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Winter might not be the most popular season but it does have one redeeming feature - winter sports! There is something about skiing and snowboarding which can turn even the most docile person into a speed demon which might explain why one in seven skiers need medical care*. Yet a quarter of Britons still travel without ski insurance on their winter sports holiday*. Ski insurance covers many things that standard travel insurance and the EHIC (European Health Insurance Card) do not.

That said, the EHIC should still be an essential item in your packing**. It entitles you to reduced-cost, sometimes free, medical treatment that becomes necessary while you are in a European Economic Area (EEA) country or Switzerland. But the EHIC gives you access to state-provided medical treatment only. This might not cover all the things you would expect to get free of charge from the NHS in the UK. You may have to make a contribution to the cost of your care and it will not cover personal repatriation. It is definitely no substitute for comprehensive ski insurance.

If you hurt yourself on the slopes, being rescued is an expensive business especially if you need to be airlifted off the mountain. In the USA and Canada for example, travellers without ski insurance are expected to settle their costs directly. An uninsured Briton repatriated back to London from Vancouver can expect a bill of £6,000*, and that doesn’t include the costs of your rescue from the slopes and initial medical treatment. Do make sure that your ski insurance policy covers you for all types of mountain rescue - without wishing to sound alarmist, when you are in agony after a fall you will be very glad that, if needed, you are covered for a helicopter hospital transfer rather than having to be dragged down the mountain. Keep your ski insurance details and your EHIC on your person while on the slopes to avoid any potential delays with treatment.

Going off-piste is thrilling and enables you to access top-quality snow. Be sure to check that you are covered for this - many travel insurance policies exclude it altogether, or insist on taking a guide.

Snow conditions can make or break a ski holiday. Some ski areas have reported a lack of snow in recent years and have had to close lifts and pistes. Equally, too much snow can lead to avalanche warnings and resort closures. A good ski insurance policy should cover you for transportation costs to take you to an alternative skiing area in the event that ALL skiing facilities in your pre-booked resort are closed due to lack of snow or avalanche. Please note that ‘Piste Closure’ cover in most ski insurance policies only applies outside of the United Kingdom and between certain months of the year.

Nowadays you can do so much more than just ordinary skiing and snowboarding on your holiday. Many resorts offer snowmobiling, dog sledding, ice diving, parapenting and many more adventurous activities. The winter sports industry is very ingenious and often you will find a new activity available every year. It is very important to check with your ski insurer before you go that you are covered for your daring exploits.

Another very important reason to take out ski insurance is to cover you for third-party liability. Check your policy for the terms of cover. Winter sports have a high potential for causing injury to others and there have been a number of high-profile and distressing court cases as a result of skiers colliding.

by Pete Handley

Now for many people traveling is just like their hobby and they want to travel as much as they get chance from their work. Multi trip travel insurance is tailored for the people who like to travel more than once a year to different foreign countries. Usually when you plan for traveling you just take travel insurance for that trip only to foreign country but do not you think it might be really very expensive if you are a frequent traveler. Multi trip travel insurance provides you the opportunity to travel as much as you want to different countries of the whole world without paying comparatively large amount of money which you generally pay for taking travel insurance to different trips.

Although the coverage given by multi trip travel insurance is almost similar to basic cover given with different travel insurance policies, but it may vary depending upon company to company and person to person. Multi trip travel insurance provides cover for any kind of medical emergencies. If in foreign country you fall ill or get injured then your policy of multi trip travel insurance provides you the full reimbursement for expenses done on your medical treatment. Your multi trip travel insurance will also provide you the cover for theft, mugging, and loss of your personal belongings. In case you lose your documents and baggage in travel to foreign country and thus left even without any proof of your identity, multi trip travel insurance will cover these entire situations, thus providing you the full satisfaction during travel. Apart from it all you will also get coverage for emergency evacuation, flight cancellation, and flight delays in your trip.

Generally with the policy of multi trip travel insurance all above mentioned covers are given but even then when buying for policy you should very carefully check the coverage. Because insurance companies have their own different policies for multi trip travel insurance and hence coverage may vary as per the insurance company’s rules. As coverage is the most important factor to be taken into account with the policy of multi trip travel insurance so better to consider before buying the policy instead of repenting later.

Realizing the importance of time insurance companies have put quotes for multi trip travel insurance on their websites, so now it is very easy to find out the best quote online. Almost all insurance companies have their own websites. But once you will start online research about the most suitable multi trip travel insurance policy you will get many quotes and so you can easily compare and select the best one for yourself.

by Henry Bell