It goes without saying that you'll need insurance, but it's not something you should be sorting at the last minute as policies vary significantly and you need to spend a while reading all the small print. There are hundreds of travel insurance companies. Just Google the words and you'll find thousands of results. However, not all are equal in price nor policy. For example, check if cash and indeed any of your valuables are covered - which they are often not on cheap policies - and how much the excess is that you may need to pay. Cheaper policies are fine for the important health aspect, but don't expect to have your US$500 camera, a dive or any previous medical condition covered. Conversely even on more expensive policies, don't expect your US$1000 camera to be fully covered unless you have made special measures for it. If you are interested the key features you should be looking for in a policy, they are listed in a separate insurance page for one recommended company here, but all the following examples provide an excellent level of cover.

One recommended and well-known insurance company is Columbus (sorry no USA), but new companies are always coming onto the scene (e.g. the excellent Globe Link or Atlas) and the market is competitive with one trying to under-cut the other. One such newer start-up that comes well recommended from several e-mailed comments and personal experience is World Nomads. You see them frequently mentioned in travel sites/blogs, as they pay commission, but they claim to be set up with backpackers in mind. You can do things like extend policies indefinitely and/or make claims online whilst still on the road. They offer a money back guarantee, cover the likes of surfing, diving, trekking and bikes (which many don't as standard) and you can buy from any country in the world. All this is useful and makes them worth checking out. It can be said in honesty (after years of comparison) that their terms and rates are also favourable for this level. However, ultimately you need to shop around yourself and at the very least compare the terms of the companies recommended on this page. It is important to mention that the internet is fully of bold claims and misinformation regarding travel insurance as many websites (including at times this one) take a small referral commission for policies booked via them - be warned/wise. With all policies make sure you read the small print and compare a few providers. No company is perfect and competitive terms often come with loop-holes and coverage black-spots. As with car or household insurance any provider will try their hardest not to payout or limit the amount in the event of a claim.

Another thing to look out for is that geographic regions may vary the price and terms; with most policies that exclude North America or cover just Europe (inc. Israel, the Caucasus, and North Africa) being cheaper. More details on World Nomads, variations in regional coverage and small print on the insurance page. Be warned that starting a new policy for another geographic region is often not possible during your trip (i.e. having a cheap European policy and then travelling into Africa/Asia). Only a few companies can give you cover on-line while you are away (i.e. allow you to insure yourself for extra lengths of time if you don't know how long your trip will be when you first take out the policy). Multi-trip year-long policies limit the length of your trip to 30 or 60 days (although 90 days can be found), making them fairly useless for many longer term trips.

Good insurance with loads of coverage is normally quite expensive: again the cheaper policies will not cover personal possessions, only medical costs (and with plenty of exceptions). If you do have one or a number of valuable items, such as a top-of-the-line DSLR and lens(es), it can make more sense to not even try to have them covered on normal travel insurance and instead go for a specialist (camera) insurer, often with better terms and prices. The same can be said for a specialist car-hire insurance policy (should you be using rental car(s)), that will normally work out cheaper than the one offered by the car hire firm and cover you for the excess in case of a problem with your hire car.