Ski insurance – Not just for broken limbs
With the winter season almost upon us, memories of long, sunny days start to be replaced by the thoughts of longer, colder nights. For the seasoned holiday maker, that can often be a good thing, it’s the start of the European ski season. With the World Snowboarding Championships held in Switzerland in March and the World Cup FIS Skiing in Bankso in February, many of the more hardcore winter sports fans will be making the trip abroad to watch the action, taking in a bit of fun on the slopes themselves and generally enjoying the cold outdoors.
Whilst most people enjoying the ski slopes will arrive back safe and sound, for some, their trip will end in pain and discomfort. The number of fatalities on the ski slopes has rapidly decreased since the 1970’s with the wider use of ski safety equipment and most importantly a helmet, the number of skiers and snowboarders injured on and off the slopes is still a concern. The cost of mountain rescue services is not something most people consider when planning a winter sports holiday.
Taking out ski insurance to pay for medical treatment in the event of an accident is really important; hospital treatment in some clinics is extremely expensive and the cost of a cheap travel insurance policy far outweighs the risk of paying thousands for treatment to a broken limb. It is not just a good idea to take out a ski insurance policy to cover accidents and medical emergencies, many ski insurance policies will also cover the cost of stolen ski equipment and the cost of ski passes if the weather turns really nasty. The chances are the travel insurance policy will not be needed, the skiing holiday will pass off without incident and the policy document will end up in the shredder but it is a big risk and with the cost of travel insurance remaining relatively cheap, it’s not really a risk worth taking.
