Travel insurance advice given to gap year students

Recent events in the travel industry including the collapse of a Canadian tour operator and mooted strikes by British Airways have highlighted the need for gap year students to take out insurance.

Ed Perkins, writing for SmarterTravel.com, said that he would also advise people to take out trip-cancellation cover for any time that people make a big upfront deposit or prepayment.

"You need to protect yourself against complete loss of deposits and prepayments if the supplier fails. Examples of shaky suppliers include tour operators - sometimes even relatively big ones - and perhaps some small airlines," he advised.

Mr Perkins also told gap year students that they need to protect against their own uncertainties, for example, loss of deposits and prepayment penalties in the event that a person has to cancel due to sickness or other unforeseen events.

Richard Oliver, chief executive of Year Out Group, said that only the prospective gap year student can judge whether their placement is right for them, advising that plenty of research should be done before travelling.

For more information on gap year planning.

( Last Updated: 2010-03-05 09:20:00)