Most skiers buy winter sports cover, but a big crash on the slopes could affect an entire protection portfolio. IFAs need to be aware of clients' alpine activities, says Peter Madigan
Skiing is a sport on the up. No longer regarded as strictly the preserve of the privileged few, cheap flights have made escaping to the slopes for a short break during the winter months an increasingly attractive proposition.
According to the Ski Club of Great Britain, 2003 saw 1.2 million Britons take a skiing holiday, with a corresponding rise in the number of people injured while taking part in winter sports activities. This belies the fact however that, statistically speaking, the risk of suffering an injury on the slopes is considerably lower than the chances of taking a knock during a football or rugby match that requires medical treatment.
According to data compiled by ski-injury.com, the risk of injury while skiing is between 0.2% and 0.4%. To put this in perspective, if 1,000 people are skiing or snowboarding on a given day, between two and four of them will require medical attention. Although different alpine sports attract varying degrees of risk, on the whole even the more extreme pursuits with a higher risk of injury are statistically safer than more mundane sports. Why, then, do insurers insist that winter sports cover must be bought separately from conventional travel insurance?
"Skiing and snowboarding in themselves are not regarded as dangerous pursuits. The reason that winter sports cover is bolted on is due to associated claims such as the loss of ski equipment either through theft or loss," says Perry Wilson, director at Insure and Go.
"When comparing skiing to football or rugby, you have to remember that people play these sports every week and they warm up properly, but with skiing it is a different matter. A lot of people are beginners who get the wrong equipment, the wrong size boots and then spend an hour on the nursery slopes before going right up to the top to join their friends who have skied before. This is how a lot of injuries happen."
Although skiing and snowboarding may not be regarded as dangerous sports, other winter activities are not even covered under normal winter sports rates and require supplementary cover on top. Pursuits such as ski racing, ski stunting and ice hockey can as much as double the cost of cover, while heli-skiing is more expensive still.
For those unfortunate enough to suffer an accident on the slopes, many may assume that their private medical insurance (PMI) cover will take care of their medical treatment. The reality, however, is somewhat different.
"A PMI policy will only cover someone for an injury sustained in the UK. Although upon their return the policy would look after their physiotherapy needs up to the normal cover limits, we always recommend taking out travel insurance with winter sports cover," says Howard Hughes, head of marketing at BCWA.
Although in the majority of cases travel insurance is purchased separately from PMI as and when the need arises, some providers offer travel cover as an additional benefit that can be purchased to directly complement the areas where PMI falls short. "Activities like golf, horse riding and angling are covered under our PMI plan even if practised without prior qualifications and training, but skiing and snowboarding are not eligible for cover and would be excluded," says Ronjit Bose, marketing manager at Clinicare.
"Winter sports would be classified as 'category two' activities and would not be covered under our PMI policy or our Travel One plan. They can only be covered under a more advanced Travel Two or Travel Three plan."
Need to know
As no UK PMI plans cover injuries sustained abroad, and travel insurance is almost wholly sold directly to the customer with no intermediary involvement, it may seem that IFAs have little need to familiarise themselves with the ins and outs of winter sports cover. But while the sales opportunities may be limited, advisers should take the time to discover precisely what the implications are for their clients should they decide to go skiing.
The socioeconomic groups most likely to take out protection and health insurance are the very same groups likely to take skiing holidays on a yearly basis. Can intermediaries feel comfortable they are giving their customers the best advice when they are unsure of the implications for critical illness claims should someone lose a limb on the slopes?
"Whether a person suffers an injury or illness that meets the required definitions on a critical illness policy on a skiing holiday abroad, or on their way to work in the morning, it does not affect the validity of a claim they make," says Steve Casey, product manager at BUPA Individual Protection. "It should be pointed out, however, that a claimant has to lose two limbs to make a valid claim."
Income protection providers have given similar assurances that claims will not be affected if someone is unable to work due to a ski-based injury as long as they fulfil the necessary policy criteria. "If someone discloses a pastime of skiing/snowboarding as a recreational pursuit, then we will not load or exclude. If there is a suggestion of more serious activity, such as participation in competitions, then we would require full details, which could result in a loading or exclusion," says Nick Homer, senior propositions manager at Norwich Union Healthcare.
Under the influence
While protection providers are apparently happy to deal with claims regardless of where they happen, two very specific situations can result in travel insurers withdrawing cover. "If someone is found to be drunk or on drugs when they have an accident, then we will refuse to pay for their treatment. We do not have any set limits or tests; it is more to do with attitude and if the person is clearly drunk," says Wilson.
Another common restriction is based on the location of the accident and whether the injury is a direct result of a skier taking on a slope that they are too inexperienced to attempt. Most insurers insist that any off-piste skiing is done with a guide and in an area recognised to be safe.
While the temptation to stray off the piste in the search of fresh powder may be hard to resist, the financial implications may be profound. Indeed, breaking the terms of your cover essentially amounts to having no insurance at all.
"If you're injured while skiing in America and you have no cover, you are looking at $2,000 just to get your leg fixed. Then, because your leg is in plaster, you will have to fly home in business class, which costs around $2,000 to $3,000, and then you will probably need two seats; and if your family have not caught their scheduled flights home you will have to pay for those as well. This leaves you with a bill of around $10,000, and unless you've got that in savings somewhere, you may be looking at taking out a loan or re-mortgaging your house just to pay the bill," says Wilson.
In fact, the only instance in which a ski enthusiast can take to the slopes without appropriate cover is when skiing in the UK. "If a client is going to a UK resort such as Aviemore then they are still covered by their private medical insurance," says Sally Moore, head of marketing at the Permanent Health Company. Although there is a widely held belief that skiing in the UK is relatively tame compared with other countries, according to ski-injury.com there are still 2.48 deaths per 1,000 skier days - so risks, however small, still remain.
Admittedly commission opportunities for advisers are very rare in the travel insurance market, and most clients going on a skiing holiday will have the good sense to invest in winter sports cover without consulting an intermediary. That said, advisers do have a role to play in ensuring that their clients, if planning such a trip, do have the correct cover in place. If they do not, the financial consequences could be huge, a blow that advisers would feel themselves through cancelled policies and lost commission. In this capacity, recommending winter sports cover is not just good advice - it is good sense.
COVER NOTES
- Winter sports cover must be bought as a separate or additional cover to travel insurance, since private medical insurance will not cover your treatment unless you are skiing in the UK.
- Critical illnesses and injuries sustained on the piste do not affect the validity of a critical illness or income protection claim, provided the claimant fulfils the necessary definitions and policy details.
- Most travel insurers will not cover an injury that is sustained while the claimant is intoxicated or under the influence of illegal drugs.
- The number of winter sports injuries and subsequent claims is rising as alpine pursuits grow in popularity.
