Travel insurance is one of the most important things that you can purchase for any international trip and, whether you are going abroad for a week or embarking on a year-long trip around the world, it is something that you should consider very seriously.

Some people will be happy with the general policies available, while the tailored packages provided by companies such as World Nomads Insurance can be tailored to suit your needs.

Here are ten reasons to get travel insurance for your next trip!

– Health Treatment and Evacuation Cover –

Many Americans think that their existing health insurance policy will also cover them if they need treatment abroad, but in the majority of cases this is simply not the case.

From car accidents to adventure sport injuries, having cover for your treatment and evacuation from a country if required can be a vital part of the travel insurance, which otherwise can costs tens of thousands of dollars in certain situations.

– Cancellation of Connections –

If you are traveling on a route which has more than one flight, or train journeys with multiple connections, many travel insurance policies will cover you for those missed connections.

They can cover alternative transport arrangements on to your destination, and will also have a help line that can help you to find accommodation if you are stranded because of a missed connection.

– Losing Your Documents Abroad –

This is often considered to be one of the biggest disasters that travelers can encounter, and losing documents can make it very difficult to get home, or even to get through security at the airport. Good travel insurance will include cover help to replace your documents and to assist you to get home should anything happen to those documents.

– Theft and Pickpocketing –

Losing money, electrical items or jewelry can be a horrible experience while you are abroad, and one of the key features of travel insurance is that it will help you to replace these should they be stolen while you are away.

– Illness Before Your Trip –

One common reason that can lead to trips being canceled is if you suffer with an illness before you travel, and are no longer in a fit state to travel. Including this as a part of your travel insurance cover can make a big difference, especially if you are planning an expensive or memorable trip that would make it very difficult to replace if you weren’t able to travel.

– Your Travel Provider Goes Out of Business –

Depending on the country in which the company providing your travel arrangements is based, there may be some cover through travel associations. However, by making sure you have good travel insurance it can reassure you that should anything happen, you won’t be left out-of-pocket by this kind of incident.

While it seems unlikely, this happened to one of my best friends when we were traveling in Greece. She had a flight booked from Athens to London and, upon arriving at the airport, learned that the airline she was traveling with declared bankruptcy the day prior, leaving hundreds of travelers without flights. She ended up losing her money on the cancelled flight and had to book a last-minute flight that cost her over $400.

If she had travel insurance, she would have been covered for all of those expenses.