Older Travellers more likely to take a Gap Year

Recent research by Post Office Travel Insurance, according to the International Travel Insurance Journal, has found that in the UK more people in their late fifties are considering taking a GAP year than students are.

The research shows that only 1 in 5 college leavers in the survey were considering taking a gap year compared to 1 in 4 of those over 55. This lower number of students taking gap years could be as a result of increased University tuition fees, as reported in our previous news article: gap year travel insurance.

Sarah Munro, head of travel insurance at the Post Office suggested that: ‘age should not be a barrier to for people wanting to experience different cultures, but grey gappers must take out adequate cover’ she went on to explain that ‘if you’re going abroad for an extended period of time, the most vital areas to be insured for are medical treatment, repatriation in case you need to be flown home and cancellation in case you fall ill and are unable to travel’

Responsible Travel Insurance is designed with long stay trips and other sabbaticals such as gap years in mind. Each trip can last a maximum of 15 months and is available to purchase up to the age of 64 (at the age of departure).

Responsible Travel Insurance provides the following benefits:

• £10m – Emergency Medical Treatment including repatriation
• £5,000 – Cancellation or curtailment
• £2,000 – Baggage
• £1,000 – Missed departure and Journey Disruption

If you are older than 64 or have pre-existing medical conditions and are planning a long stay trip then you may want to consider our Able2Travel product which could potentially provide long stay cover for your individual circumstances up to the age of 69.

Author: Adam