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Ski Insurance
You can use the Travel Insurance Directory to shop around for the lowest prices on skiing insurance. You can also read our Guide to Ski Insurance.
Guide to Ski Insurance
Ski Insurance for the experienced and novice skier has become one of those pastimes that were once restricted to a lucky few, it is now widely practiced and with numerous ski locations all over Europe the skier has a huge choice of locations.
Ski Insurance is like standard travel insurance with a few extra benefits. Ski insurance is more expensive than standard travel insurance, approximately double the price, because of the added risk of injury as Skiing is naturally more hazardous and the skier will be participating in the activity every day.
Ski insurance covers you for the normal travel insurance benefits such as cancellation, loss of possessions, loss of documents, medical injuries associated with your skiing activities and possible injuries caused to you by others.
Ski Insurance is usually in the form of a single trip insurancepolicy specifically designed for the skiing holiday, however it is possible to have an annual multi-trip travel insurance policy which does include some days per year exclusively for skiing and winter sports activities, these might be limited from 10 to 24 days a year.
Snow sports are associated with injury; however surprisingly the actual risk is much lower that people would believe, at only 0.5%.
Statistics - The Injury rates are based on how many skiing accidents happen in a certain number of skier days.
For every 1000 people skiing or snowboarding on any particular day between 2 and 4 will sustain injuries, for snowboarding it is higher 3 to 5.
Fatalities - There is 1 death per 1.5million ski days
These are due to medical conditions or trauma. Traumatic deaths occur as a consequence of an avalanche or as a result of high speed impact with a stationery object, such as a tree, rock, pylon or another skier /snowboarder.
So despite the potential risk the actual statistics prove that far fewer injuries occur than one would have first imagined, this is largely due to the excellent training and supervision facilities on offer at most ski resorts. Naturally a Ski resort wants to keep injuries down to the minimum so as to attract more skiers and not to be known as a hazard centre.
All Ski insurance Policies normally cover off-piste skiing and snow boarding, however there are certain guidelines, you should ensure that you check with the local piste authorities before you venture off-piste that you are entering designated off-piste areas, on no account should you be skiing in prohibited areas.
It is wise never to ski or snowboard alone off piste and never go beyond your own ability. Remember that you are limited to your skills and to be foolhardy could cost you more than just a broken arm and pride. Ski insurance can only protect you if you follow the local advice of authorities and never going skiing if the slopes are closed. Try to ensure you have the relevant Safety products with you such as shovels, probes, transceivers, first aid kits etc these can be purchased at the resort or online at numerous websites.
Off-piste skiing and riding is on the increase, and understandably so as getting away from the crowds among high-mountain scenery and making first tracks in fresh powder snow are without doubt a fantastic experience. However it can never be completely safe so if you go off-piste you are doing so at your own risk but your chances of survival are greatly increased if you are properly guided and equipped.
Enjoy your skiing and above all remember "be prepared" is a great scout motto and never so true as with skiing so take your time to learn and listen to the teachers and avoid the over adventurous skier and stay safe and make sure you have a ski insurance travel policy to protect you if your unlucky to be that 0.5%
You may want to check out our Guidance notes about travel insurance if this is the first time that you have bought travel insurance online.