Backpacking Travel Insurance
Protect your adventure with comprehensive backpacking travel insurance, covering medical emergencies, gear loss, and trip disruptions.
Are you looking for backpacking insurance? Good news! Backpacking is automatically covered with every Rise & Shield policy.
Most generic insurers treat long-haul, multi-country trips as “too hard”. We bake backpacking into every Rise & Shield plan.
What's included in our backpacking insurance?
You're covered for:
- Emergency medical expenses worldwide.
- Trip cancellation & interruption.
- Evacuation and repatriation.
- Baggage loss.
What's not included in this policy?
Our backpacking holiday insurance does not provide cover for:
- Working for wages or manual labour while you travel.
- Trekking above 3,000m (see trekking up to 4,600m, or trekking up to 6,500m.)
For how long can you backpack?
Our backpacking travel insurance has the following trip length limits:
- Single-Trip policies: up to 30 days of continuous travel.
- Annual Multi-Trip policies: up to 45 days per journey.
Rise & Shield is trusted by reputable tour operators and adventure companies
What does our backpacking insurance cover?
With Rise & Shield’s backpacking cover, we protect the unpredictable, multi-country odyssey. Forget beach-holiday policies that bail when things get interesting; we built this one for life on the road.
Medical Emergencies and Evacuation
We pick up the overseas hospital tab and, if a doctor orders it, arrange helicopter rescue or repatriation via our 24/7 assistance team – all while you practise your “this was not on the itinerary” face.
Equipment Loss or Damage
We cover your pack, clothes and adventure kit if they’re lost, stolen or accidentally trashed in transit. Travelling with pricier tech? Bolt on our High-Value Items rider for extra gadget peace of mind.
Travel Inconvenience Benefit
Strikes, border hiccups, monsoon-grounded buses – when delays derail your plans, we refund reasonable extra travel and accommodation costs so you can stay on schedule.
Plus loads more benefits...
When do I actually need backpacking travel insurance?
Backpacking cover isn’t for postcard holidays. It’s for the messy, multi-border adventures where anything can (and usually does) happen.
We recommend you grab a policy when:
- Your route hops borders or dives off the ‘Lonely Planet’ grid. We handle visas gone wrong, remote clinics, and sketchy transport links so you don’t have to bankroll chaos.
- Your pack is stuffed with tech you can’t afford to lose. Camera, laptop, drone; we insure it even when the hostel locker key feels suspiciously flimsy.
- You’re booking flights, buses and hostels on the fly. Our trip disruption cover refunds prepaid legs if strikes, storms or bus breakdowns wreck Plan A, B and C.
- Medical help is miles away (or uphill). We front hospital bills and organise evacuation, whether that’s a 4×4 out of the jungle or a heli off a high pass.
Take the policy out before the mishap, not after. We’ll keep the admin boring so you can keep the story interesting.
Why choose our backpacking insurance?
Backpacking isn’t a tidy package holiday – routes change, buses stall and hostel Wi-Fi barely loads. We designed our cover for that exact chaos.
- 24/7 SOS Line, anywhere you roam: Need a doctor in Laos or a passport in Lima? Our in-house team answers round the clock – no outsourced hold-music, just real help fast.
- Phone-first claims you can file on a hostel bunk: Snap the form on your mobile, upload receipts and keep moving. Most claims are settled without you ever printing a page.
- Flexible multi-country protection: One policy follows you across borders, overnight buses and last-minute detours. Extend a leg mid-trip before your current cover ends.
- Pick-and-mix add-ons: Bolt on High-Value Items for pricey tech, or the Adventure Plus / Extreme Packs if your trek creeps above standard altitude bands. Pay for the extras you need, skip the fluff you don’t.
With Rise & Shield’s backpacking insurance, we handle the paperwork so you can chase the next stamp in your passport with a clear head.
How do I get backpacking holiday travel insurance online?
Getting covered with Rise & Shield is easy. Follow these simple steps to secure your backpacking trip:
Get a Quote: Start by entering your trip details to receive a personalised quote.
Customise Your Plan: Tailor the coverage options to meet your specific needs.
Receive Instant Confirmation:Purchase and instantly receive your policy details via email.
Backpacking travel insurance FAQs
Backpacking appears in our standard activity list, alongside camping and hiking under 3,000 m, so it’s automatically covered as long as you’re not earning wages or trekking off un-recognised routes.
Single-Trip policies cover journeys of up to about a month, while Annual Multi-Trip policies let you roam for up to 45 days per leg before you have to clock out and back in.
Yes, ensure you check the “Already Departed” boxes when you get a quote. It kicks in 48 hours after purchase and only if nothing has happened that might lead to a claim before you buy.
Our standard baggage cover looks after everyday kit. If your tech is pricier, bolt on the High-Value Items option, register each gadget and hang on to purchase receipts and a police report if anything goes missing.
Call the 24/7 emergency line first; they authorise treatment, pay hospitals direct and arrange evacuation if needed. Keep receipts for anything over £500 until you’ve spoken to them.
Yes, you can still purchase backpacking travel insurance even if your journey has already begun.
However, certain benefits, like trip cancellation coverage, may only apply if purchased before your trip started.
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Rise and Shield is a trading style of Optimum Global Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Optimum Global Limited’s Firm Reference Number is 453654, you can check these details at https://register.fca.org.uk or by calling the Financial Conduct Authority on 0800 111 6768. . Registered address: Optimum Global Limited, 4th Floor, 21 Perrymount Road, Haywards Heath, West Sussex, RH16 3TP, UK. Optimum Global Limited is registered in England and Wales. Company Registration number 05347793.