You may have heard there’s a major increase in travel insurance sales because of all the terrorism scares, environmental disasters occurring, and outbreaks of disease. What you may not know is the catch to all of this. If you get scared and want to cancel your trip, your policy may not cover you.

Insurance doesn’t cover you if you are concerned about terrorist bombings on the plane, train, or bus. The possibility of a hurricane a thousand miles away that MIGHT hit the beach you plan to visit most likely isn’t covered as well. In these instances, purchasing travel insurance would not help you.

The guarantee of travel insurance is the promise to pay for any part of your trip that won’t be reimbursed otherwise. For example, a typical qualified expenditure would be plane fare. Situations that would warrant payment are when the holder of the policy has to delay, or cancel a planned trip, or if the insured is stranded somewhere then the cost of hotel accommodations and meals would be covered.

The travel policy usually pays for circumstances when an overseas doctor or hospital care is required, or the insured needs emergency medical transportation. Since many overseas hospitals will not accept foreign medical insurance, travel insurance may be especially helpful. Be aware that a number of insurance policies contain various exclusions.

Many calamities that spur the purchase of travel insurance are not covered at all. For example, there are a few of the policies that do not cover terrorism. It is important to peruse these contracts.

Even if travel insurance is found and it doesn’t exclude terroristic acts, there could be a provision that it will cover the insured only if there has been a bombing or act of terrorism in the travel area within a month. If a terroristic act in Europe concerns you to the point you will not travel to an adjacent area in that country or to another part of Europe, chances are traveller’s insurance will be of no benefit. Being afraid is not covered under travel insurance.

However, fear is many times a motivating factor in travelers purchasing travel insurance. But, it is also something that the majority of policies don’t protect against. Insurances companies also have restrictions on when you buy the insurance, many insist that it needs to be bought within 15 days of booking for full covereage.

On the positive side of the coin most travel insurance policies have paid for motels and food for the persons stranded away from home when a terroristic plot in the year 2006 grounded all aircraft in London England. However those same traveler policies would not pay for cancellation because the terrorism was not carried out and no attack was made.

As with other types of insurance, the fee charged for the travel insurance is directly related to the total cost of your excursion and what benefits you want included in the policy. Travelers can purchase all-inclusive policies that will pay for lost luggage, flight accident, emergency medical services and medical evacuations, delays that leave you marooned, or cancellations. You can purchase policies that are itemized to the benefits you desire.

Some of the insurance companies have started offering policies called “cancel for any reason.” If you cancel your trip, these policies will compensate you for upwards of 74% the costs of the trip. Generally you will pay an additional forty percent premium to get this coverage.

In the United States, there are about seventeen million travel insurance policies sold annually. Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001 travelers insurance sales doubled. It is expected that they will continue to increase, due to recent events such as environmental disasters and outbreaks of disease that affect the travel industry.

People don’t realize that in the event of major disasters, airlines, cruise lines and hotels are usually lenient restrictions and fees for re-booking. This is available without having to purchase a travel insurance policy.