Going away for a city break in Europe without travel insurance is a risk, but
for anyone off on a winter sports holiday, it is not a risk worth taking.
One person in seven seeks medical attention while away skiing, and insurers
say that this season is set to be especially perilous because weathermen are
predicting excellent conditions. Perversely, better snow increases the
likelihood of accidents, injuries and theft because there are more people on
the slopes taking on activities, such as tobogganing and ice diving, as well
as more traditional skiing and snowboarding.
This can prove extremely costly for holidaymakers without adequate insurance
cover. Esure, the online insurer, says that a helicopter evacuation costs
£1,500, while repatriation costs are more than £4,000 from European resorts
and £8,000 from the US and Canada.
A European Health Insurance card, despite the name, is not enough. It is worth
obtaining one anyway – either from your Post Office or online at
www.ehic.org.uk – because it offers cover for basic medical care. However,
it will not cover other costs, including mountain rescue, ambulance
transfers, repatriation, outpatient treatment or certain medicines.
Your health is not the only thing worth protecting. Direct Line, another
insurer, says that winter sports equipment is also at risk from theft or
loss. An outfit, including boots and skis, costs an average of £1,200, while
a 14-day lift pass in the Alps can set you back £250. Skis, sunglasses,
jackets and lift passes, are among the most claimed-for items, says Direct
Line.
Lawsuits after collisions are also growing in number, says Direct Travel
Insurance, making personal litigation cover a more important feature of
policies. Kim Sullivan, of Direct Travel, says: “Many resorts have
protection against litigation. This means that you are unable to recover
damages from a ski area operator, but instead have to seek compensation from
the other person involved in the collision.”
Settlement amounts can range between £1 million and £1.5 million, with the
larger payouts being awarded when the party being sued has left the scene of
the accident.
Most insurers offer the option of adding winter sports cover for an extra
premium. For a single ten-day winter sports holiday in Europe, this is
likely to cost between £20 and £40. These policies cover millions of pounds
in medical costs but are notorious for other exclusions, which appear to be
at the discretion of the insurers and can render the policy almost
worthless.
For instance, Marks & Spencer and Direct Travel Insurance cover ice-diving
and ski-school racing, whereas Churchill and Norwich Union do not. Churchill
will cover zorbing – rolling downhill in a transparent sphere – but not
tobogganing, while Norwich Union Direct covers tobogganing but not zorbing.
Most do not cover lone off-piste or glacier skiing, ice diving or heliskiing –
jumping out of a helicopter on to the slopes.
Some features are not as straightforward as they appear. For instance, piste
closure is usually covered, but only if all the resort’s pistes are closed.
So if only one run is open, which is often the case, the insurer will not
pay out. Some insurers, such as Direct Travel Insurance, will pay out if
more than 80 per cent of the runs are closed. Your cover should also include
some compensation if there is no snow. Esure offers £30 for each 24-hour
period up to a maximum of £250.
If you are on the slopes for a whole season, then a standard annual policy
with winter sports cover will not be sufficient because most of these
policies cover you for only two to three weeks of winter sports. Those who
are staying in the mountains for long periods can arrange cover for the
length of their stay by contacting their insurer, although anyone backed by
an employer while away should have cover arranged for them. Five months
would cost £166 with Direct Travel Insurance for barmen, waiters or chalet
maids.
Even if you think that you have enough cover, check the terms of your policy
before you travel. Jacky Brown, head of travel insurance at esure, says: “It
is important to check the small print before you go and be mindful of any
exclusions, Call your insurer if you are unsure whether or not you will be
covered.”
Before leaving for the slopes, Ms Brown advises that you take your insurance
documents with you, so that policy details and phone numbers are to hand in
the event of an emergency.
False economy
The internet can offer temptingly cheap winter sports insurance but the deals
often compromise on cover. Skiiers using comparison websites can find a
single-trip premium for a one-week holiday to Norway for as little as £13.08
on moneysupermarket.com, but the policy, from OUL Direct, is riddled with
exclusions.
For instance, the insurer will pay out up to only 10 per cent of the original
value if ski equipment more than five years old is lost, stolen or damaged.
It will not pay anything for loss or theft unless it is reported to the
police within 24 hours.
The website’s cheapest annual policy, including trips to the US and Canada,
for a 35-year-old male is £40.95, but this will not cover damaged ski
equipment unless it is returned to your home country for inspection, loss or
theft that is not reported to the police within 24 hours, and loss, theft or
damage to equipment more than 5 years old.
CASE STUDY: £7,000 TOBBOGAN CRASH
Pascale Hunter, 19, of London, has been skiing since she could stand, but it
was when she went tobogganing with her brother in St Moritz, Switzerland two
years ago that the accident happened. The pair lost control on their way
down the slope and hit a fence.
Miss Hunter, left, broke a leg and was taken to hospital for an operation,
accompanied by her mother. When she recovered, they were both repatriated.
The total cost, settled by her insurer, was £7,000. This paid for medical
treatment and care and repatriation for Miss Hunter and her mother.
“I was on crutches for months,” Miss Hunter says. “I have not been skiing
since, although we have booked a trip for this winter and I have been
practising on the indoor slope at Milton Keynes. I had been tobogganing lots
of times before that. It was just an unfortunate accident.”
