While skiers spend an average four hours a day racing through the powder, a surprising one in six (16 per cent) of those who have visited a skiing resort have never set foot on the slopes.

Those from the North are least likely to hit the piste when they visit a ski resort - over a fifth (22 per cent) said they didn’t spend any time skiing. This is compared to eight per cent of Londoners who failed to race down the slopes, according to the poll commissioned by moneysupermarket.com.

 

While hurtling down a mountain is important for most skiers and snowboarders, travel insurance isn’t for some. An astonishing 28 per cent are not insured for injury to themselves or other people.

 

A further 23 per cent could not remember if they had taken insurance, leaving almost half of respondents who were sure they had taken out adequate travel insurance for their trip. Men are more likely to run the risk of skiing without adequate cover (31 per cent) than women (24 per cent).

 

Peter Gerrard, head of insurance research at price comparison site moneysupermarket.com, said: “The après ski spirit is an important part of most ski trips, but it’s surprising how many holidaymakers now go for the good times alone and never set foot on the slopes.

 

“The millions of people who do ski and snowboard cannot afford to skimp on their travel insurance. While some people may not realise they need extra cover for winter sports, it seems many are prepared to take a huge financial risk, both to themselves and potentially to other skiers.”

 

There are many exclusions to watch out for even if you have bought additional winter sports and skiing cover with your normal travel insurance. Some common exclusions are tobogganing, off-piste skiing and snowboarding, ski-jumping, heli-skiing and luging.

 

Peter Gerrard continued: “Anyone who enjoys Van Chaud should note virtually every travel insurance policy has a clause stating if you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of an incident, any claim may be rendered invalid. Of course, there will be plenty of people taking advantage of the après ski on offer, but it is extremely important to be sensible about alcohol consumption, particularly when returning to the slopes the following morning.”

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