- Explorer Travel Insurance is a trading brand of Explorer Insurance Services Limited, registered in England and Wales (number 7496730) and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 583108.
- Policies are underwritten by AWP P&C S.A., the carrier behind the Allianz Partners brand, with claims handled by Claim Settlement Agencies Limited.
- Backpacker cover is available to UK residents aged 35 and below, for single trips of up to 12 months.
- The backpacker product covers up to 10 million pounds of emergency medical expenses and includes more than 100 adventure activities as standard.
- Cancellation cover on the backpacker range is offered at tiers from at least 750 pounds up to at least 10,000 pounds per person.
What Explorer Travel Insurance is
Explorer Travel Insurance is the consumer brand of Explorer Insurance Services Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (number 7496730) with a registered office at Millhouse, 32-38 East Street, Rochford, SS4 1DB. The business was established in 2011 and operates from Essex. It is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under firm reference number 583108.
The brand sells a range of leisure travel products: single trip, annual multi-trip, winter sports, cruise and a dedicated backpacker line. Within the compare cluster the backpacker and long-stay angle is what distinguishes Explorer from mainstream single-trip insurers, because it underwrites continuous trips of up to twelve months for younger travellers rather than the 31 to 45 day caps common on annual policies.
Who underwrites the cover
Distribution and arrangement sit with Explorer Insurance Services Limited, but the insurance risk is carried by AWP P&C S.A., the underwriting entity associated with the Allianz Partners brand. AWP P&C S.A. is a French insurer regulated in France by the ACPR and, when operating in the United Kingdom, subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority. The distinction matters at claim time: the FCA reference 583108 belongs to the distributor, while the policyholder's contract of insurance is with the underwriter.
Travel claims are administered by Claim Settlement Agencies Limited, contactable at claims.travel@csal.co.uk and on 01702 746549 for current policies. Medical emergencies abroad are routed to a separate 24-hour assistance team, reachable on +44 (0) 1444 465553. Gadget cover is handled separately again, underwritten by Collinson Insurance and provided through Bastion Insurance Services Limited, with its own claims line on 01865 745566.
What policies Explorer offers
The current document set, in force from 5 February 2026, lists several named tiers. The mainstream range runs as Direct Levels 1 to 5, alongside legacy Platinum Lite, Platinum, Gold and Gold Plus wordings retained for policies bought between March 2023 and February 2026. The backpacker line appears as Backpacker Direct Levels 1 and 2, with separate Insurance Product Information Documents for each level.
Backpacker cover is positioned for the long single trip rather than repeated short breaks. It is available to UK residents (England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man) who are registered with a UK doctor, and it is capped at customers aged 35 and below. For travellers above that age, or those wanting repeated trips, the annual multi-trip product is the relevant route, though annual cover carries a maximum age of 79 and a maximum individual trip duration of 31 days.
Pricing structure
Explorer does not publish a flat headline premium, because price is built from the same variables that drive most UK travel insurance quotes: destination region, trip length, age, the cover level selected and any declared medical conditions or added hazardous activities. The backpacker quote path lets a traveller set the maximum trip duration in bands (for example 31, 45, 60 or 90 days on shorter selections) up to the twelve-month ceiling, and choose a cancellation tier ranging from at least 750 pounds to at least 10,000 pounds per person.
Because cancellation and the optional hazardous-activity pack are selectable, two travellers on the same route can pay materially different premiums. Anyone pricing the product should confirm the live quote rather than assume a fixed rate, as the cover-level choice changes both the premium and the claim limits described below.
What is covered and excluded
The backpacker product covers up to 10 million pounds of emergency medical expenses, includes return-home cover and gadget cover as standard, and extends to more than 100 adventure activities without an add-on. A further package of roughly 70 more hazardous pursuits can be added for an extra premium, which is relevant for travellers planning higher-risk activities on a long trip.
Standard travel exclusions apply. UK residency and registration with a UK doctor are eligibility conditions, so the cover is not designed for people already living abroad. As the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sets out in its travel insurance guidance, existing medical conditions or pending treatment must be declared, and failing to declare them can invalidate a policy. The FCDO also notes that some activities need specialist insurance or an add-on, which aligns with Explorer's optional hazardous-activity tier. Travellers should read the relevant IPID and policy wording for the exact excess, baggage and personal liability limits at their chosen level rather than rely on the headline figures.
How Explorer compares
Explorer's defining feature in this segment is the combination of a single long trip of up to twelve months with the under-35 age cap. That makes it a backpacker and gap-year proposition rather than a whole-of-life provider. By contrast, a medical-led specialist such as Staysure (a trading name of TICORP Limited, Gibraltar, FCA reference 663617) applies no upper age limit, covers more than 1,300 declared medical conditions and offers cancellation up to 15,000 pounds, which suits older or higher-medical-risk travellers rather than long-stay youth travel.
The 10 million pounds emergency medical ceiling on Explorer's backpacker cover sits well above the typical scale of a UK travel medical claim. The Association of British Insurers reported that members paid 262 million pounds in travel medical claims across 2024, with an average medical claim of 1,528 pounds, although a single member paid over 1 million pounds for a hospitalisation and repatriation in the United States. A high medical ceiling matters precisely because the rare catastrophic claim, not the average, is what travel insurance exists to absorb.
How to make a claim
For a medical emergency abroad, the policy directs travellers to the 24-hour assistance team on +44 (0) 1444 465553 before incurring large costs, so treatment and any repatriation can be authorised. Non-emergency travel claims, such as cancellation or baggage, go to Claim Settlement Agencies Limited at claims.travel@csal.co.uk or 01702 746549, with a separate line for policies bought before 1 February 2023. Gadget claims are handled by the gadget provider on 01865 745566. Keeping receipts, police or carrier reports and medical documentation is standard practice, since the administrator assesses each claim against the wording for the level purchased.
Who Explorer might suit
On the verified terms, Explorer's backpacker cover is built around one profile: a UK resident aged 35 or below, registered with a UK doctor, taking a single extended trip of up to twelve months and wanting a high medical ceiling plus broad adventure-activity cover. The selectable cancellation tiers and optional hazardous-activity pack let that traveller scale the policy to the trip.
It is a poorer fit for travellers over 35, for people who want frequent short trips across a year (where the annual product with its 31-day per-trip cap applies), or for anyone already resident outside the United Kingdom. As with any policy, the decision turns on declaring conditions accurately and confirming the live limits at the chosen cover level before purchase.
Sources
- Explorer Travel Insurance: About us (company, FRN, year established)
- Explorer Travel Insurance: Backpacker cover (limits and activities)
- Explorer Travel Insurance: FAQ (age limits, residency, durations)
- Explorer Travel Insurance: Policy documents and IPIDs
- Explorer Travel Insurance: Claims information (handler and contacts)
- GOV.UK / FCDO: Foreign travel insurance guidance
- ABI: 2024 travel insurance claims figures
- Staysure: travel insurance (comparison reference)
