What is winter sports travel insurance?
Winter sports travel insurance is a form of travel insurance that has been specifically designed to take the risks of winter sports into account.
Travel insurance provides customers with insurance when they go on holiday, and protects them financially from any loss of costs occurring as a result of getting ill or injured whilst abroad, from delayed or cancelled flights, and from cancellation of accommodation, or travel company failure.
Winter sports travel insurance is merely an extension of this cover, designed to include the added risks of winter sports travel and activity, and to close up some of the exceptions found on common travel insurance policies which are not designed for this purpose.
How does winter sports travel insurance work?
Winter sports travel insurance protects a customer in many of the same ways of a standard travel insurance policy, but without the huge list of exceptions relating to winter sports.
Anyone who has read the terms and conditions of a standard travel insurance policy will note that the majority of the exceptions relate to winter sports, with off piste skiing and snowboarding being paid particular attention. Winter sports travel insurance has been designed to allow winter sports enthusiasts to take part in all the different activities their winter sports provides, without worrying that they will not be covered by their travel insurance.
Winter sports travel insurance still includes the most important part of a home insurance policy, which is the health insurance costs. In the UK we are used to the NHS, which provides free health care and operations should we fall ill or get injured in this country. When we go abroad, this is no longer the case, and in most countries we will have to pay for our own healthcare.
This can cost a lot of money, and the high injury rate of winter sports makes it an essential part of any policy. In fact, a broken leg and subsequent operation can cost tens of thousands of pounds in medical fees, and without winter sports travel insurance, a customer would be liable for this payment, and may not be allowed to leave the country until they have paid their bill in full.
In the past this has left families at home having to dig into their life savings, and hold fund raising events, just to get a family member home, because they didn’t take out travel insurance.