About winter sports travel insurance
As the days get shorter and summer becomes a memory, many of us will shift our thoughts toward planning a winter vacation, especially one that involves winter sports like skiing. Travel insurance is often overlooked in vacation planning, but if you're planning to take part in sporting activities, this is really a must.
Your regular travel insurance policy may not live up to what you need for winter sports, and if things go wrong, you may face a huge bill. So what features should you look for in politics?
injury coverage
No matter how successful you are at snowboarding, sliding down a mountain will always be more dangerous than just lying on the beach working on a tan. And if you have an accident, the mountainside is not the easiest place for medical services to reach. If you're unlucky enough to need a mountain rescue or an airlift to the hospital, you'll face a bill into the thousands before you even get medical attention. This type of expense will likely be specifically excluded in a standard insurance policy, but it will be an integral part of almost any winter sports coverage.
- tools
Most winter sports require expensive equipment, and where valuables are, there is always a chance of theft. Your insurance should provide enough cover to completely replace your appliances with brand new items if necessary, right there at the resort. Even if you plan to rent your equipment, the rental company will likely require insurance — and your own policy will likely be cheaper than the standard policy they will try to sell you.
Legal responsibility
Even the best skiers or snowboarders can be involved in an accident in which another person is injured. Whether the accident was your fault or not, you could end up in court and this is usually a long and expensive process. A decent insurance policy will cover the costs from any legal action and/or compensation payments.
- Close the piste
If bad weather (or warm weather!) means the ski areas are closed and you can't ski, your policy should reimburse you to cover the costs of any previously booked lessons or lift fees, many of which will include a small payment to cover the inconvenience of not being able to ski.
- from piste
The last point to note is that a standard winter sports policy will likely only cover accidents that occur when skiing on designated runs. If you're planning to go off the piste, make sure your insurance will cover this - you'll probably have to pay extra.
As with most types of insurance, paying for travel insurance can seem like a waste of money. However, if you find yourself caught up in an accident on a mountainside, the costs involved can be really scary and you'll be glad you took the time to arrange adequate coverage in advance!
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