All persons to be insured must reside at a permanent address in the United Kingdom.
If you purchase cover after leaving the United Kingdom having started your trip, a 48-hour waiting period applies before your policy becomes active. For cover to be valid, the “Already Travelling” extension must be shown on your Booking Invoice or Validation Certificate. Illness that develops during this 48-hour period will not be covered, as it will be treated as a pre-existing medical condition. However, if you suffer a serious accident during this time, you’ll be covered straight away, provided it is independently witnessed and confirmed by a medical professional.
Please be aware that once you’ve started travelling,
the 14-day cooling-off period no longer applies and premiums are non-refundable.
family
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 policies are designed for multiple short holidays leaving from and returning to your home country.
Annual Multi Trip trip limits:
Standard policy - 35 days
Premier policy - 90 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.
Important Information
By selecting the "one-way" travel option or traveling without a pre-booked return ticket to your home country, note the following exclusion:
Curtailment, Section D: Return travel expenses to your home country will not be covered in the event of a curtailment claim if you do not have a valid return ticket to your home country.
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.
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
The maximum allowable policy duration is 731 days. Please adjust your travel dates to proceed.
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 United Kingdom.
Can I take out this Insurance if I’m already abroad?
If you are normally a resident of the UK Country 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.
We are unable to quote, Please ring our Offices on 0333 0033 161 for further assistance.
Non manual/clerical work such as working in an office, bar/restaurant work or teaching English as a foreign language is covered automatically. If you'll be volunteering, WWOOFing or partaking in any sort of manual labour, like working on a farm or conservation work our activity pack add-on can cover you..
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. Just follow the Quote form to get a price and complete your purchase.
If your policy is over 4 months you can put your travels on hold and return home at any time should you feel the need. We are happy to offer completely unrestricted access back home even if you’re just feeling a little homesick! We have no limits, so you can come back for as long or as short as you like!
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.
You don't need to know when you'll be returning home to get cover. So if you're on an open ended trip, or emigrating, we can cover you.
Whether you'll be scuba diving, jet skiing, bungee jumping, sky diving, trekking above 2,500m or kayaking. Our Activity Packs can cover various levels of adventurous sports.
Gap year travel insurance is specially designed for young people between school and university, or those between graduation and the start of a new career. It also includes anyone of working age taking an extended break from their normal life to embark on an adventure abroad, typically 12 months or more.
With international travel increasingly affordable, every part of the world is within reach and the possibilities are as limitless as your imagination. If you need to subsidise your travels along the way, check out working holiday visas in some of the countries you wish to visit. If you fancy volunteering, there are many worthwhile schemes that assist and enrich the local populations in poorer countries in return for free food and board.
Or if you’re just into partying on a beach or getting up to crazy stuff, that’s cool too. But whatever you do, make sure you have the right Gap Year travel insurance in place to keep you safe and secure.
Big Cat’s backpacker travel insurance policies are designed for gap year travellers, backpackers, students, and people of all ages up to 69 years embarking on an extended trip abroad. We offer three great-value levels of cover - Budget, Standard and Premier - to suit your budget and the extent of the cover you require.
If you get sick while travelling or you're seriously injured you are covered for emergency medical treatment including:
24hrs Medical Emergency Assistance.
Riding a motorbike or scooter up to 125cc does not require an Activity Pack add-on.
Riding a motorbike over 125cc can be covered with our Activity Pack add-on.
If you are a pillion passenger on a motorcycle tour, such as the Ha Giang Loop, this is covered automatically and does not require any Activity Packs or any relevant licences.
When riding, you must always ensure you:
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.
WWOOfing is classed as Permitted Manual Work, so with the Activity Pack, you’re covered.
(see above)
Yes, bar work or working in a chalet is automatically covered with all of our policies.
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.
To add any of our Activity Packs, just follow the Quote form - to stage 3 - there you will find all of the optional extras.
Temporary return to home country (Single trip policies only) Where cover has been purchased for a total duration of 4 months or more, and you want to return to your home country during the period of insurance for any reason that is not directly or indirectly caused by arising or resulting from, or in connection with a claim under this insurance all cover under this policy will be suspended from the time that you clear customs in your home country and restarts after the baggage check in at the international departure point for the return flights, international train or ferry to the overseas destination. Any illness, disease, injuries, accidents which existed, showed symptoms or were diagnosed in the previous trip(s) during this period of insurance will not be covered in the restarted period of insurance.
Big Cat Travel Insurance is a trading name of Flynow.com Ltd (registration No.FRN 1022075) who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. You may check this on the Financial Services register at www.fca.org.uk or by contacting them on (0) 800 111 6768. © 2026 Big Cat Travel Insurance Services. All rights reserved.
