By Karla Sullivan
Winter sports, whether it be a skiing holiday, a snowmobile ride on a national park trail, speed skating, or tobogganing can be a wonderful vacation if only injury doesn’t occur. And many times, a fall on the slopes or damage to equipment can turn your escape to the Rockies into a trip you will regret.
If planning a vacation filled with winter activity, the right insurance coverage should be explored and making sure you are prepared for anything unexpected.
Travel insurance offers a variety of options that does include ski and winter sports insurance. Many types of activities can be covered under one policy such as cross country skiing, snowboarding but you may pay an additional premium for sports that are over and beyond the normal. Many policies do not cover ski acrobatics or ski jumping but they will cover your ski equipment, which can be costly to replace.
If you have an annual travel insurance policy in place, you want to check that it includes winter activities because some do not. Annual travel policies may cover illness and medications but specific activities, even water skiing should be mentioned if pursuing a vacation.
A recent study identified new winter sports enthusiasts, or first-time winter planned getaways that never included enough insurance to cover accidents. Those that are more seasoned to winter sports purchase better coverage since they know the risks they are facing. Unfortunately, travel insurance is a much-needed choice as you age since those days as a young skier are not what they used to be.
Natural disaster coverage may also be an option with your insurance that would cover volcanoes, avalanches, floods and earthquakes but generally an additional cost is involved. And if you arrive at your destination and there is not enough snow, you may be covered some compensation for that also.
When planning any type of trip, you will need to take into consideration local warning and advice on hazardous conditions. For example, if ski warnings and travel advisories are in affect in specific areas, if you don’t follow the rules, your travel insurance may not cover you.
Talk to an insurance agent for the best policy whether it be to explore the ski slopes of Canada or just a week of cross country through the local park.
