Home visits are allowed if your policy duration is 4 months or more. There are no limits, you can come home as many times as you like, for as long as you like.
0333 003 3161
Where do you live
All persons to be insured must reside at a permanent address within the EEC ( Excluding Switzerland, Russia, Belarus, Montenegro and the Ukraine) to be eligible for cover.
Can I take out this insurance if I am already travelling?
When cover is purchased after an Insured Person has departed their home to commence their journey, there is a fixed period of 48 hours prior to cover commencing. Any illness arising during this initial 48 hour period will be an excluded Pre-existing Medical Condition. In the event of serious injury in connection with an accident, you will be covered from the date you take out cover subject to the accident being independently witnessed and also verified by a Medical Practitioner.
IMPORTANT
There is no 14 Day Cooling off Period and no premium refund will be made if the insured Person has already travelled.
family
family family
Definition of a couple
A couple is defined as 2 adults who have been permanently living together at the same address for more than six months, who intend to travel together.
If you do not qualify as a couple, please select individual(s)
Annual Multi-Trip Durations
Annual Multi Trip policies are designed for multiple short holidays leaving from and returning to your home country.
Annual Multi Trip trip limits:
Standard policy - 30 days
Premier policy - 70 days
If you need continuous cover for a year (home visits allowed on policies over 4 months long) select Single Trip or One Way. You can travel around as much as you like, to as many different countries as you like, with a Single Trip or One Way policy.
One Way Trip
Please note a Single Trip policy can cover travels with no return ticket booked, a One Way policy is intended for:
Emigrating to new country where you intend to permanently live
Or
Returning to your home country permanently
All cover ceases upon arrival at final destination
Trip Type
Select the type of policy most suitable for your needs.
Single Trip:
A flexible policy with no limits on how many countries you visit or how long you’re away for. Suitable for all types of travel whether it be short term/long stay or backpacking. No return ticket required and unlimited home visits offered on policies over 4 months long.
One Way Trip:
Means you are Emigrating to a new country where you intend to live permanently or, returning to your home country permanently. Cover will end upon arrival at your final destination. Please note: There is no cover for emergency return travel expenses if you do not have an original return ticket.
Annual Multi-Trip:
This policy covers an unlimited number of trips throughout the 12 month Period of Insurance. Each trip has a maximum stay validity depending on the type of policy chosen. For example, for Standard Policies, the maximum duration of any trip shall not exceed 30 days and for Premier policies, the maximum duration of any trip must not exceed 70 days.
If you are already travelling it is not possible to purchase the annual multi-trip policy.
Geographical Areas
Europe:
Europe means the continent of Europe West of the Ural Mountains, and includes the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, Iceland, Jordan, Madeira, the Canary Islands, the Azores and Mediterranean Islands as well as all countries bordering the Mediterranean.
Australia & New Zealand:
a) For any period of cover purchased, a 48 hour stop-over anywhere in the World for both outward and return travel will be included.
b) If the period of cover purchased is two months or more, a stop-over of 7 days/nights anywhere in the World will be included.
Worldwide excluding North America & Mexico:
(North America means the USA, Canada & Mexico.)
a) For any period of cover purchased, a 48 hour stop-over anywhere in the World for both outward and return travel will be included.
b) If the period of cover purchased is two months or more, a stop-over of 7 days/nights anywhere in the World will be included.
Worldwide including North America & Mexico:
Worldwide means anywhere in the World including the USA, Canada & Mexico.
To
Automatic Trip Extension
If the Insured Person is prevented from completing their travel before the expiration of this Insurance as stated under the Period of Insurance on the Booking Invoice or Validation Certificate (as applicable) for reasons which are beyond their control, including ill health or failure of public transport, this Insurance will remain in force until completion but not exceeding a further 31 days on a day by day basis, without additional premium.
In the event of an Insured Person being hijacked, cover shall continue whilst the Insured Person is subject to the control of the person(s) or their associates making the hijack during the Period of Insurance of a period not exceeding twelve months from the date of the hijack.
Please ensure you arrange cover for the entire duration of your travel
Where you normally reside
Where do you normally reside? Where do you normally reside?
Please use the drop down box to choose your country of residence. Note we can only insure residents of the UK & EEA Countries.
Can I take out this Insurance if I’m already abroad?
If you are normally a resident of the UK or EEA Countries and your insurance has run out, you may take out cover online with us. This is on the understanding that nothing has occurred at the time of taking out the cover which has led to a claim or may lead to a potential claim. Note you cannot take out our Multi-Trip Insurance if you are already abroad.
Do you have minimum residency requirements?
No. If you are, for example, a British Passport holder and have right of abode in the UK, we are not concerned as to how many months in the past year you have been in the UK provided at the time of arranging this insurance you have a UK residential address.
Age Restriction Error
We are unable to quote, Please ring our Offices on 0333 0033 161 for further assistance.
Working while abroad
Non manual/clerical work including bar and restaurant work is covered for free, if you'll be volunteering, WWOOFing or partaking in any sort of manual labour - our Activity Pack can cover you.
Extend cover from Overseas
If at any point you realise you're not quite ready to return home, you can extend your insurance to include the remainder of your trip. Even if you don't have a Policy with us.
Available when already abroad
You don't need to be in your Home Country to get cover, you can buy a policy from anywhere in the world, as long as you're residential status is still in the UK or EU.
Home Visits covered
If policy duration is over 4 months: You can put your travels on hold and return home at any time, even if it's not necessary and you're just a bit homesick. We have no limits, so you can be back for as long as you like.
