Expert: Students are underinsured

Thu, 06 Sep 2007

Gap year students are "unwittingly underinsured" by when they take out travel insurance, it has been claimed.

Founder of gapyear.com Tom Griffiths has spoken out to make sure students are aware of the dangers they face on their gap year if they are not covered properly by their travel insurance .

People "unwittingly take risks" on holiday and will hire a moped with a large engine that they are not covered for, Mr Griffiths has said.

Scuba diving can cause another problem, with some travel insurance policies only covering diving up to a depth of 18 metres, he added.

According to Mr Griffiths, the quality of travel insurance is more important than taking a cheaper option.

"I think it's less about getting the budget option as opposed to the brilliant option; it's about what you include in your policy and what you don't include," he remarked.

Figures from gapyear.com show that a quarter of students embark on their year out with inadequate travel insurance or none at all. The average spend on a gap year taken by people aged between 18 and 24 is £3-4000.

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