|
|
|
 |
| Press Release Archive |
| |
|
Insurers get D minus on gap year cover for students: |
|
|
Date: Thursday 26 June 2008
|
|
| Students looking to take time off with a gap year could between them shell out £59m* more in travel insurance than is necessary, warns Brian Wright, Managing Director of Karmainsurance.com. |
|
| Karma sourced worldwide travel insurance costs for a 19 year-old (leaving in August and returning July 2009) and found the difference between its quote of £160.25 and the highest, £455 from specialist student travel agent STA Travel, was a staggering £294.75, nearly three times more expensive. ‘Student-friendly’ insurer Endsleigh quoted the second highest premium at £444.50. |
|
| Brian comments: “It’s predicted around 200,000 post A Level students and graduates will pack their bags this year and Government statistics reveal around a quarter will have no insurance. Given the sky-high premiums being offered by the majority of gap year insurers, I’m not surprised. |
|
| “I award insurers a D minus for their profiteering. Cover should be accessible to all and we will only do this by making premiums more affordable. The average cost of a gap year is around £12,000 and studies from banks show only one in five students saves to fund their trip. Parents are left to foot the bill for the remainder and I worry, that in the current economic climate, insurance could fall off their radar with so many other financial commitments.” |
|
| Traditional gap year providers offer cover for cancellation, missed departure, curtailment, medical expenses, personal liability, cash and baggage, but this says Brian, is outdated and not enough. “Policies should reflect the growth in popularity of sports termed as extreme or hazardous and cover accordingly. Equally, they should recognise that people may be visiting remote regions and provide search and rescue cover, plus protect the cost of trips that are independently arranged.” |
|
| Karma’s insurance includes some 240 general, extreme and hazardous sports, such as; trekking in remote or mountainous areas, white water rafting, canoeing or kayaking, trail running and riding, snow surfing, tobogganing, bungee jumping and the latest water sport, wakeboarding. |
|
| It provides a search and rescue facility, either via the local emergency services or funded privately through the insurance, and offers complete traveller protection against failure of an airline or transport provider, hotel or accommodation supplier or car hire firm to honour a pre-booked agreement. Vital if there are no bonded travel agreements in place which is usually the norm for gap year students. |
|
| Brian continues: “Online insurers do not have the traditional overheads, so there’s no excuse for not passing on their savings to customers. Also they should be broadening their horizons and offering more substantial cover. South America is a popular destination, yet it‘s one of the most dangerous, so why do so few providers offer search and rescue? |
|
| “I fear students are getting ripped off – especially those who are misled into buying their insurance from round-the-world ticket providers. They may feel they’re saving money on their ticket, but this cost is usually offset by exorbitant insurance prices and probably a big commission.” |
|
| Brian concludes: “The long-held theory ‘pay more and you get better quality’ no longer rings true and our research proves this. Insurers need to move up a gear, take less profit to make insurance accessible to all and design products that better meet the needs of gap year students. If I was Ofsted investigating their products, I would place them in ‘special measures’. |
|
|
 |
|
|
|
home |
about us |
press release archive |
partner info |
contact us |
ecology |
legal |
links |
sitemap |
|
|
|
|
Why Karma -
e-commerce at it's best
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Remember
|
| The average family throws out six trees in packaging and waste paper every year – please respect our environment and be green by example, only print this information and attachments if you have to. Thank you. |
| Every £100.00 you spend with Karma helps the World Land Trust to conserve our environment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
