Do I really need travel insurance for just a 5-day international trip? It feels like a waste of money.

We'll answer with our books rather than a lecture: the policy costs ₹700–1,200; the two claims we've actually handled for clients this decade were a scooter accident in Bali (private hospital, payment demanded upfront, bill north of ₹4 lakh) and a missed connection that cascaded into two rebooked flights and a hotel night (₹68,000 recovered). Five days abroad carries the same single-day risks as fifty — the exposure isn't the trip length, it's the one bad hour. What actually matters is buying the right cover: medical minimum of $50,000 for Southeast Asia, adventure-activity rider if you'll touch a scooter, scuba tank or trek, and honest health disclosure so claims can't be denied. Treat it like a seatbelt: annoying until the one day it's the whole story. The maths only fails if you never travel again.