If you’re like a lot of Americans this summer, you might not be traveling very far when your vacation rolls around. That doesn’t mean you won’t be traveling somewhere though. Even if the price of gasoline and/or airfare keeps you fairly close to home, you still want to know that you and your stuff are all safe and sound and protected when you arrive at your destination. That’s what travel insurance is for, and believe it or not, you probably already have more of it than you think you do.

If you are a homeowner you almost certainly have a homeowners insurance policy that covers the structure of your home as well as its contents. What you probably don’t realize is that 10% of the coverage you carry on the contents of your home also applies to your belongings anywhere in the world you might choose to take them.

In other words, if you insure your home for $200,000, you almost certainly carry 50% of that amount in personal property coverage (50% is the standard required amount for personal property on any policy, although most policies these days are deluxe polices that insure your belongings for 75% of your home’s structural value). That means you have at least $100,000 worth of coverage for your stuff, and $10,000 of coverage for the stuff you cart around with you when you travel. You have that automatically, without doing anything or paying a cent extra for it.

Most people don’t travel with $10,000 worth of stuff, but on the off chance that you plan to take, say, your antique $50,000 diamond necklace with you to Vegas to wear with your LBD (little black dress), call your homeowners insurance company and make sure it is covered as scheduled jewelry so that if someone yanks it off your neck while you’re playing dollar slots, you’ll at least get reimbursed when you return home. (For the necklace anyway, not the gambling losses.)

Laptops are another special consideration. Most insurance companies will provide additional coverage for your laptop and all peripherals while traveling for a modest premium; well worth the price if you travel on business or are in the habit of dragging your laptop around with you everywhere you go locally.

Most major credit cards come with travel insurance that includes the following: coverage for the collision deductible on a rental vehicle, emergency airline ticket replacement services, lost luggage services, translator services, emergency transportation assistance, pre-trip planning assistance, and roadside dispatch, all at no charge. Many cards do require that you call them before you leave, however, in order to activate your travel insurance perks, so check you account agreement and call customer service before you leave to inform them of where you are going, for how long, and when you will return.

You should also call your bank and make sure your debit card is noted if your intend to use it outside the country or far from your local and customary area of service. Otherwise, the fraud department of your bank will almost certainly freeze the card the first time you try to use it, assuming it is stolen. Most banks will not hold you liable for a stolen card, either, so make sure you take along the 800 number for reporting this should it happen.

If you intend to rent a car, keep in mind that in most states the coverages you carry on your regular auto policy will transfer to a rental vehicle, so it is not usually necessary to purchase additional coverage at the rental counter. Should you be involved in an accident in a rental vehicle, some rental car companies will charge you for the days the car cannot be rented while it is under repair. You may or may not wish to purchase coverage for this specific event at the counter. At the very least, you should ask about the company’s policy regarding down time on a damaged vehicle.

You may or may not wish to purchase additional short term life insurance coverage for your trip. Personally, I think this is a waste, since you should already have adequate life insurance coverage, and if you don’t, forget the life insurance travel coverage and buy yourself a decent term life policy like you should have done a long time ago.

Finally, if you are traveling to Mexico in your car, do not assume your US auto policy applies. It does not. You MUST purchase coverage for Mexico at the border in order not to become the subject of one of those dreadful made-for-TV movies about foreign prisons and strip searches and so on and so forth. Don’t skimp on this, just do it. Some travel stories are not the kind you want to pass down to your grandkids. Ditto if you are traveling to Europe: Most American auto policies only apply in the US, Canada, and all US territories and possessions.

Travel is expensive, but it doesn’t have to be catastrophic or upsetting. A few short phone calls to your insurance agent, your bank and your credit card company, and you should be fully prepared to take that 50 mile trip to the lake as safely as possible. Buy the gas now if you can.