. Heymondo offers coverage up to higher amounts compared to other insurance companies, but may be a little more expensive. It may not be the best for adventure activities, as you have to pay more for those, but overall, we find Heymondo to be great value for money with the premium plan being our top pick (you get a lot more for a little extra money).

The price above INCLUDES our exclusive 5% off pricing for Broke Backpacker readers.

#4 World Nomads – The Travel Insurance for Backpackers

We’ll go ahead and save you some precious time and energy: World Nomads travel insurance  has been designed by travelers for travelers, with coverage for more than 150 activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more.

world nomads insurance banner

World Nomads provides travel insurance in over 100 countries and if you leave home without travel insurance or your policy runs out, you can easily buy or extend while on the road – and that’s a big bonus!

World Nomads Travel Insurance Plans

World Nomads keeps it pretty simple. There are two plans to choose from: the  Standard Plan  and the  Explorer Plan . Depending on your country of residence, age, and travel destination(s), the prices will vary accordingly.

For the full list of what is covered under each insurance plan  click here .

How Much does World Nomads Travel Insurance Cost?

Good news! Each World Nomads insurance policy is customizable for each person. You can choose the exact dates and countries you want coverage for, and bam, you’re insured! Easy. Price is determined by your age, intended destination(s), length of trip, and what type of plan you go with.

#4 Faye – The Next Generation of Travel Insurance

Faye Travel Insurance provides whole-trip travel coverage and care that brings out the best in each journey with industry-leading technology that enables smarter and smoother assistance with faster  claims resolutions. Their app based travel insurance covers your health, your trip and your gear all via an app that provides real-time proactive solutions, quick reimbursements and 24/7 customer support.

Travel insurance from Faye

If you ever do need to make a claim, then you simply log in to the app and the claim will be assessed super quickly from anywhere in the world!

Best of all, if the claim is successful then the funds will be immediately credited to the smart wallet on your phone or device and ready for you to spend.

In summary, we have tried and tested a lot of different insurance policies and we have never found anything one like this. The only downside we have found so far is that they can only offer cover to residents of 43 US States although there are plans to go nationwide in the future.

100% Digital Travel Insurance

Get a quote in 60 seconds

24/7 customer support

Quick claims processing – potential payouts within hours

Pre-existing condition & COVID-19 coverage included

Available in the US only

Not the cheapest provider

#5 World First – Good Cheap(ish) Travel Insurance

World First is provides excellent budget travel insurance for UK residents (and they only cover UK residents). Whether you are going on a short trip or a  multi-month odyssey, World First offers a decent policy coverage starting at just a few bucks a day.

I appreciate how many different aspects of a trip they cover. Similar to World Nomads, World First offers coverage for a medical emergency, trip delay, lost or stolen cash and gear, legal advice, and dental treatment.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

As is the case with budget travel insurance, the coverage benefits are somewhat limited (and I will cover that in the cons).

If you are looking to buy cheap travel insurance to buy yourself some travel protection, or you just need to appease your mother by obtaining insurance, buying World First travel insurance is a great choice.

Sometimes the best travel insurance for you, is the cheapest travel insurance.

Can be tailored to your own needs, budget, and intended activities.

The “Platinum” policy option can cover personal belongings up to £4000.

Maximum excess charge is just £50.

Poor dental coverage.

The reimbursement in case of death is minimal.

Only available for UK residents. Sorry…

How Much Does A World First Insurance Policy Cost?

The example below is for a 2-month trip to the USA for someone 25 years of age.

world first insurance comparison - one the best cheap travelers insurance

For a little over £1.16 a day you can have decent travel insurance. That’s awesome! For what you get in return, World First is an excellent coverage option and certainly one of the best travel insurance providers for budget backpackers.

Once again, Travel Insurance Terms and Conditions do vary from time to time and depending on the individual. Make sure you read the policy T & C’s very carefully.

#6 Insure My Equipment – Best Travel Insurance for Covering Electronics

Insuremyequipment.com is a website providing comprehensive travel insurance for expensive equipment (like camera gear). You can get specific pieces of gear insured so you know exactly what will be covered. I have had separate cover for my MacBook for years now and was very glad that I had it when the Mother board blew back in 2018…

Ok so an Insure My Equipment  policy works well in combination with another cheap travel insurance that covers medical expenses. That way you can have the best of both worlds; Completely protect your expensive electronics as well as yourself.

night best canon travel lenses

Insure My Equipment policies are excellent for professionals and backpackers with more than $3000-$4000 worth of camera equipment.

