Suitable travel insurance important for backpackers

A travel agent is urging backpackers to ensure they have suitable travel cover before heading to exotic locales.

Travel Insurance News - 25/08/2008

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Trailfinders is offering advice that is in line with recently published research from the AA, which has reported that the average backpacker’s pack contains around £450 worth of possessions, including valuable electronics such as mobile phones and MP3 players.

The travel agent also recommends that in addition to theft cover, a backpacker's insurance should have specialized medical cover, such as a 24-hour medical hotline, which is more suitable for adventure-based and travel to remote destinations than traditional medical cover.

"A backpacker traveller is a very different type of traveller to someone who is on a two week holiday in Europe," the spokesperson for Trailfinders added. Not only are the destinations often more likely to present additional risk, but it is often more difficult to get needed assistance in remote areas.

"Backpackers tend to go to more remote locations, will make more use of local transport, and are a bit more adventurous and therefore need a very different type of policy to someone who's been to a five-star hotel for a few days in the middle of a major city within Europe."

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