No return ticket required
You don't need to know when you'll be returning home to get cover. So if you're on an open ended trip, have no return ticket booked or emigrating, we can cover you.
Cover for 156+ Activities
Whether you'll be scuba diving, mountain biking, jet skiing, bungee jumping, sky diving or kayaking. Our Activity Packs can cover various levels of adventurous sports.
64 Activities covered
FREE!
24 hour Emergency
Helpline
Up to £10m Medical
Cover
Claim while still
travelling
Backpackers Travel Insurance
Whether you are a student in your gap year or an adventure traveller spending an extended period travelling around the world or living abroad for a few months, backpackers travel insurance is essential. It provides peace of mind that if something happens to you, like an accident, illness, loss of baggage, theft, cancellation, travel delays etc, you will be protected.
Our backpacker insurance can be taken out for up to 24 months and covers over 70 sports and activities as standard. These can be extended by opting to include our additional Activity Pack or Extreme Activity Pack, meaning you'll be covered for a wide range of additional sports and activities, such as black water rafting, paragliding and sky diving. Winter Sports can also be covered with one of our Winter Sports add-ons. You can find out the full list of sports we cover here.
What’s more, if your policy runs out you can easily extend it online and even buy a new policy if you are already travelling uninsured. Oh, and if you get homesick and would like to come back to see the folks, you can do that too, if your policy is over 4 months long you can come home as many times as you like for as long as you like. Don't forget your gadgets & valuables, we provide cover for those too!
Key Features of Backpacker Travel Insurance:
- Emergency Medical and Repatriation Expenses up to £10 million.
- Emergency Dental Cover.
- Cover duration of up to 24 months.
- Baggage Cover
- Gadgets & Valuable Cover
- One Way Travel.
- No return ticket requirement.
- Free Home visits.
- Policy Extensions whilst still travelling.
- 156+ Sports and Activities.
- Winter Sports Cover.
- Loss of Passport & Visa replacement costs.
Some more information:
To add any of our Activity Packs, just follow the Quote form - to stage 3 - there you will find all of the optional extras.
Non-manual/clerical work is covered automatically with a Big Cat policy. So, there’s nothing you need to add to be covered for things like teaching, caring or nursing.
With the Activity Pack, we can also cover work of a more manual nature. This can include things like WWOOFing, partaking in community or wildlife based conservation work, charity based supervised building / renovation projects or other permitted manual work (defined below).
Cover is excluded for any activity that involves the use of industrial machinery (other than tractors) or non-domestic power tools.
Yes, bar work or working in a chalet is automatically covered with all of our policies.
WWOOfing is classed as Permitted Manual Work, so with the Activity Pack, you’re covered.
(see above)
Means WWOOFing, fruit picking, casual farm work. Other Manual Work can be covered as long as it does not involve the use of plant/trade/industrial/agricultural machinery (other than tractors) or non-domestic power tools.
Please get in touch if you'd like to find out if we can provide cover for any light manual work you will be doing.
Decide Canada’s not for you, and want to return earlier than your full period of insurance?
Other insurers will tell you to wave goodbye to your money, but Big Cat lets you claim a partial premium refund for the unused time you didn’t stay in Canada.
How does the EARLY RETURN REFUND work?
Let’s say you buy a 24-month policy to cover your time in Canada. But after nine months, you decide that Canada’s not for you, and you want to return home. You may have invested a substantial amount for your 24 months Big Cat policy, most of which you’ll now no longer need. Unlike most insurers, Big Cat is happy to offer you a partial refund on the redundant portion of your insurance as a fair’s fair consolation. Please note that travel insurance premiums are not calculated on a pro-rata basis, as such, no refund is calculated in this manner either.
How does Big Cat calculate the amount of EARLY RETURN REFUND?
We take the length of time of the original policy and subtract the actual amount of time you have used, and payout the difference, deducting a £50 Cancellation Charge.
Are there other conditions that apply to my EARLY RETURN REFUND?
- Only applicable to 24 month IEC policies.
- We are not able to offer refunds to cover the first 6 months of the policy.
- No refund can be given on a policy where a claim has been made or is likely to be made prior to the cancellation of your Big Cat policy.
- You must be back in your home country and notify us by email of your wish to cancel the policy within 14 days of your arrival, please also provide us with proof of your return to the UK (flight ticket / e-ticket / boarding pass).
- All refund calculations are based on the base premium paid only. Add-ons are non-refundable.
Can you give an example of how much I could receive back in my EARLY RETURN REFUND?
Say you took out a 24-month budget IEC policy costing £525.24, then you wish to cancel the policy after 9 months. Our 9-month budget IEC policy costs £312.55. So we deduct £312.55 from £525.24 = £212.99
Then we apply the £50 Cancellation Charge, refunding you a total of £162.99.
If you get sick while travelling or you're seriously injured you are covered for emergency medical treatment including:
- Hospitalisation
- Ambulance costs
- Surgery and follow up treatment
- Visits to the Doctor
- Repatriation
- Prescribed Medicine
- Emergency dental treatment to relieve pain and suffering (limited to £350)
24hrs Medical Emergency Assistance.
Big Cat Travel Insurance Services, a trading name of Flynow.com Ltd (registration No.FRN 745388) is an Appointed Representative of Campbell Irvine Ltd (registration No.306242) who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You may check this on the Financial Services register www.fca.org.uk or by contacting them on (0) 800 111 6768. © 2023 Big Cat Travel Insurance Services. All rights reserved.
