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5 Reasons to Buy Travel Insurance For Your Ski Trip

Ski Travel Insurance
Allianz - Ski Travel Insurance

Gliding down a powdery slope feels exhilarating and totally carefree. Keep it that way: Protect your ski or snowboard vacation with travel insurance.

A travel insurance plan lets you escape to the mountains with perfect peace of mind. You know your trip investment’s protected. You know your family’s protected. And you know you’re protected in case of trip cancellations, medical emergencies, lost or stolen baggage and other travel mishaps. Here’s why you should safeguard your ski trip.

1. Ski and snowboarding trips are expensive.

You’ve always dreamed of taking your two boys on a snowboarding trip. At last you’re making it happen with five days on the slopes at Jackson Hole. Everything’s booked: the lodge reservations, the lift tickets, board rentals and classes for the kids. And then, the night before you leave, your youngest says he feels hot and his tummy hurts. Oh no… If you have to cancel the trip, will you lose all the money you spent?

At U.S. ski resorts, the average cost of an adult weekend lift ticket is $132.1 Add to that your equipment rental, then multiply by the number of people in your family, then factor in the cost of lodging, travel and meals…  Even if you follow our tips for skiing on the cheap, you’ll still be paying a substantial amount for your trip.

Protect that investment with travel insurance for your ski/snowboard trip! Trip cancellation benefits can reimburse you for your prepaid, nonrefundable trip costs should you have to cancel your travel plans for a covered reason — like the sudden, covered illness of a family member or travel companion. OneTrip Prime, our most popular protection plan for family vacations, even covers children 17 and under for free when they’re traveling with a parent or grandparent (not available on policies issued to Pennsylvania residents).

If your son’s illness turns out to be something serious, like flu, and a doctor advises you to cancel your snowboarding trip, travel insurance can protect you from financial losses. Getting reimbursed for your lost trip expenses means you can reschedule your vacation without losing money.

2. Winter travel can mean unexpected delays.

You decide to make the 4.5-hour drive from New York City to Killington, Vermont for a long weekend of skiing and snowboarding. Then, a forecasted snowstorm turns into a raging blizzard, closing major roads. You’re forced to stop for the night in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere. This is not how you planned to begin your winter vacation.

Whether you’re driving or flying to your ski vacation destination, a winter storm can play havoc with your travel plans. Fortunately, travel insurance with travel delay benefits can help.

When your trip is paused due to a covered delay, travel delay benefits can reimburse you for lost prepaid trip expenses and necessary eligible expenses like meals, accommodation and transportation. So in this scenario, your benefits could reimburse you for:

  • The unplanned hotel stay
  • Dinner and breakfast during your delay
  • Your unused night at the resort
  • The unused, non-refundable lift ticket you had intended to use the night you arrived

3. Travel insurance can protect your stuff on your ski trip.

In anticipation of your big winter ski trip, you treat yourself to a pair of $200 Oakley snow goggles. You set them on a table while you’re ordering a cappuccino… and when you return, they’re gone. Someone stole them!

Your travel insurance plan can help, if it includes baggage loss benefits. Many travelers think “baggage” only means your suitcase. In your travel insurance plan documents, baggage is defined as personal property you take with you or acquire on your trip.

So if your possessions are lost, damaged, or stolen while you are on your trip, your benefits can pay you the cost to repair or replace them, or their actual cash value, whichever is lower. Maximum limits apply. Note that skis and snowboards are only covered while they’re checked with a travel carrier.

In this instance, you’d report your Oakleys stolen and file a claim. Because you just bought them, you can show the receipt and be reimbursed for their value.

4. Travel insurance can help if you get hurt on the slopes.

You’re gracefully skiing down the mountain when a snowboarder face-plants right in front of you. As you swerve to avoid hitting them, you collide with a support pole for the chairlift. The next thing you remember is waking up in a hospital bed with a concussion. What now?

Travel insurance can help get you the care you need. One, your emergency medical benefits can reimburse the cost of medical care for a covered medical emergency. Two, your emergency transportation benefits can cover the cost of transporting you to the nearest appropriate hospital if local medical facilities can’t provide appropriate treatment. As part of these emergency transportation benefits, Allianz can also:

  • Pay to transport a family member to your bedside, if you’ll be hospitalized for more than 48 hours during your trip
  • Pay to have your dependent travel companions safely transported home
  • Pay for your medical repatriation, so you can continue your recovery at home

Please note: Travel insurance does not cover losses resulting from skiing or snowboarding outside marked trails, or in an area accessed by helicopter.

5. Sometimes, you just need expert assistance.

After an exhilarating day on the slopes at Park City, Utah, you’re ready to head back to your hotel. That’s when you realize you dropped your car keys. You’ve skied dozens of trails today, and you have no idea how to even begin looking for them. Panicked, you buttonhole the nearest resort worker; he just shrugs and says, “Sorry, man.” What are you supposed to do?

When you’re facing any travel dilemma, large or small, never hesitate to call us. Contact Allianz Assistance, either by phone or with the free TravelSmart app. Assistance services are included with every travel insurance plan. Our Assistance experts can:

  • Identify alternative transportation and accommodations when your original travel plans are disrupted
  • Get you safely home following a covered illness or injury
  • Help obtain prescription refills when you’re traveling
  • Connect you with medical care in a covered emergency
  • Assist with replacing lost or stolen travel documents
  • And much more!

In this scenario, Assistance might contact the ski patrol to see if your keys have been spotted; connect you with the resort lost & found; send a locksmith to open your vehicle, if you have a spare key inside; and even arrange alternative transportation home, if you can’t drive.

Know we’re with you, whatever may happen on your winter vacation! Find a travel insurance plan that’s perfect for you.

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