About Winter Sports Travel Insurance

By: Nicholas Hunt
Submitted: 2007-01-17 16:17:24
Print this article | Tell a friend | For publisher | Social Bookmarking
Rating:
 

As the days grow shorter and summer becomes a memory, many of us will be turning our thoughts towards planning a winter vacation, especially one involving winter sports such as skiing. Travel insurance is an often overlooked part of holiday planning, but if you plan on taking part in sporting activites then it really is essential.

A normal travel insurance policy will probably not be up to the standard you need for winter sports, and if things go wrong you could be left facing a huge bill. So what features should you be looking for in a policy?

- Injury Cover

No matter how accomplished a skiier you are, hurtling down a mountain is always going to be more risky than simply lying on a beach working on a tan. And if you do have an accident, a mountainside isn't the easiest place for medical services to reach. If you're unlucky enough to need a mountain rescue or airlift to hospital, you'll be facing a bill running into the thousands even before you get medical attention. This sort of expense is likely to be specifically excluded on a standard insurance policy, but will be an integral part of almost any winter sports cover.

- Equipment

Most winter sports require expensive equipment, and where there are valuables there's always the chance of theft. Your insurance should provide enough cover to fully replace your equipment with brand new items if necessary, right there at the resort. Even if you plan to hire your equipment, the hire company will probably require insurance - and your own policy is likely to be cheaper than the standard one they'll try to sell you.

- Liability

Even the best skiiers or snowboarders can be involved in an accident in which someone else gets injured. Whether or not an accident is your fault, you could end up being taken to court and this is usually a long and expensive process. A decent insurance policy will cover costs from any legal proceedings and / or compensation payments.

- Closure of Piste

If bad weather (or warm weather!) means that the pistes are closed and you can't ski, your policy should pay you compensation to cover the costs of any pre-booked lessons or lift fees, and many will even include a payment simply to cover the inconvenience of not being able to ski.

- Off Piste

A final point to note is that a standard winter sports policy will probably only cover you for accidents that occur when skiing on designated pistes. If you plan to go off-piste, then make sure your insurance will cover this - you'll probably have to pay a supplement.

As with most kinds of insurance, paying out for travel insurance can seem like a waste of money. However, if you find yourself caught up in an accident on the mountainside then the costs involved can be truly frightening and you'll be glad you took the time to arrange adequate cover in advance!

Nick Hunt is a contributing writer for 1Stop Personal Finance, where you can read more about winter sports insurance in the travel insurance section of the site.

Article source: Expert Articles

Most Recent Articles in Insurance category

  • Understanding Mortgage Terms - By: Liza Arwati
    In order to get the best deal on your home mortgage loan, it is a good idea to understand certain terms that are specific to the real estate and financial industry. The following are the common terms you're going to hear when applying for your first mortgage.
  • How to Shop for Auto Insurance - By: Justin Narin
    Looking for an affordable and reliable auto insurance provider? Learn valuable techniques to finding and choose a great provider.
  • Renters Insurance: Things to consider - By: Liza Arwati
    Most renters insurance offers full coverage to protect your possessions from flooding, fire, theft, vandalism and many other types of risk. Therefore, it is advisable to have a separate insurance to protect your belongings from damages and losses. It even claims for the injuries caused to the people who visit your home.
  • Get Discount on Homeowners Insurance - By: Liza Arwati
    It might a good idea to get it all together. Many insurance companies that sell homeowners insurance also provide auto insurance. They may offer a discount if you buy both policies from the same company. The discount could be as high as 10 to 15%. Be sure to verify that the combined price is lower than buying the different coverage from different company.
  • The Basic of Homeowners Insurance - By: Liza Arwati
    Homeowners insurance is an insurance policy you buy from the insurer to protect your house against theft, storms, fire, flood and all other causes explained in your policy. It allows you to transfer the risk associated with owning a home to the insurance provider and give you a peace of mind that your most valuable asset is, your home, is protected.
  • How to Budget on a Variable Income - By: Alex Rodriquez
    It can be challenging to create and keep to a budget when you know exactly how much money you have from one week to the next, but when you have variable income it can seem impossible.
  • A Brief History of Loans - By: Alex Rodriquez
    Apart from your house, your car is likely to be the biggest investment you make. As with mortgages, the high cost of the purchase will often require you to take out a loan to pay the vehicle off.
  • Medieval mercantile fairs - By: Alex Rodriquez
    Medieval mercantile fairs were one of the primary inspirations for the rise of banking in Medieval Europe. Merchants, or money lenders, would issue documents that could be redeemed at other fairs in exchange for hard currency.
  • The Origins of Banking - By: Alex Rodriquez
    Making the choice to get in shape is one that will pay off greatly in the long run. However, for many, this choice also means that they will be paying a large sum of money out of their pocket for gym memberships and personal trainers to actually get in shape.
  • California Healthy Families - By: Charles Peter
    Health is a very important issue today. In the present scenario, health insurance is a must. With soaring medical costs, we cannot afford to be without medical insurance.