Offers the option to insure equipment that is rented or owned For owned equipment, there is a $750,000 maxlimit.

Easy to set up and clear about what is covered.

Good customer feedback.

No medical or trip protection benefits.

Not ideal for the average backpacker: Insure My Equipment specialize in protecting high-end gear.

How Much Does an Insure My Equipment Policy Cost?

Each policy offered by Insure My Equipment is tailored to the items and coverage you need.

The best way to find out travel insurance prices for your gear is to build a custom quote on their website. That way, you can find out what the insurance costs are in relation to your own equipment.

For insuring several high-end cameras lenses, a laptop, and other electronic bits, you are looking at between $350/500 a year.

Remember, Travel Insurance Terms and Conditions do vary from time to time and depending on the individual. Make sure you read the policy T & C’s very carefully.

#7 RentalCover.com – Vehicle Insurance for Travelers

Ever had a small accident on the road that turned into an expensive and nightmarish holiday? So have we. We know the pain of interrupting your travels to deal with your rental company, the repair mechanics, and your bank all at once whilst staying in a dodgy motel because you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere. There goes your holiday (sigh).

That’s why if you plan on renting a vehicle , we suggest you arm yourself with car rental insurance for your travels! You’ll avoid being stuck in a very unpleasant situation and will not only save time but also heaps of money, and most importantly, frustration.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Our top pick for rental car insurance for travel is RentalCover.com . Heard of them before? They’re super affordable and easy to purchase and claim from – what you see is what you get, so you can sit back and relax knowing that they’ve got your back.

RentalCover.com is a global independent rental insurance provider that may be able to cover any rental vehicle (cars, 4x4s, motorhomes, minibuses, etc.) from any rental company, anywhere around the world. That’s not all. On top of this, RentalCover.com may be able to cover everything excluded by rental companies. This includes, but isn’t limited to:

All these benefits make RentalCover.com our top pick for car insurance for backpackers on the market.

Policies around $10 – $15 a day.

Valid claims usually paid within  3 business days .

Policies all have  zero excess . If you’re in trouble, they refund you – end of the story.

Customizable policies to cater to every traveler.

Unfortunately, some rental companies don’t yet recognize them and insist you buy THEIR cover.

Only insures the car, not you and not the rest of your trip.

How Much Does RentalCover.com Policy Cost?

RentalCover.com policies cost only $7 – $20 a day on average depending on the destination, the vehicle type, and the driver’s age. Their price is a lot cheaper than the ones we’ve seen at the rental desk, which usually charge you around $15 – $30 a day. Also, as everything’s covered, you’ll get every penny back on what you’ve spent on repairs.

We’ve gone over all of the main travel insurance companies of 2022 already, but there are a few more unique ones that need to be mentioned as well. For a more specific travel insurance, choose from these ones:

#8 Insure My Trip – Travel Insurance for Older Travelers

For travelers over 65 years of age, Insure My Trip is one of the travel insurance companies on the market.  Their website allows you to compare quotes and prices from various policies so that you can easily find the one that works for you. If for some reason you are unhappy with a plan you have purchased, you may be able to get a refund.

Overall, consider a specialized senior travel insurance to enjoy your travels fully.

#9 Columbus Direct Insurance – Travel Insurance for Ozzies and Kiwis

These guys offer some kickass deals on backpacker travel insurance for residents of the UK. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, be sure to read the terms and conditions thoroughly before taking up the insurance.

insurance for travels

#10 Gadget Cover – Electronics Travel Insurance for UK Residents

Well, that didn’t last long. We’re back with another UK-specific travel insurance specifically for protecting your gadgets and electronics.  Cover your pricey and precious electronics while on the road. Particularly suited for people who take numerous trips per year, returning to the UK often. Gadget Cover’s Total Transparency Manifesto  makes understanding their policies plain and simple.

To us travelling with a proper insurance seems like a no-brainer, but we had to learn the hard way as well. You might be thinking:

  • Why do I even need travel insurance?
  • Am I wasting my time thinking about travel insurance?
  • Is it important anyway?
  • Where did I leave my goddamn keys?

We can answer three of those questions.

Let’s be honest. None of us wants  to pay for travel insurance. That said, nobody wants to lose a ton of money in general… and that can easily happen when you are on any given backpacking adventure.

air evacuation covered by the best travel insurance provider World Nomads

Buying travel insurance is an investment and a safety net to guard against the unplanned craziness of traveling. Maybe you won’t use it on your first trip, or your second, or third, but you will eventually need it, and you’ll want to be ready.

