Insurance for Individuals

Individual Independent Travellers Insurance

Adventure Travel

Independent travellers decide where they're going and what they want to see - not the tour operator.

Online travel specialists such as Travelbag (an arm of ebookers) can help you plan your round-the-world route if you're unsure about how to get from A to B.

Just click on the destinations you want to visit and they'll price your flights online TravelBag.co.uk.

To whet your appetite, here's an example of one of Travelbag's Global Explorer itineraries -

London>Rio De Janeiro>Santiago>Easter Island>Papeete>Auckland>Melbourne>Singapore>Bangkok>Bahrain>London

Just as you can save money by planning your own holiday online, you'll find cheaper travel insurance deals on the web, too - in some cases up to four times cheaper.

Whether your 21 or 81, male or female, able bodied or disabled more and more of us are spreading our wings, to far-off places such as Tibet or the Australian Outback.

While younger people can buy travel insurance online with ease, it's less straightforward for the more age challenged, especially if they plan activity pursuits.

Harrison-Beaumont

Investigate specialist cover from companies such as Harrison-Beaumont HBinsurance.co.uk.

Flexicover

Flexicover Direct is proud of the fact that its products embrace senior citizens and OAPs. Age, they say, is just a number and both their single trip and annual multi-trip travel insurance policies accept customers up to the age of 80.

Visit them on Flexicover.co.uk.

Saving money and tailor making your holiday experience will book you exactly the holiday you desire

Shopping around online also for cheaper insurance quotes will help to ensure you can get-away with the minimum or worry and maximum peace of mind.

Adventure Travel

With the explosion in cheap flights and adventure travel holiday packages both younger students and backpackers and older travellers alike are all chasing a piece of the action.

As an independent traveller you may have time to spare between term times, have taken early retirement or even a career break.

Whether your 21 or 91, a man or woman, able bodied or disabled you will be wanting to spread you wings, visiting to exotic and unusual places such as Tibet or the Australian Outback.

Long-Haul Flights

But long-haul flights to faraway places bring their own health hazards, not least the threat of Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT).

Then there's hepatitis, malaria, typhoid, yellow fever and cholera, to name just a few tropical nasties - so check with your doctor or pharmacist about current vaccination requirements.

Travel poses sexual health risk

Many young people have unprotected sex with someone new while on holiday. It's one of the main reasons for the rise in sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the UK.

Chlamydia, syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital herpes... they're all on the increase.

The British Medical Journal reported that between 2000 and 2002, around 70% of men in the UK who acquired HIV from heterosexual sex were infected while abroad.

Around 1 in 5 syphilis cases in men were from sexual contacts abroad and 9% of people with gonorrhoea reported sex abroad in the preceding three months.

The statistics are terrifying, particularly when you realise that the number of UK residents travelling abroad has increased by over a quarter since 1997.

Boots the Chemist's website recommends the following steps to reduce the risk of catching a sexually transmitted disease -

Use a condom. Condoms provide a barrier between yourself and your partner that blocks the spread of STDs, as well as reducing the risk of unwanted pregnancy.

Take your own condoms with you on holiday and make sure they're branded with a British Standard Kitemark or European CE mark, which means their quality is strictly assured.

Remember to check the expiry date of your condoms before you take them with you. Don't use any that have passed their expiry date.

Boots.com stock a range of approved condoms. Boots.com for more information.

Avoid sex with multiple partners and avoid sexual activity that may cause a condom to split.

If you use a lubricant, make sure it is water-based such as KY-Jelly, as oil-based lubricants can damage the rubber in condoms. Click on Lubricants for more information.

Worldwide travel cover

Worldwide travel insurance is necessary if you're jetting off to faraway places, regardless of whether you're birdwatching in Brazil or backpacking in Australia.

'Worldwide' includes Australia and New Zealand but excludes the USA and Canada.

'Worldwide including USA and Canada' simply means the whole world.

Single trip or annual multi-trip travel insurance are unlikely to cover you for an extended trip over 90 days. You'll need long stay cover - The terminology varies - Discovery, Worldwide, Gap Year, Student Backpacker... you get the drift.

Direct Line's policy for this type of break is called 'Discoverer' and covers under 55s taking extended trips of 3 to 18 months. Directline.com

You can buy holiday travel insurance from a host of providers - travel agents, tour operators, insurance brokers, banks, building societies, supermarkets, the Post Office, credit card companies or direct from insurers.

You can buy it any old way you please - over the counter, 'Direct' by phone, snail mail (post) and/or over the web @your computer.

But do shop around - there's a huge range of products and suppliers out there so be choosey when deciding the best insurance cover and price for you.

According to Wanderlust magazine WanderLust.co.uk for decent travel insurance for 12 months worldwide expect to pay anything between £250 - 450. There's a huge difference between the two prices.

Just remember that a cheaper policy may offer less protection, so caveat emptor. In other words, missus - buyer beware...