If you are planning a winter sports holiday, then you will need to make sure that you have some form of insurance in place to protect you. Taking out general travel insurance is very important for even a sedate beach holiday; factoring in winter sports, slippery slopes, and high speed pursuits makes some winter sports travel insurance even more important!

It doesn’t matter whether you take out ski insurance, snowboarding insurance, or general winter sports travel insurance, this kind of policy will give you all the standard elements of a travel policy with built-in special benefits. So, if you take out ski insurance, you’ll get ski specific coverage and if you take out snowboarding insurance, you’ll get snowboarding specific coverage.

How to take out a winter sports travel insurance policy

Some people will take out a general travel insurance policy that also gives them coverage for their winter sports needs. Others will simply opt for a specialist policy or have winter sports protection added to their standard policy. The key thing to remember here is that a standard travel insurance policy on its own will not necessarily give you winter sports travel insurance coverage, ski insurance coverage, or snowboarding insurance coverage. You will need to check the terms and conditions of the policy to see if you will be covered. Bear in mind that the risk of accident with a winter sports holiday is higher than with other holidays, so you do need specialist coverage of some form.

Key factors to consider with winter sports travel insurance

In addition to standard travel insurance coverage, you should be looking for other features and benefits with this kind of policy:

• Check that the policy covers you for all sports that you will be taking on during your holiday. A specific ski insurance policy, for example, or snowboarding insurance may not give you coverage for other sports. So, if you think you may try out different sports on your winter holiday, then get a policy with extensive winter sports travel insurance coverage.
  
  
• If you own your own winter sports equipment and will be taking it with you, then make sure that your policy will cover theft—both in the resort and when travelling. It’s also good to have a policy that will give you some money towards rental costs if your own equipment is stolen.
  
  
• Coverage that gives you compensation because of problems linked to weather/snow issues is also useful. So, for example, if the resort has to close its slopes down or if you cannot fly out of the resort because of bad weather conditions, then you can claim some money back.
  
  
• Ski pack coverage is useful if you are going skiing. This will give you coverage if you cannot use your ski pack for specified reasons and can also be useful if you lose items from the pack such as lift passes and so on.

Do make sure that the winter sports travel insurance you buy gives you the coverage you need for your actual requirements. Bear in mind particularly that any equipment that you take with you may be worth a fair amount of money, and as such, will be attractive to thieves. So, in this instance, make sure that your ski insurance or snowboarding insurance gives you adequate theft, loss, and damage coverage.

Most of all make sure that you shop around for winter sports travel insurance quotes before choosing an insurer. This will ensure that you get the lowest cost options for your ski insurance and snowboarding insurance.   

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