A new insurance policy has been created to cover the increasing numbers of older people taking a gap year.
Taking a gap year is no longer the sole reserve of young people, according to MRL Insurance.
The firm has added its weight to a number of reports which suggest that the average age of the gap year traveller is steadily rising. MRL Insurance has now brought out a travel insurance product aimed at this older group, which the firm have labelled BECCYs - Brits Escaping Credit Crunch Year. The product offers cover to people up to the age of 45.
MRL Insurance cites the recession as the reason for the rising age of gap year travellers, with many people being made redundant and opting to take 12 months out of the career game. The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics show that unemployment in the UK currently stands at 2.22 million.
"We wanted to offer a gap year policy that did not penalise against age," explained MRL director Alan Reif. "After all the redundancies in the past year the average age of a gap traveller is increasing and we can now provide comprehensive cover for them for up to a year, whether they are travelling as a holiday or seeking overseas work for an interim period."
