More than 700,000 people leave Britain each year to join the thousands of other skiers and snowboarders from across the world to jostle for position on the snow covered slopes.
At the height of the season in Val d'Isere for example there can be at least 20,000 people on the slopes and with so many individuals vying for space the risk of an accident occurring from which an injury occurs is ever present.
Not only is there a heightened risk of injury because of the greater chance of a collision, but the changes in the way people ski and the developments in equipment has also led to an increase in certain types of injuries.
Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) statistics show knee ligament injuries as top of the five most common ski injuries, representing 30 per cent of all cases, followed by fractured tibias, fractured or sprained wrists, back injuries and finally dislocated shoulders.
All painful, but maybe not as painful as for the injured party who hasn't taken out travel insurance before taking to the slopes.
Perry Wilson, from travel insurance specialist InsureandGo, says: "Skiing and snowboarding are both high risk activities and while the ever present danger is part of the excitement, it also means that taking out adequate travel insurance is a necessity.
"The cost of medical care alone for the treatment of a broken leg or wrist in Europe can be up to £10,000 and up to £30,000 in the US. And that's before the costs for the air ambulance rescue, your rescheduled flight home and other incidentals such as equipment hire and lift passes are included. All in all the result is a holiday that you could be paying for, for the rest of your life."
InsureandGo offers high value but low cost cover and includes winter sports automatically in all its annual policies - saving travellers even more. Its policies also cover off-piste skiing and snowboarding (with leash), mono skiing, tobogganing and ice skating. And as skiing can be expensive enough for families, InsureandGo offers great value for money as kids under-18 are insured for free on all policies.
To find out more visit www.skiinsurance.co.uk or call 0870 220 2240.
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For further information, or to interview Perry Wilson, please contact Stephanie Deazley on 01376 556 390 or email steph@insureandgo.com |