This page provides a summary of the gap year travel insurance cover we provide. For full details of the cover, limits, terms and exclusions, please read our policy documents.

Cover type

Level of cover

Covers included as standard

 

Baggage

If replacing lost or damaged luggage, we always replace new for old, without reductions for wear and tear. We can replace or repair lost or damaged items, or make a cash settlement based on the replacement cost.

Our standard baggage limit for Gap Year Travel Insurance is £1,000. This can be increase to £2,500.

Cash, travel tickets and documents

If any cash or travel tickets are lost or stolen while travelling, we will reimburse you up to a total value of £500 (with a cash limit of £200) as standard. This can be increased to £1,000 (with a cash limit of £300).

Cancellation

If you need to cancel your holiday prior to your trip we will reimburse the cost of the transport, accommodation and other irrecoverable costs you have had to pay. We provide £2,000 as standard. This can be increased to £5,000.

Curtailment

If you are forced to cut your holiday short, we cover unused travel and  accommodation costs, and reasonable additional travel costs incurred. The standard limit of £2,000. This can be increased to £5,000.

Political unrest and natural catastrophe evacuation

If you are caught in political unrest or a natural catastrophe while travelling outside the UK, Security Exchange is on hand to help. They will assist your evacuation to a safe destination, including on-the-ground response and rescue if required, and we will cover the costs.

Travel delay

If you experience delays when travelling, for example as a result of bad weather, strike action, or mechanical breakdown of your transport, we will pay £50 per 12 hours of delay (up to a maximum of £250).

Financial failure protection

If you book flights and accommodation that are not part of a package, then under some travel policies you will not be covered if your provider goes bankrupt. Our financial failure cover means that if your airline, accommodation, or excursion provider becomes insolvent, we will pay irrecoverable costs paid by you in advance, or any reasonable additional costs you incur as a result to a maximum of £5,000.

Missed departure

If you miss your departure, for example because of a vehicle breaking down, we will pay up to £1,500 for any reasonable additional accommodation and travel expenses you incur in reaching your booked destination.

Travel disruption

If your travel is disrupted, we will pay up to £5,000 towards irrecoverable travel and accommodation costs or other expenses that you have paid (or are contracted to pay) including reasonable additional travel and accommodation costs incurred as a result of the disruption.

Loss of passport or driving licence

If you lose your passport or driving license while travelling, we will pay up to £500 to cover the cost of replacing these documents.

Legal expenses

£25,000 of legal cover as standard.

Emergency medical expenses

If you require emergency medical care, or medical repatriation to the UK while travelling, we will cover the costs up to £10 million.

24-hour emergency medical assistance service

In the event that you need emergency medical attention, and/or you have to cut your trip short, you should contact our emergency medical service for advice and assistance.

Personal liability

If someone makes a claim against you for injury or damage that you unintentionally cause to them or their property, we will cover your legal liability for damages, defence costs and expenses up to £2 million.

Excess

The policy excess of £100 applies to all parts of the policy apart from: travel delay, personal accident, legal expenses, financial failure protection, political unrest and natural catastrophe evacuation and additional hospital benefit that are exempt from any excess. The excess is applied per person per incident subject to a maximum of two excesses per incident per section
360 Assistance As a Hiscox policyholder you will have access to global security and medical information including real-time emergency alerts. Country by country information includes useful contact points, recommended vaccinations supported by 24/7 helpline.
Stranded Traveller Once you register your flight and passenger details, our system will monitor international departure boards. Should your flight be delayed for more than 2 hours, we will send an access code to your phone for the airport’s Executive lounge. With a network of more than 500 airport lounges around the World, we aim to ease the strain of an unexpected delay.

Optional covers

 

Winter sports cover

You can choose to extend the policy to include any unused portions of lift and resort passes, ski school, and equipment hire if you have an accident, are ill, or if your pass is lost or stolen.

Other activities

We cover a wide range of sporting activities including skiing, sailing, scuba diving, white & black water rafting, kite surfing and even elephant trekking as standard.  In fact, all the activities listed as Level 1 or 2 within our Sports and activites chart are included. 

If you have even more adventurous plans such as heli-skiing, flying or bobsleigh you can add them for modest additional premium. These and other activities are listed as Levels 3 and 4.

Working or studying abroad

Cover for work abroad can be added. This extends the existing cover to include non-manual and some manual activities, up to £1,500 for portable business equipment such as laptops and cover for tuition fees in the event you have to cancel or curtail your period studying abroad (limit £2,000).

Pre-existing medical conditions

We provide automatic cover for a range of pre-existing medical conditions.  

We can extend cover for other conditions and our medical team can discuss the options with you. This confidential service ensures we provide the right cover for your needs.  

We strongly recommend that you do not travel abroad without full emergency medical cover.