Whilst hunting for the best travel insurance can be a pain in the ass, don’t worry, we have done all of the hard work for you (including learning lessons the hard way).

Things that happened to The Broke Backpacker team on the road…

  • My backpack was stolen with all worldly possessions inside.
  • Needed stitches in the head after crashing a motorbike in Thailand.
  • Strikes in Bucharest meant getting stuck in traffic for hours and missing a flight.
  • Spending two weeks in a hospital in Costa Rica after nearly dying in the jungle.
  • Needed to go on an IV in Pakistan after being sick for days.
  • Dengue fever in Thailand and grounded for a week in a clinic; there was no hospital nearby.

We want to point out that this all happened over nearly a decade of traveling the world. Most of the time, when you travel, nothing goes wrong. But it only takes one poor decision, a misjudged bend in the road, one sneaky-bastard thief, or plain bad luck to change everything.

A question we often get asked is whether you can buy travel insurance after departure . The answer is yes!

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Drink water from ANYWHERE. The Grayl Geopress is the worlds leading filtered water bottle protecting you from all manner of waterborne nasties.

Single-use plastic bottles are a MASSIVE threat to marine life. Be a part of the solution and travel with a filter water bottle. Save money and the environment!

We’ve tested the Geopress  rigorously  from the icy heights of Pakistan to the tropical jungles of Bali, and can confirm: it’s the best water bottle you’ll ever buy!

What Makes a Good Travel Insurance Policy?

When trying to decide what the best travel insurance company is for you, you need to first assess your own needs. Every type of trip and traveler requires a different level of travel insurance. What may be the best travel insurance for you might not be best for the next person.

You’ll need to start asking some questions about your planned destination and what you may be doing whilst your backpacking there.

best travel insurance for hikers in patagonia

  • Do you have high-end electronics you need to protect?
  • Are you traveling to a dangerous country with the potential for civil unrest, political strife, or armed conflict?
  • Do you plan on undertaking risky activities abroad like skiing, mountaineering, or rock climbing?
  • Are you traveling long-term and just need basic protection?

Once all of these questions are answered, you can start looking for the right travel insurance for your travel needs. And let us tell you, simply going for the cheapest one might not cut it for everyone…

When COVID-19 first rocked the world in 2020, most travel insurers were quick to invoke their cancellation clauses and pull all cover relating to either illness, cancellation or disruption caused by the pesky pandemic.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

These days, most insurance providers are offering some form of COVID insurance coverage included within their policies, but some are more useful than others. Whilst many now cover hospitalisation caused by COVID infections, fewer are offering any kind of cover for disruption or cancellation such as being refused boarding on a flight for displaying symptoms, or having to cancel your trip because of a positive test.

Whilst the pandemic has largely subsided, COVID is still able to severely disrupt travel plans. Therefore do consider paying close attention to the finer details of any insurers COVID-19 cover.

There are some tips and tricks when purchasing a travel insurance. To make sure that you won’t have to go through all the hassle we went through, we’ve listed our insider knowledge below.

How to Make a Claim on your Travel Insurance Policy

This is the best piece of advice we can give you: if you need to make a claim, get all your documents in order as soon as possible.

If you have been robbed you will need a police report. In general, getting a police report tends to vastly speed up payment on your claim. Most insurance companies require a report.

Keeping receipts of all the valuables you take traveling is a really good idea – the insurance company will want to see that you actually bought the items in the first place before they payout.

You need to be patient when it comes to actually getting paid as even the best insurance companies sometimes drag their feet. If the first offer that the travel insurance company makes you is ridiculously low then dispute it – the second offer is usually a lot better.

Temple Street Night Markets

Point being, the more documentation you have regarding the items you are traveling with, the better. It’s not a bad idea to have a date-marked picture of all of your stuff before setting off on a trip.

If you do have expensive electronics, register the items with the company. That way, you can easily look up the exact model you had before you broke/lost it. If registering the equipment isn’t an option, write down the serial numbers or barcodes and stash that information somewhere safe. Jotting down the serial numbers of your phone, laptop, and camera might seem tedious and a bit overkill, but you should only have to do it once. If the time comes when you actually need that information on hand, you’ll sure be happy to have it.

Declaring Pre-Existing Conditions

First off, read all of the fine print of any travel insurance policy you buy. Almost all insurance companies will not issue payment for medical treatment you receive as a result of a pre-existing condition. If you have a pre-existing medical condition, then you should seek out recommended travel insurance that will cover you with full knowledge of that condition.

