Take cover, or you're heading for a nasty fall; If you're going

Sunday Herald, The, Jan 26, 2003

Wandering round a hotel at a ski resort can be akin to appearing as an extra in Casualty. While ski bums make light of the risks of taking to the piste, the bustle and commotion caused by crutches, armslings, wheelchairs and stretchers says it all.

And it's not just the crack of bones that poses a threat. Even when you manage to stay upright on the snowboard, too much apres-ski could, soon enough, see you legless.

Not forgetting the delights of the ski bunny, or skihaserl as she was originally named, the warnings are implicit in the ski bunny's original anthem Das Lied Vom Skihaserl: "A ski bunny sets your heart to beating/ She gives joy to old and young/A most joyous ski companion/She's always happy, never glum; Yes, you've got to have a bunny/ Without her skiing is no fun."

Written in the 1930s, it would be a brave man who used it as a chat-up today. Yet sex and the slopes are rarely parted. Skiing only really took off as a sport for the masses after it had spent several decades masquerading as an elaborate mating game for the "fast set".

Winter sports commentator David Rowan explains: "Even among the less affluent, there was no comparable activity for upscale, outdoorsy people. It became the great mating scene. If you wanted to be seen as a 'sport' - which was the operative word in the 1930s - you skied in the winter. The sport developed its own clothing glamour, its own songs, its own mystique, its own heroes, both European instructor-gods and home-grown US racing heroes."

Today it remains the trendy "me too" activity of the wannabes, or rather the wannabe-seens, who, if they are not careful, could end up as "will-never-be-the-same agains". All kinds of dangers inevitably await unfit office-bound slouches, whose most strenuous daily activity is normally restricted to the left-click on the mouse. Like lambs to the slaughter, they are unprepared for a week of relentless, gruelling and hazardous physical activity.

Buying the right insurance is imperative to prevent a calamity turning into a complete disaster. Yet while snow travellers will spend weekends picking the latest winter sports fashions, many hardly give a second's thought to their insurance.

But cover for a skiing holiday is probably the most complex insurance they will ever buy, and the one most likely to be riddled with exclusions. For example, how many novice skiers will stop to think before taking part in the "end-of-the-week" ski-school race?

If it results in a claim your insurer wishes to avoid, and you have a policy that excludes any particularly dangerous activities, it could mean bottoms up to your payout. That five-minute bit of fun could cripple you financially for years to come.

It is inadvisable to take to the slopes without at least (pounds) 1 million in medical expenses ((pounds) 2m in North America), plus a further (pounds) 1m for personal liability (in case you injure someone else). In many countries, causing an accident on the slopes is akin to driving negligently and causing a car accident in Britain. There will be court cases, especially in the litigious US. In parts of Europe you can even find yourself clapped in jail.

A good policy should also cover all mountain-rescue expenses, as well as the cost of an air ambulance back to the UK.

So how do you know if you have a good policy? The key thing is to read the small print carefully and ask plenty of questions of whoever sells you the cover. Don't presume because you have an annual policy that it will protect you for a ski holiday. Unless it specifically includes winter sports, it will not. Even then, the cover may be cautiously restrictive.

Similarly, do not buy contracts offered by a travel agent, because these can often be deficient too. A good step is to go to a specialist winter-sport broker, who will make sure you have all the protection you need. It may look as though you are paying more, but often you will be getting better insurance at a cheaper price.

However, a number of retailers, such as Tesco and Boots, also offer travel policies that cover winter sports and these can be worth exploring.

The options for winter sport cover are almost endless and will depend on where you are skiing, the standard you have reached, whether you have your own equipment and what the weather will be like.

Some policies, for example, offer limited cover for personal equipment - assuming the skier is a novice who hires equipment and just potters around the nursery slopes. This will be inadequate for experienced snow fans, whose skis alone could be worth more than (pounds) 1000.

Also ensure your policy includes the cost of hiring equipment if yours is delayed or lost in transit, which could otherwise either ruin your holiday or put up the costs annoyingly.

It can sometimes be possible to include ski equipment under the all-risks section of your household policy. This could have the advantage that many contents contracts replace lost or stolen items on a "new-for-old" basis, while travel policies tend to make deductions for wear and tear. But check carefully precisely what cover you will be getting, and what will happen to your premium if you need to claim.