Saturday, July 30, 2005 :: Chris
Long stay travel insurance
If you're doing a round the world trip and are away from home for more than six months, it can be tricky finding travel insurance providers who offer suitable cover. You need someone who a) knows what a backpacker is, b) is willing to cover you for moving between countries and c) will cover you for the entire duration of your trip. Over the last three years, I've bought year long policies from UK insurance brokers COE Connections, Insure And Go and most recently, Navigator Insurance. Insure And Go certainly has the slickest website, but Navigator has the best policy for long term travellers - they will cover you for up to 18 months, if I remember correctly.

If you are considering scuba diving on a regular basis during your travels, I strongly recommend you get dedicated diving insurance from DAN (Divers Alert Network). Most bog standard travel insurance policies now include cover for diving, but it's a tack-on, and if you have a genuine emergency (i.e. requiring a hyperbaric chamber and/or hospitalisation) the costs can be phenomenal. So the extra cash on DAN's services provide a lot more peace of mind that you'll get expert help if something should go wrong.

I have never had cause to claim on any of my policies, and therein lies the rub: I can't recommend any of these companies on the quality of their customer service at the crucial moment.

However, I have had first hand experience of the necessity of insurance through close friends who have contracted nasty infections whilst travelling. They weren't insured and the subsequent hospital bills were hefty. Without wanting to be alarmist, there are simply thousands of ways you can get sick overseas that you can't possibly anticipate - despite the best precautions, bad luck sometimes cannot be avoided. Spending a few hundred quid on protecting your health - and your bank balance - is a tedious but necessary part of any travel preparations.

More on travel insurance:
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Disneyland With A Death Penalty

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A journal about living and travelling in Thailand by Chris Mitchell, a British travel writer based in Bangkok, Thailand.

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