Sales of travel insurance are on the rise, due to worldwide outbreaks of disease, threats of terrorism, and natural disasters. But as it is with anything, there is a catch. If you get scared and want to cancel your trip, your policy may not cover you.

If your concern focuses on potential bombings in the subway, or plots involving liquid explosives, those concerns probably aren’t covered. Or, you may be worried that a hurricane many miles away from your destination could hit your best-loved beach, and chances are that this won’t be covered either. Situations like these aren’t included in a travel insurance policy.

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. It would be covered in places where the insured may have to delay or even cancel a trip, or it could help cover the cost of food and lodging, should the policy holder become stranded.

The travel policy usually pays for circumstances when an overseas doctor or hospital care is required, or the insured needs emergency medical transportation. This becomes critical because there is no guarantee that your medical insurance provider is recognized in other countries. Travel insurance covers certain circumstances but has a lot a lot of special circumstances where the policy will not pay.

Events caused by natural disasters are not usually covered by this insurance. A lot of programs don’t cover terrorist acts at all. It is for this reason you must know exactly what you are purchasing.

If your insurance does cover terrorism reimbursement, it may be limited to the exact city of your itinerary and to a specific time frame from your scheduled departure. So if there is a terrorist act in Paris, and your trip was planned for London, your insurance will not cover the costs if you cancel. Being afraid is not covered under travel insurance.

And yet it is fear that is prompting more and more people to buy travel insurance. Most travel insurance will not cover those circumstances even though they were the prompting factor for their purchase. When purchasing travel insurance the buyer should beware of exclusions such as time frames as some policies will not cover teroristic acts if the policy has not been in effect for a certain period prior to travel.

However, most of the insurers covered hotel rooms and meals for customers in 2006 that were unable to leave London after the authorities stopped a plan using liquid explosives to blow up planes. However, the policies would not pay if you wanted to cancel because there wasn’t a real attack.

The cost of travel insurance coverage, like any form of insurance, will depend on which areas you want to cover and the price of your trip. Comprehensive policies will allow for almost any contingency, including luggage problems, travel snafus, medical examinations, unforseen delays in departures, and oitright cancellations. You can purchase policies that are itemized to the benefits you desire.

Some companies have decided to allow “cancel for any reason” coverage. If you choose not to go on your trip, this policy can reimburse you 74 percent of the cost. Generally you will pay an additional forty percent premium to get this coverage.

Currently in the U.S. there’s some seventeen million policies for travel insurance that are sold each year. The World Trade Center attacks of 2001 pushed sales up almost 100 percent. 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.

Of course, in the event of a major disaster, most airlines, cruise lines and hotels will eliminate any fees or restrictions placed on re-scheduling. Sometimes you don’t need the insurance to catch a break.