Snow travel insurance guide

Before you slap on the skis or charge the half pipe, make sure you have adequate cover for your trip.

You've been itching all year long to hit the slopes and sink your skis into some fresh, white, powdery snow. You've got new gear, your accommodations are booked, you've scheduled some refresher courses with a local trainer and your bags have all been packed. Nothing can go wrong now, right?

Wrong.

Even though you've crossed every T and dotted every I, where your ski holiday is concerned, the best laid plans can fail. Err on the side of averages and assume that anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. But where would that leave you? Stranded in a foreign country with no luggage, flight accommodation? Or worse, out in the cold seeking emergency medical care from a ski injury without any money to pay for your treatment? These are the kinds of unfortunate circumstances that can be avoided by investing in a snow travel insurance policy.

Due to their risky nature, partaking in extreme or winter sports are excluded by most travel insurance policies. However, there are some ways around those exclusions - like adding a winter sports package to your current travel policy or taking out a ski holiday policy from a company that specializes in ski travel insurance. Be advised, though, that not all insurance policies are the same in terms of inclusions and exclusions so know ahead of time what you want and need coverage for before you begin your search. Doing your travel insurance comparison online can save you both time and money.

So, generally speaking, what's covered in a ski holiday or snow travel insurance policy?

In addition to the usual stuff covered by a standard policy, a winter sports package will cover you for emergency evacuation from the slopes to nearest hospital, medical treatment, ski equipment hire, piste closure, bad weather and a little bit more.

Emergency Rescue and Medical Treatment - The cost of a medical evacuation off a snowy mountain overseas could cost you thousands of dollars. Most ski/snow policies will cover medical evacuation to the nearest hospital or depending upon the seriousness of the injury, back home to New Zealand. Of course, after the evacuation, the policy will also cover hospital and medical costs you incur while you are traveling outside of New Zealand.

Ski Equipment Hire and Reimbursement - Ski equipment is expensive to replace or repair if it gets lost, damaged or stolen. If your gear has a value of more than $700, most insurers will provide coverage protection for it, so long as the pieces are itemized on the policy. If you have to hire or rent additional equipment in the interim to replace yours during the remainder of your holiday, your policy might cover those fees as well. In the event that you're not able to use your ski and lift passes, hired equipment or purchased lessons due to illness, injury or theft - your policy will reimburse you the unused portion at no additional cost to you.

Bad Weather and Avalanche Closure - This clause of a ski/snow policy allows coverage for your out of pocket expenses in the event that you cancel your holiday or rebook at another location due to adverse weather conditions resulting in resort, slope and/or piste closure. If you don't have a special ski insurance policy, this will not be covered by the standard cancellation protection.

What's not covered by a ski/snow travel policy?

High risk activities - Most of these policies are geared toward people who plan to do recreational skiing and snowboarding only. The coverage usually does not extend to high risk activities such as cat skiing, competitive skiing or bob sledding. The level of cover and exclusions on these activities varies between insurers, so be sure to read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) to ensure that your planned activities are on the 'covered' list.

Out of Season Travel - Just because there's snow on the ground does not mean it's prime skiing time. Insurers have very strict guidelines about the time frames in which coverage is extended so make certain that your travel dates are well within their window of coverage.

Out of Bounds - A few specialist insurers will cover you off-piste provided you stay within resort boundaries. Ducking under the resort boundary ropes that have been closed all season for some back country skiing will not be covered and likely neither will any incidents that occur off-site from your destination.

Losses Incurred While Under The Influence - Just as you shouldn't drink and drive, you shouldn't drink and ski, either. Not only is it extremely dangerous, but if the adjuster finds the losses you incurred happened while you were under the influence of alcohol or a similar substance.

Whether you're after an annual trip policy or a single trip ski insurance policy, comparetravelinsurance.co.nz is the quick and easy way to compare multiple quotes in seconds.