Why backpackers shouldn't opt out of travel insurance | We Are ...

Click the selector to translate the page! When you?re young and healthy, backpacking in exotic, foreign lands is a siren call for the adventurous soul. You see places the ordinary holiday traveler never sees. You meet fascinating people living in villages and towns far off the normal path.

Start With a Basic Travel Policy

All this can be done because you?re young and strong and all the various extremities work reasonably well. However, a tumble down a ravine or a misstep on a rock can change that situation in a flash. Because of unforeseen maladies or accidents, backpackers need to look at insurance options to pry them out of tough spots. If nothing else, it will save your mum from paying out a fortune to see your face again.
First, a basic travel insurance package will cover irritations like cancelled flights, broken equipment and stolen cash. These coverages are suitable for ordinary holiday travelers visiting places like Barcelona and Paris. Backpackers should pay for this coverage because it?s likely they will pass through a large city before embarking toward their ultimate destination. Stuff happens in big cities.

Sea and Air Rescue Riders

The first consideration for backpackers is to have a plan to be found if lost. That means planning a route and checking in with a trusted friend or relative at various intervals. Accidents do happen. Falling down an escarpment and breaking a leg will likely stop expected check-ins with friends. Now you will be considered missing and a Sea and Air Rescue (SAR) operation must be alerted and sent to find you. SARs are extremely expensive. Basic travel insurance will only cover a day or so of an SAR operation. After that, a parent or friend must foot the bill to cover an extended SAR. For this reason, you should pay for an SAR rider to the insurance policy. This will keep the choppers flying and medical help standing by.

Ransom is a Deadly Business

Backpackers need to pay special attention to the areas they plan to hike. Some spots are inhabited by people who?aren't?nice and don?t partake in afternoon tea. These bad characters can include kidnappers, pirates, rebels and insurgents. They see UK tourists as big, fat birds to pluck for ransom.

Ransom is not fun, and the kidnappers consider it serious business. You could be shot dead if a ransom?isn't?paid. That?s what happened to three Australian backpackers who were killed by Khmer Rouge communists in Cambodia after a gold ransom?wasn't?paid.

If you?re heading into an area that?s politically unstable, you should buy a kidnap, ransom and extortion rider and attach it to your travel policy.

Medical Evacuation Riders

Last, backpackers should buy enough medical insurance to cover any medical situation. Medical stays in top-notch facilities in foreign lands are expensive. These medical riders should include medical evacuation to another facility that can effectively treat whatever malady or injury you may suffer. These policies can also offer a medical flight back to the UK.

In the end, backpackers should take responsibility for their well-being while in foreign lands. Besides your mum, nobody will care more about you than you.

Also on WeAreTraveller:?Backpacking - The Thrilling Way to Travel

About author: Mathew Gills is a well?traveled?backpacker who's spent many years?jet-setting?around the globe! He's visited the likes of Africa, Europe and Canada to name a few. Matt always?recommends?you get backpackers insurance?as he's had to rely on multiple occasions.

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Source: http://www.wearetraveller.com/2013/01/why-backpackers-shouldnt-opt-out-of.html

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