Hopefully one never needs to exchange their watch for cash in an emergency but I see the advantage, in general do you insure it against theft or loss while traveling overseas with it?
I've travelled to third-world countries [1] with mine and I didn't insure it. I can't say I'd always do this, however. It depends on where you're going and what you're doing. In general, it's not wise to be flashy in a poor place but the stainless steel Sub isn't as obviously expensive as a gold watch and probably wouldn't catch a thief's eye like an iWatch, even though it is well over 10x as valuable.
Interestingly enough there's a scene in a famous German novel, IIRC Homo Faber[0] by Max Frisch, in which the protagonist, in desperate circumstances, trades his watch for a ride. (I think it's for a ride -- it's been probably 15 years since I last read it.)
At the time it struck me as really odd, but now that I know some people who own expensive watches I sort-of get it.
You don't need to go as back or as obscure as Homo Faber.
Selling your watch for quick money (usually in a foreign country or after being robbed, crashed etc) is a common film staple in tons of adventure/noir etc movies.