If you make a claim with a travel insurance company and they uncover your medical history (which they inevitably will), they will most-likely declare your insurance void and you will be stuck with the bill.

Insurance companies will usually do anything to avoid paying you. Having a secret pre-existing medical condition that you fail to report is a sure way to get your policy nullified. Be honest. Read the fine print. Do your homework on what is covered and what is not (especially with regard to pre-existing conditions).

Do everything in your power to ensure you get paid by the insurance company when you need to be.

Still have some questions? No problem! We’ve listed and answered the most commonly asked questions below. Here’s what people usually want to know:

Do I need travel insurance?

Yes, you do. Whether it’s a short trip or a long one, it’s better to be safe than sorry. You never know what could happen.

What is the best travel insurance for long-term travellers?

Long term travellers might have a harder time finding the right insurance. Luckily, Alpha Travel Insurance offers the best coverage for being on the roads for a long time.

What is the most reliable travel insurance for backpackers?

We can only speak from experience and we’re more than happy with the services of World Nomads travel insurance.

How do you make a travel insurance claim?

If you need to make a claim, the most important thing you need to do is have all of your documents ready BEFORE you reach out to them. That means police reports, receipts, personal information, etc.

Nepalese Hospital Care

Shopping reviews for the best travel insurance is nobody’s idea of a good time. That said, it does pay to research prices and policies and find the right company that will cover all of your needs whilst not breaking the bank.

Travel insurance is just one of those things that we would never travel without. Whichever company you end up traveling with, get to know the policy intimately. Read it yourself very carefully. We can’t emphasize that enough! The more you know your insurance policy, the more you will know about how and when to use it. Make sure you read the policy T & C’s very carefully.

As I have said before, my favorite go-to travel insurance is  World Nomads . They are affordable and may be able to insure backpackers for 100+ countries. For many travelers, World Nomads is a great company to go with.

We sincerely hope that you stay safe whilst having amazing adventures over the course of your traveling career! Happy travels… see you down the road. If you’re insured.

World Nomads provides travel insurance for travelers in over 100 countries. As an affiliate, we receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is information only and not a recommendation to buy travel insurance.

best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

And for transparency’s sake, please know that some of the links in our content are affiliate links . That means that if you book your accommodation, buy your gear, or sort your insurance through our link, we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you). That said, we only link to the gear we trust and never recommend services we don’t believe are up to scratch. Again, thank you!

Aiden Freeborn

Aiden Freeborn

Are These The Best Travel Insurance Companies? UPDATED For 2023 Pinterest Image

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best backpacker travel insurance reviews uk

Thank you for sharing your insights on the best travel insurance.

I was wondering if you had any recommendations for companies that also include coverage in your home country. My husband and I have quit our jobs and are planning internationally for 6-8 months; Since we are no longer covered by our employers, we are trying to figure out how to get primary health coverage at home in addition to travel coverage – any suggestions?

Sorry, but we are not familiar with personal health insurance policies in specific countries. We can only offer advice for travel insurance. cheers

I was going to register the domain insuremycrap.com

You beat us! :p

You didn’t mentioned but the First Allied has $250 Excess. From the policy:

Section C: Medical Expenses Conditions

1. From each claim shall be deducted USD 250 being the amount of the Excess under this insurance.

Yes, you are correct. Thanks for the additional info.

Three years ago I bought travel Ins for first time ever in case luggage was lost. After buying airline ticket, bought travel ins on same website. I got sick abroad. AIG paid urgent care, tests, hospitalization 4 days, medicines, upgraded my airline ticket from coach to first class, provided nurse to travel with me from abroad to Los Angeles, wheelchair at airports, car pick up at both ends of trip, faxes, calls, portion airline ticket coach I did not use,.. Took 2 months to process full claim but I got excellent service for $50 travel insurance.

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  1. Best Backpacker Travel Insurance of 2024

    The policy costs £641.41 and levies an excess of £95 on each successful claim. It offers £3,000 in cancellation cover, £1,500 for baggage and belongings, £500 for gadget cover as standard.

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    Columbus Direct - Globetrotter (up to 20.8% cashback) Post Office - Backpacker Travel Insurance (up to 16% cashback) InsureandGo - Black (up to 16% cashback) Virgin Money - Backpacker Black or Gold (up to 11.2% cashback) We created our list of the best backpacker travel insurance policies using an independent financial review service that rates ...

