Gap Year Travel Insurance: How to Stay Covered for a Year Away

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When I quit my job in London, I sold my bicycle and a pair of speakers, packed a backpack and flew to Bangkok. I travelled through Southeast Asia with my brother before settling in Indonesia. I had no fixed plan, which was the whole point. I wrote about that leap in the leap that changed everything.

No fixed plan is great for adventure. It is terrible for insurance. Here is how to choose gap year travel insurance that keeps up with a year that will not go the way you expect.

Why normal travel insurance often fails a gap year

Most travel insurance is built for holidays. Single trip policies usually expect a return date. Annual multi trip policies often limit each trip to a few weeks. A year of slow travel fits neither, and that is how people end up uninsured halfway through Vietnam.

What to check before you buy

1. The maximum length. Make sure the policy can cover your whole trip, and check what happens if you want to stay longer.
2. Changing plans. Can you change route without telling the insurer? Can you stop the policy early if you come home?
3. Trips home. Many gap years include a wedding or Christmas at home. Check whether a visit home ends your cover or pauses it.
4. The USA and Canada. If they might be on your route, check the limits and the price difference.
5. Your activities. Surfing, diving, scooters, trekking and snow sports all have conditions. My guides on surfing, scooters and snowboarding cover what to look for.
6. Existing conditions. Most travel policies exclude health problems you already had. Get anything that worries you checked before you go.
7. What is not covered. Mental health, dental care and routine checkups are often excluded. Know where the gaps are.

How Genki Traveler fits a gap year

I use Genki for my own cover because it was built for people who are rarely at home. Under the current Genki Traveler conditions:

• It is open to people from any country, up to age 69 when cover starts.
• It covers unexpected illness and injury worldwide for up to 12 months, up to €1 million.
• You pay monthly and can cancel online any time after the first month. If you come home early, you can stop paying.
• In your home country, cover is limited. You are only covered for emergencies that start within 6 weeks of arriving, after at least 4 weeks away.
• For the USA and Canada, you choose the region. The limited option only covers emergencies that start within 7 days of arriving there.
• If you buy it once you are already abroad with no previous cover, only emergencies are covered for the first 14 days.
• Mental health care, preventive care and dental care except after accidents are not covered.

Your price depends on your age, your start date and your region. You can check your gap year price on Genki in a few minutes.

Staying more than a year?

Many gap years turn into a new life. Genki Traveler stops at 12 months. If you are building a life abroad, read travel health insurance vs international health insurance to see when a long term plan makes more sense.

Gap year checklist

• Start your cover on the day you leave, not the day after.
• Save your policy number and emergency contact offline.
• Check the WHO travel advice and your vaccinations.
• Read the official foreign travel advice for each country on your route.
• Read the 5 mistakes people make when becoming digital nomads if you plan to work on the road.

Go and have your year

A gap year is one of the best things you can do for yourself. Plan the insurance once, properly, and then forget about it until you need it. If you are heading to Indonesia, read my guide to travel insurance for Bali.

Photo by Arphy on Unsplash.