Travel insurance gets purchased (or skipped) more on instinct than on actually understanding what it covers - which means many travelers either overpay for coverage they don't need or skip protection for the exact risk most likely to hit them.
A policy covering trip cancellation may say nothing about medical emergencies abroad, and vice versa - reading the actual coverage categories, not just the price, is the only way to know what's actually protected.
Some credit cards and health insurance plans already include partial travel protection, and buying a separate policy on top can mean paying twice for the same coverage. A quick check before booking a policy avoids that overlap.
Many policies exclude pre-existing medical conditions unless a specific waiver is purchased within a set window after the first trip payment - missing that window can quietly void coverage for exactly the situation it was meant to protect against.