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Ski insurance cover: Be prepared for the worst kind of winter break

If you’re planning on joining the hundreds of thousands of Brits who make for the slopes for skiing or boarding holidays each winter (last year some 895,000 of us hit the pistes), you’re no doubt looking forward to breathtaking scenery, thrills and fun on the snow.

In all the excitement and preparation, it can be easy to overlook insurance. Equally, skiing doesn’t come cheap, especially if you’re taking the whole family away. But winter sports cover is one area where you can’t afford to cut corners.

Yet, alarmingly, around a tenth of holidaymakers neglect to take out any travel insurance, according to one provider. A further quarter will assume they are covered by their yearly travel policy, and only 50% will look to see whether winter sports cover is included.

So don’t assume you will be covered, or that a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) will automatically cover your costs in the event of an injury or accident.

Compare The Market helps you find the best deal on your winter holiday insurance, so you can hit the pistes this season with complete peace of mind that you will be covered if the worst happens.

In all, approaching a third of winter sports holidaymakers will probably need to make a claim at some point. And, as you might expect, most claims are made following an injury.

Being evacuated from the slopes, having surgery and being taken home, even from Europe, can mount up to a £25,000 bill. Have an accident in North America and you can expect to pay even more.
But finding the best cover for the best price can seem like trying to find your way down the trickiest of black runs.

Ideally, you should find a policy which:

• Covers you if you cause an injury to someone else
• Pays up for personal medical claims
• Protects against cover for loss of or damage to equipment
• Compensates you if pistes are shut, either because of poor snow conditions or anything else
• Includes everything else you’d expect from regular holiday cover, from lost luggage to having to cancel your trip

Equally, if you’re going to be doing activities like snowmobiling or heli-skiing, or venturing off piste, you may need extra cover.

If you’re unlucky enough to get injured during a winter sports holiday, the experience will be stressful enough without having to worry about finances on top of everything else. So skimping on your travel insurance or sloping off without it completely is just a false economy.

And with insurance for a family of four costing little more than lunch for all of you in a piste-side cafe, it’s a real no-brainer.

If you make several trips a year, it could still be easier to insure yourself with an annual policy. But make sure you are covered for winter sports.

Unfortunately, a rise in Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) introduced in early 2011 to bring this duty in line with VAT makes it even more important to shop around carefully.

And, as with any insurance, go through the small print with a fine toothcomb and be very sure of what your policy includes.