How do I buy ski holiday insurance?

Over 700,000 people from the UK go skiing every year. Many travel agents serve this market, offering all kinds of trips for all kinds of winter pastimes. Those tour operators will also tell you how important it is that you purchase the proper insurance for your travels. This is right, as a recent survey has noted that one in six of the people going on winter sports holidays end up making some sort of medical claim, and those claims feature a bill which on average totals around £1600. In addition to that, 1 in 10 skiers report property being lost or stolen, and about 60% of those losses or robberies being of skis.

Whilst tour operators will also tell you that the travel insurance they offer is perfect for you, it is unlikely to be the cheapest, as they make quote of lot of money out of selling travel insurance policies in commissions. Luckily for you as a consumer, there are many more insurers in business these days, including banks, direct insurers and other specialist brokers.

But you do need to concentrate on getting the right cover for yourself. For instance, normal winter sports cover will feature most if not all of the standard risks, such as medical, personal liability, baggage cover etc. But how about global warming? If there is no snow, then the slopes will close and the ski lifts will shut down and you get no skiing holiday. You can only get about £20 per day should you not be able to ski due to the weather or faulty ski lifts, but this is capped at about £250 a head for the holiday. You should also make sure that you are covered if you lose your ski pass.

The main worry for you though will probably be accidents and the injuries resulting from them. You need to make sure that your policy pays for rescues by air ambulance, and, in extreme cases you may need repatriation. This of course, is also relevant to whether you have been skiing on-piste (the recognised ski areas) or off-piste - which you need more cover for. You need to check whether your policy allows you to go off-piste and whether you need to have a guide if you do so. Also, you need to make sure that when you are skiing you don't ignore avalanche warnings, as if you do and ski into a dangerous area you will not be covered.

There are other sports you may do whilst skiing, such as ice skating, snowboarding, heli-skiing and para-skiing. You need to pay an extra premium to cover these. As always, check your policy details and ask your insurer if you have any questions or misunderstandings.

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Travel Insurance

Insurance & Loans

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How do I buy ski holiday insurance?

© AskFinancially.com 2008

Travel Insurance

Insurance & Loans

Copyright