A typical travel insurance policy usually covers the loss of baggage, tickets and - up to a certain limit - cash or cheques, as well as cancellation or curtailment of your journey. Most of them won't cover you for injury sustained whilst taking part in so-called "dangerous" sports unless an extra premium is paid - these can include scuba-diving, whitewater rafting, mountain climbing and trekking. Read the small print and benefits tables of prospective policies carefully; coverage can vary wildly for roughly similar premiums and many policies can be chopped and changed to exclude coverage you don't need.

For medical insurance, it's important to find out whether benefits will be paid as treatment proceeds or only after return home, and whether there is a 24-hour medical emergency number. When securing baggage cover, make sure that the per-article limit - typically under ?500 equivalent - will cover your most valuable possession. If you need to make a claim, you should keep receipts for medicines and medical treatment, and in the event you have anything stolen, you must obtain an official statement from the police (called a denuncia)