For some students, the option of taking a gap year is very appealing. Gap years provide a welcome break from their studies and also offer the chance to travel the world, experience different cultures and gain some work experience.

But as wonderful as such an opportunity may sound, a recent survey carried out by a leading gap year advice website showed over 25% of those embarking on a gap year have inadequate travel insurance or no insurance cover whatsoever.

Some travellers believe that travel insurance would be important only if the trip involved participating in extreme sports, but the chances of having to make a claim due to an injury sustained during a mundane activity are statistically higher.

Ensuring you've bought cheap travel insurance before your excursion abroad should be the most important step in planning your trip. As long as you are covered, the insurance company will help with any costs incurred should anything happen to you whilst abroad. Most policies offer the chance to add extra cover upgrades to their basic policies in order to cover certain activities - such as adventure sports and skiing.

In the case of medical conditions and expensive equipment, you may need to take out a specialist policy in order to cater for your needs. It's always best to advise insurance companies of your circumstances when searching for a quote, most companies will be able to arrange specialist travel insurance policies based on your circumstances or advise of other options if they are unable to offer such a policy.

Taking out insurance before your trip is essential; travelling without suitable cover could result in a very large bill for yourself should you require medical attention whilst abroad. If something happens to you during your trip and you're uninsured, you will find yourself left with medical bills - which you'll most likely need to look to your family to help with. So it's better to spend a couple of hundred pounds to get yourself some cover than to risk paying out thousands in medical bills and other costs incurred.

It is vital that during your gap year planning you make a list of everything you plan to do whilst abroad and ensure you are covered for a wide range of activities in case plans should change during your excursion. When taking out a policy it's useful to check what areas are covered and to read the small print in order to find out what you may not be covered against.

It also pays to be honest when searching for a quote, for should you sustain injury during an activity whilst abroad and you're not covered for that particular activity, don't assume your insurance company will foot the bill.