Sports insurance: travel and skiing.

Ski insurance. If you’re one of the third of skiers who don’t take out insurance when you go skiing, you risk being landed with thousands of dollars of medical and rescue bills in the case of any accidents occurring.

Unanticipated costs during a ski trip can include things like equipment that’s broken or stolen, piste closure, a lost or stolen suitcase, and the biggies like personal liability and repatriation/restoration costs for accidents where you may be at fault.

These are all reasons why purchasing an insurance policy for your ski trip makes the best sense. How can you choose, however, from the tremendous range of polices out there?

The first consideration is what kind of skier you are. Even the cheapest policies of insurance can cover those folks who are at a beginning or inexperienced level, and who plan to stick to the piste. Basic policies start in the range of $30, and should be available through your travel agent, insurance broker, and sometimes even in the supermarket.

More advanced skiers who will be doing off-piste, heli-skiing or cat-skiing will need policies that cover those activities. Premiums can be significantly more expensive in line with the increased risk or danger and you should expect to have to use a specialist insurance provider to be fully covered.

You must also consider how much coverage you need. A policy may offer different bands of coverage and your activities will fall within one of those bands. A basic policy, for example, can provide you with $250,000 worth of protection, while a premium policy may pay up to $1,000,000 for medical expenses. Also, pay attention to the excess payments required on any claims made; they can be quite substantial on cheaper policies.

No matter what policy or coverage you elect, you must purchase your policy before you travel, or it will not be valid. An insurance company will protect its interests by making sure you have documentation that proves you had your insurance in place prior to any accident occurring.

Finally, be informed about your coverage by reading the policy thoroughly, particularly the fine print, to make sure it covers what you need it to cover. Nothing will protect you more than to know what’s covered in your policy, and this can only happen if you actually give the contract a thorough read-through and ask questions about anything that doesn’t make sense to you or that you don’t understand. Backpacker travel insurance.