Cover Your Back -- Cover Your Backpacking

Top travel insurance provider Direct Travel Insurance re-launches improved Backpacker product.

(PRWEB) March 30, 2008 -- Top travel insurance providers Direct Travel Insurance have recently realigned their Backpacker insurance product to suit their customers' needs, now providing 90 days cover from just £16.97. With Backpacking now more popular then ever, spreading awareness of the necessity of travel insurance has never been more important.

All Backpacker policies also include their brand new Talking Nurses service at no additional cost. The recently launched telephone helpline offers peace of mind to customers, with qualified nurses available to talk about any non-emergency medical queries, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The re-launch of their Backpacker policy has been timed in order to target the typical backpacker types -- students. This is the time of year when students start looking forward to how they will spend their summer, with end-of-year exams looming and freedom just around the corner, and backpacking has never been more popular -- Direct Travel Insurance reveals there has been a 42% increase in Backpacker policy sales, based on year on year comparison of sales for January 2007-January 2008.

Direct Travel Insurance stress the importance of remembering Backpacker insurance, as this can prove vital when travelling away from home for long periods of time -- even if personal belongings are not a concern, medical problems could always arise.

Students may be put off by the perception of high costs, yet this is not often the case with Backpacker insurance. For example, Direct Travel Insurance's £16.97 Backpacker cover provides insurance for up to 90 days in Europe, which works out at less than 19p a day -- not a lot to pay when you consider a medical bill could spiral into a 5 figure sum. Direct Travel Insurance's technical advisor Sasha Coates reports how "a recent claim for a traveller who was taken ill with pneumonia in the USA came to £175,000 after he developed complications. £44,000 of that was for an air ambulance. And with around 50% of our claims relating to medical problems, it seems clear how important travel insurance is".

Backpacker travel insurance can also include some things one may not expect. As well as the Talking Nurses service, Direct Travel Insurance's Backpacker policy includes a 24 hour emergency assistance number, a travel advice service, extendable cover, cover for over 100 sports and activities, and a permissible UK return of up to 14 days. So although the cost is low, there is a wide range of benefits included. Travellers beware though -- some Backpacker insurance policies may not always provide adequate cover.

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