A resident of Dallas, Texas, David T. Ball supports his local community by volunteering for the Crawl for Cancer and participating in multiple Urban Dare competitions. Outside of his home base in Dallas, David T. Ball travels often for work and pleasure. His favorite destinations include Dubai, India, and Hong Kong.

Travel destination and duration are the two primary things most people consider when booking a trip, but it’s important to consider travel insurance. This is particularly true for more expensive international trips where problems are more likely to occur than domestic travel.

Experts suggest researching the country you are visiting before making a decision with regard to travel insurance. If this country experiences political unrest or has other issues that give you cause for concern, it’s best to purchase comprehensive travel insurance. This not only covers lost baggage but also medical emergencies, disaster evacuations, and costs associated with accidental deaths. Basic trip cancellation protection is a cheaper option that generally only covers lost baggage and provides reimbursements for missed connections. All-in-one policies, on average, cost around $164, according to the finance research site ValuePenguin.

Travel insurance can be ignored in certain situations. In addition to domestic trips, you can forego travel insurance if your credit card company offers it as a perk; the American Express Platinum Card among others, offer these built-in protections. Moreover, if you usually purchase travel insurance as a form of the cancellation protection, you can save money by making reservations at hotels that offer free cancellation instead.