Many young travellers see
travel insurance as an 'obligation' and are unaware of its benefits, the founder of travel website gapyear.com said on Friday.
Tom Griffiths, chairman of gapyeartravel.com, argued that many young people see themselves as 'indestructible' and don't spend enough time researching the need for travel insurance.
According to the company, 25 per cent of young travellers set off on their journey underinsured or not insured at all.
Mr Griffiths said many gap year travellers, of which there are about 320,000 between the ages of 18 to 35, assume that as long as they don't undertake risky activities they won't need insurance.
'But the reality is, most of the claims are for things like people falling off a curb,' he said.
'We had an example of someone who fell off a curb in Barcelona and broke their ankle. They weren't insured. It's the little things that will add up.'
The chairman of gapyeartravel.com also pointed out that many travellers take unwitting risks: travelling in a moped might be fine in terms of insurance but larger and more powerful ones could make a difference.
Make sure to be insured before you set off on your travels, whatever your age, call or check online for great value deals on
travel insurance.