For most people their normal medical insurance is useless when they travel abroad.  In this case it is a good idea to purchase temporary medical travel insurance to cover you while on your trip.  This temporary insurance is also a good idea if you are uninsured at home because it can be even costlier to pay medical bills you end up with when traveling abroad than those you end up with at home.

The first thing to look for when purchasing a medical travel insurance policy is that it does cover you for the country or countries you plan to visit.  It is a good idea to make sure even the countries you just have an airport layover in are part of the coverage.  In most cases medical travel insurance policies taken out for international travel will cover wherever you are going, but it is always a good idea to make sure your destination is covered.  Otherwise you could end up wasting your money on the insurance and then also owe a lot of money to cover medical bills.

The second main thing to check that the policy covers is medical evacuation.  The amount of medical evacuation coverage you may need varies by destination, so it is best to research specific coverage recommended based on your destination.  The general rule of thumb is that the more remote your travel destination the more likely a medical evacuation would be necessary in case of injury and the more costly it will be.  Also, make sure that the medical evacuation coverage is in addition to your medical cost maximum coverage and not included as part of your maximum coverage.

Depending on what you plan to do on your trip you may need to make sure the policy covers you for hazardous sports activities.  The more typical sports covered include scuba diving, skiing, and surfing.  If you plan to do these types of sports it is a good idea to make sure you are covered, although you likely are.  If you plan to participate in more extreme sports like bungee jumping, rock climbing, and wild caving, then you need to read your policy more carefully and make sure your extreme sport is explicitly covered by the policy you end up with. If you're going on a skiing holiday you'll find that plenty of insurers offer a winter sports policy. Taking the AA winter sports travel insurance policy as a typical example this should cover you for "recreational skiing (including snowboarding) in recognised resort areas that have marked pistes or runs designed for public use. Within these recognised areas, you are covered for ‘off-piste' skiing provided that you are accompanied by a qualified instructor, and the area is not marked as out of bounds or hazardous."

The last thing you may want to ensure that the medical insurance policy you choose covers is Accidental Death and Dismemberment.  In some cases you may not need this, as your life insurance may cover international incidents, however, if your life insurance does not you may want this included with adequate coverage, especially if you have dependents.