  3. Best Travel Insurance for Backpackers (Updated 2024)

    After being abroad for 90 days, you keep your medical coverage for 30 days in your home country (15 days for US residents) Best for digital nomads and frugal travelers. Their standard coverage costs just $45.08 USD for 4 weeks of travel outside the United States (for travelers aged 10-39, plus a $250 USD deductible).

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  5. The Best Backpacker Travel Insurance

    Backpacker insurance from the Post Office cost a whopping £1,038, £838 from Flexicover and Voyager, Leisure Guard and Sports Cover Direct also had very high prices. Interestingly, none of these providers offered competitive policies despite costing more than double their competitors….

  6. The BEST Cheap Backpacker Travel Insurance (UPDATED 2024)

    Up to $10,000,000 USD in coverage. Various plans to choose from. A review of Heymondo insurance will prove it's a company leading the pack when it comes to combining travel insurance with technology. Unlike Faye, they actually cover travellers from anywhere, not just from the USA.

  7. What is the best travel Insurance for backpackers from the UK?

    World Nomads Standard. £193. Explorer Travel Insurance Gold. £101. Post Office Economy Backpackers. £140. The above figures are based on a 22 year old British traveller with no serious underlying health conditions visiting Thailand in August and September 2023.

  8. Best travel insurance UK 2024: companies and polices rated

    All Clear travel insurance - Platinum. 79% policy score - joint 7th out of 161 policies rated. We like: All Clear was the highest-scoring medical specialist insurer in our analysis. Its policy covers outbound, connecting and returning flights that you miss because of delays.

  9. The Best Backpacker Travel Insurance

    2. Safety Wing — An option for long-term backpackers. Nomad Insurance by Safety Wing is an insurance product underwritten by Lloyd's. The Nomad Insurance policy includes medical coverage up to ...

  10. True Traveller Insurance Review: The Best Backpacker Insurance for UK

    It's very easy to get a quote on the homepage of the True Traveller website. Below is the quote I got— £392 for a one year True Value worldwide policy (including the US). The three quotes I was given by True Traveller for a one year worldwide trip for a 35-year-old. We usually chose the True Value backpacker insurance.

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    Get the best backpacker travel insurance & compare quotes for the trip of a lifetime. Protect yourself during your extended stay! ... 4.9 out of 5 240,571 reviews. ... The GHIC The GHIC is a type of free health insurance for UK residents that covers health care at state-run hospitals when visiting Europe.

  12. Compare Backpacker Travel Insurance Quotes

    We compare quotes from 39[1] trusted travel insurance providers so you can find great cover for your backpacking trip, at an affordable price. Compare extended trip insurance for backpackers today and get a quote in minutes. [1] Correct as of December 2023.

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    To contact the Money Advice Service for further details of the directory. Call: 0800 138 7777 (lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm) or. Email: [email protected]. Ensure your journey with Allianz Assistance's backpackers and gap insurance. Dive into adventure confidently and get your backpacker travel insurance quote today.

  17. True Traveller Insurance Review: best backpacker insurance for EU

    True Value is the cheapest backpacker travel insurance offered by True Traveller and was designed for backpackers under 40. It offers a very good coverage for the most important points that every backpacker travel insurance should provide: Medical expenses up to 10'000'000€ which is already really good compared to most of the other ...

  18. Best Backpacking Travel Insurance in 2021: Complete Travel Insurance

    SafetyWing: A newer travel insurance company created for digital nomads and frequent/long-term travelers. An incredibly affordable option for backpacking travel insurance for both short trips and annual plans, with plans starting at under $2/day. Covers COVID-19 more comprehensively than most plans, including quarantine.

  19. Best travel insurance UK 2024 guide

    Get 20 per cent off annual European travel insurance for your first policy, and 10 per cent off if you have another insurance policy with the provider. LV. 15 per cent discount when you buy travel ...

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  22. 9 BEST Travel Insurance Companies (2024 Roundup)

    SafetyWing can cost as little as $42 for 28 days! Compared to some private medical insurance policies, which can cost hundreds of dollars, SafetyWing has definitely earned its spot as a cheap travel insurance. SafetyWing's monthly premium varies depending on a set of factors, most notably the age of the applicant.

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    Annual multi trip travel insurance. Get cover for up to 31 days abroad per trip, for travellers aged up to 74. If you're planning to be away longer, you can pay extra to extend your cover to 45, 60, or 90 days. Trips in the UK are covered too - as long as you've pre-booked accommodation for at least two consecutive nights.