FARUKI

For most people the thought of their annual ski vacation is foremost in their minds as winter approaches each year with the hope that the snow will fall in huge quantities. Fortunately for all concerned, this year the snow is falling well and it is unlikely that the poor showing of last year in Europe will be repeated.

By its very nature, skiing and snowboarding can be dangerous and that is part of the excitement and it is not uncommon for many accidents to occur each season irrespective of the experience level of the person involved. Of course, winter sports insurance packages are available although you will often find that regular travel insurance will cover most skiers or snowboarders if they fall into the novice and intermediate categories.

This is the vast bulk of the market and yes, accidents do happen but they are more likely to be in a controlled fashion, by that we mean on well groomed slopes, with assistance and help on hand. Problems normally occur when the skier has gained sufficient experience to want to try something a little more challenging and to use slopes that are not patrolled. However, most winter sports insurance packages only have limited (if at all) cover when a skier goes ‘off piste’ as this is where serious accidents are most likely.

Conditions such as ‘only with a guide or ‘only within a specified resort area’ are the norm, so when seeking that adrenaline rush it is important to know what you are getting yourself into first. It is often easy for experienced skiers to become complacent and forget they may only enjoy the slopes for a few weeks a year and when new challenges emerge they may not be quite ready for them.

Fortunately it is possible for expert skiers to have winter sports insurance that covers some of these more dangerous activities and this need to be taken out if they want to maintain cover for pursuits of this kind. It is important you check a prospective or existing policy before you travel to ensure you have winter sports cover as you will find with some policies that this is excluded, although it can sometimes be added as a bolt-on to the policy, whereby you pay an optional charge for this cover.

The rising interest in winter sports has lead a number of companies to start specialist insurance packages but these also need to be checked thoroughly to ensure they cover all the activities you intend to pursue on your vacation. A winter sports insurance package will usually cover areas such as ski equipment, ski hire, even lack of services due to closure or avalanches.

Winter sports insurance packages are more likely to be required by competent to expert skiers as their risk of injury is considerably higher even with their experience and the locations they are injured in are often more remote. There is no good contemplating this information as you are being taken down the mountain on a stretcher with a broken leg so be smart and sort this out before you travel.