All geared up for an overseas adventure? About to take your outdoor skills international? Any time you’re planning an excursion which requires a significant amount of travel expenses, you should consider purchasing travel insurance before you embark on your journey. Look for these five characteristics of a good insurance plan to ensure that you’re paying for a quality policy.

Before you’re comparing the pros and cons of specific policies, you’ll have to decide whether or not to buy one at all. That’s the easy decision – there are plenty of reasons to make sure you’re covered before you hop onto that first plane, train, or automobile. First off, travel insurance is pretty inexpensive – if you can afford to travel, you can afford to buy coverage. Even if (or especially if) you’ve been saving up for years just to prepare for the costs of your adventure, it’s worth putting aside a little bit extra to protect those savings in case something goes awry. Having insurance will also make the process of traveling much less stressful – what’s to worry about if you know you’re covered? And as any seasoned explorer knows, it’s always good to have a backup plan or bailout option just in case the situation gets hairy. Applying that outdoor principle to the wilderness of personal finance is still a great call – even if you’re forced to confront an unexpected setback you’ll be prepared to get away unscathed.

Before you start looking at policies, make a list of what you need covered. Then, find a policy that encompasses all of these needs – if you’ll be taking a plane, make sure your policy covers things like flight cancellations and delayed or missing luggage; if you’ll be traveling internationally, your policy should cover a lost passport; and if you’re heading to the tropics, weather damage protection is likely prudent.

The best travel policies will offer coverage that extends beyond the dates of your trip. If you contract an illness or sustain an injury in a foreign country, you don’t want a policy that leaves you high and dry with additional medical expenses once you return home. Try to seek out insurance plans which will protect you for as much time (and in as many places) as possible.

Many plans sound good at first, but include a lengthy list of exclusions which will render your policy useless when you need it most. Common exclusions are for things like natural disasters, terrorist attacks, and specific medical treatments. Pay close attention to the exclusions of each policy you’re considering and evaluate the risk of encountering any of these excluded costs. The policy with the least exclusions (especially for costs you might be particularly at risk of incurring) is almost always the best option.

Especially if you’re planning a wilderness trip, it’s crucial to seek out a travel insurance policy that includes coverage for emergency medical evacuations. This might not be an important consideration for travelers who plan on sticking to cities and other developed areas, but for outdoor adventurers it’s a crucial component of a quality policy. Helicopter evacuations are extremely expensive, but that should be the last thing on your mind when considering whether to call one.

Relatively few travel policies cover action sports and adventure activities which could be considered high-risk. If you can find a travel policy that does cover a particular outdoor activity that you’ll be participating in, it’s usually a sure sign of high quality, thorough coverage.

Find a high quality insurance policy so you can travel and adventure with confidence!