Winter wonderland not so wonderful
With perfect snow reported on European slopes, the half-term break in the UK saw thousands of families heading to European resorts for a winter sports holiday. But, according to new research for AA Travel Insurance, nearly one fifth of travellers could come to a sticky and expensive end because they have no cover. In an AA/Populus study of 2,000 AA members who are planning to take a winter holiday, 18 per cent say they don’t buy travel insurance. Of those that do, only a third (34 per cent) take the trouble to make sure that the cover is what they need. Alan Purvis, director of AA Travel Insurance, says that given the scope for serious injury on the slopes, finding that nearly a fifth of polled winter sports enthusiasts don’t have insurance protection is worrying. “More than a million people [from the UK] go on a snow holiday every winter so, potentially, up to 200,000 are uninsured,” he says. This is echoed in research from Barclays Bank, which has found that one in five UK skiers are hitting the slopes without travel insurance, prompting a warning from the company to consumers. Kieran Murphy, managing director of Barclays Insurance, said: “Even experienced winter sports enthusiasts can have an accident so it is essential to check you have adequate travel insurance in place so you don’t get hurt financially too.” Furthermore, earlier research for the AA suggested that 11 per cent of travellers believe that the free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is a substitute for travel insurance. “Although every European traveller should take the EHIC, in fact it simply entitles UK citizens to the same level of medical care in an EU country that a local resident could expect,” Purvis warned. “And the level of cover will vary from country to country. The card can’t be relied upon to meet all your medical costs. It certainly wouldn’t meet the £20 per minute cost of a helicopter rescue off the mountainside. Add to that emergency treatment at a clinic or hospital – many of which are privately operated – and you could be staring at a bill of at least £7,000.” He added: “That’s a very painful cost to swallow quite apart from the pain and inconvenience of fracturing a limb or dislocating a shoulder, both of which are common winter injuries.” The AA/Populus study interviewed 20,965 AA members in January 2012, of which 2,000 said they were taking a winter sports holiday. Key responses included:- When you buy travel insurance for your trip do you:
With perfect snow reported on European slopes, the half-term break in the UK saw thousands of families heading to European resorts for a winter sports holiday. But, according to new research for AA Travel Insurance, nearly one fifth of travellers could come to a sticky and expensive end because they have no cover.
In an AA/Populus study of 2,000 AA members who are planning to take a winter holiday, 18 per cent say they don’t buy travel insurance. Of those that do, only a third (34 per cent) take the trouble to make sure that the cover is what they need.
Alan Purvis, director of AA Travel Insurance, says that given the scope for serious injury on the slopes, finding that nearly a fifth of polled winter sports enthusiasts don’t have insurance protection is worrying. “More than a million people [from the UK] go on a snow holiday every winter so, potentially, up to 200,000 are uninsured,” he says.
This is echoed in research from Barclays Bank, which has found that one in five UK skiers are hitting the slopes without travel insurance, prompting a warning from the company to consumers. Kieran Murphy, managing director of Barclays Insurance, said: “Even experienced winter sports enthusiasts can have an accident so it is essential to check you have adequate travel insurance in place so you don’t get hurt financially too.”
Furthermore, earlier research for the AA suggested that 11 per cent of travellers believe that the free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is a substitute for travel insurance. “Although every European traveller should take the EHIC, in fact it simply entitles UK citizens to the same level of medical care in an EU country that a local resident could expect,” Purvis warned. “And the level of cover will vary from country to country. The card can’t be relied upon to meet all your medical costs. It certainly wouldn’t meet the £20 per minute cost of a helicopter rescue off the mountainside. Add to that emergency treatment at a clinic or hospital – many of which are privately operated – and you could be staring at a bill of at least £7,000.” He added: “That’s a very painful cost to swallow quite apart from the pain and inconvenience of fracturing a limb or dislocating a shoulder, both of which are common winter injuries.”
The AA/Populus study interviewed 20,965 AA members in January 2012, of which 2,000 said they were taking a winter sports holiday. Key responses included:-
When you buy travel insurance for your trip do you:
-Buy the cheapest (10 per cent)
-Look at what the insurance covers before buying (34 per cent)
-Use a price comparison site (26 per cent)
-Arrange through travel agent (five per cent)
-Other (10 per cent)
-I don’t buy travel insurance (18 per cent)
The fact that only a third of respondents said they look at what the insurance covers before they buy is also somewhat alarming. Purvis points out that while the majority of winter sports policies will meet most conventional winter travellers’ needs, many will exclude activities such as off-piste skiing or tobogganing. “It’s also important to point out that most standard travel insurance policies won’t include winter sports at all,” he adds.
Meanwhile, research from Santander Insurance in the UK has found that 14 per cent of skiers and snowboarders don’t have winter sports cover, or don’t bother to check their travel insurance policy to see if they are covered for winter sports accidents. The bank’s findings highlight that British winter sports enthusiasts are also lacking the proper understanding of the level of coverage provided by travel insurance, as more than half (54 per cent) have been skiing or snowboarding without wearing a helmet, one in four (23 per cent) has been skiing while still under the influence of alcohol from the night before, and 17 per cent while under the influence from lunchtime drinking. “Skiers or snowboarders who take to the slopes while under the influence of alcohol or without wearing a helmet may find they are not covered for any accidents, so it is essential that people read their insurance policies closely,” stated the company.
In related news, Complete Ski, part of Columbus Direct, has produced a map that shows the average costs for search and rescue operations in different parts of the world. According to the map, travellers are more likely to have to pick up the bill for rescue in Europe, while in North America, the Coast Guard or National Park Services would be responsible for the cost of a rescue. Greg Lawson, head of retail for Columbus Direct, commented: “Most people would assume local emergency services, local government or even the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to cover you if you ever had to be rescued but, as our research shows, in most places this is not the case.”