Going on a holiday to an international location requires some planning. One of the most important things to consider is purchasing adequate holiday insurance.

Holiday insurance is designed to cover the prepaid nonrefundable trip costs that occur before you depart on your trip, using trip cancellation coverage. During your trip, if you need to return home early for covered reasons, trip interruption coverage would pay for the same.

While holidaying in a foreign location can be exciting, but it is not without risk. If you were to get sick or injured on your trip, holiday insurance would provide emergency medical coverage. Even better, if your location does not have adequate medical facilities, emergency medical evacuation coverage would help transport you to the nearest location with adequate care. And, God forbid, if you were to pass away while on your trip, holiday insurance would make arrangements for repatriation of remains.

Additionally, if your trip was delayed, or your baggage was lost or delayed, the best travel insurance for your needs would cover those incidents, too.

If you plan to participate in any hazardous activities—for example, bungee jumping, jet skiing, scuba diving or parasailing—you should make sure that the holiday insurance you purchase specifically covers all such activities. Standard holiday insurance often does not cover adventure activities or requires an additional purchase for coverage.

There are many holiday insurance plans available. Therefore, it's wise to use a holiday insurance aggregator website (such as this one) to get quotes on holiday insurance plans, to compare them side by side and make an instant purchase online.

If you are just going on one trip, you can simply buy single trip holiday insurance. However, if you are going on multiple trips throughout the year, consider purchasing annual travel insurance.

While purchasing holiday insurance, you should keep the following things in mind:

• Passport

  In order to travel internationally, you need a passport at the minimum. Getting a passport may require waiting, so you should plan in advance if you don't already have one.

  If you are unable to go on your holiday because you didn't apply for a passport early enough, holiday insurance will not cover trip cancellation.

• Visa

  In addition to a passport, depending on your citizenship and destination, you may need a visa to enter your destination country.

  It's your responsibility to research visa requirements and acquire a visa if it's necessary for the country you plan to visit.

  Failure to research and acquire a visa does not qualify for a trip cancellation claim under holiday insurance.

• Traveling Against Doctor's Advice

  Do not travel against your doctor's advice. Otherwise, if you were to get sick while on holiday, the holiday insurance wouldn't provide emergency medical coverage.

• Vaccinations

  Depending on your destination, make sure that you have received all recommended vaccinations. Visit a travel health clinic in your area to make sure your vaccinations are up to date. Give yourself plenty of time to visit a clinic before traveling. Many vaccines need to be taken in a series of doses at certain intervals. Some preventive medicines must be taken for a certain amount of time before your trip.

• First Aid Kit

  Even though holiday insurance would provide you emergency medical coverage, it would still be handy to carry a basic first aid kit for minor cuts or ailments. This would save you from having to search for a doctor in a foreign location over very minor incidents.

Holiday insurance can't stop something from going wrong on your holiday, but it can certainly help with many scenarios and give you peace of mind. Therefore, we highly recommend purchasing holiday coverage when going on a holiday.