How dangerous is skiing – need ski insurance

A few years ago the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents reported that more than 10,000 people have to attend British hospitals each year following accidents on the slopes.

This sounds like a worryingly high number and one wonders how travel insurers could ever make a profit!  However there are always different ways of looking at statistics and recently a GP in Scotland has undertaken a comprehensive survey of skiing injuries.  Dr Mike Langran runs a specialist website: www.ski-injury.com .

He says that between two and four people need medical attention out of every thousand people skiing or snowboarding in a day.  Apparently the figure is slightly higher in Greece and Japan.  The risk of accidental death is .7 per million skier visits and a lower figure of .46 deaths per million for snowboarders.  These figures seem quite reassuring but for the people involved an accident on the slopes can be traumatic.

Apparently 10% of accidents involve a collision, 5% involve ski-lifts and another 5% relate in some way to equipment breaking or failing.  You are more likely to have an accident if you have been drinking and this may be a reason for there being more accidents in the afternoon than the morning.

There has long been a debate about the benefits of helmets but Dr Langran advises wearing one that is suitable for the activity you are planning and conforms to the relevant standards.  Personal fitness is also a factor; if your body is unprepared for the physical strain of skiing you are more likely to suffer an injury.

Make sure your ski travel insurance covers the type of activity you are planning- some have exclusions that may rule out the cover you need.  Make sure you have winter sports insurance in place before you travel.