With virtually every travel insurance policy, winter sports form a separate module, and the line between covered and not covered runs literally along the edge of the piste.
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A premium indication, not personal advice. Prefer to talk it through? Call 072 - 509 24 56.
In brief
An ordinary travel policy excludes winter sports as a special risk. Without the module, the costs of an accident on the piste are not covered: not the recovery from the slope, not the transport down to the valley and not the ambulance journey. Within Europe the medical costs themselves largely run through your health insurance; the travel policy tops up the part that is not covered there.
The expensive element is the recovery. A rescue by sledge, by the piste patrol or by helicopter is charged locally and is separate from the medical treatment. This is the main reason to take out the module, even for those who rarely fall.
The module also covers the unused ski pass, lessons and hire equipment on a pro rata basis after an injury, and your own equipment against theft or breakage. Keep receipts and ask for a medical statement locally. Compare the set-up with continuous travel insurance or single-trip travel insurance for a single week.
What does travel insurance with winter sports cover?
The structure of the cover in three parts, with an overview per situation below.
Basic
Basic cover
What is included on every trip.
Luggage
Assistance
Liability while travelling
Extension
Modules
What you add per trip.
Medical expenses
Winter sports
Special sports
Separate
Cancellation
The cost of not going.
Illness or accident
A death in the family
A fixed list of events
What is covered
Situation
Basic
With winter sports module
Theft of luggage from a locked space
Provided that
Provided that
Repatriation after an accident
Yes
Yes
Medical expenses abroad
Provided that
Provided that
Damage to or theft of hired ski equipment
No
Yes
An accident while skiing off-piste
No
Provided that
A trip to an area with a negative travel advisory
No
No
Travel insurance reimburses medical expenses as a supplement to your health insurance, not as a replacement for it. Winter sports and special sports are excluded as standard and require a separate module. A negative travel advisory from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs generally excludes cover for that area; report a claim as soon as reasonably possible (7:941 DCC).
This overview is general in nature and is not personal advice. What is actually covered, including exclusions, limits and the excess, is set out in the policy conditions and the insurance card (verzekeringskaart) of the insurer; you receive both before you take out cover. Taking out cover without advice? Then read what execution only means for you.
Where things go wrong in practice
Four points that make the difference between a policy that pays out and one that does not.
Off-piste is the sharpest line in the policy
The module covers skiing and snowboarding on marked, open pistes. As soon as you go outside the markers, most insurers apply an exclusion, unless you are accompanied by a qualified guide or instructor. A closed piste or an area under an avalanche warning also falls outside it. That applies not only to the recovery, but to the whole claim.
Competitions and speed events are excluded
Taking part in competitions, training for them and speed runs is excluded as standard, even in an amateur race organised by the ski school or a club championship. The same often applies to freestyle in a snow park with jumps and rails, and to heliskiing and ski touring with skins. If you want to do those, you need cover for special sports; that is separate from the ordinary winter sports module.
Recovery and repatriation are two separate items
The recovery brings you from the slope down to the valley; repatriation brings you back to the Netherlands by suitable transport. Both are usually in the module, but with their own limits. Always call the emergency assistance centre first: transport you arrange yourself without permission is regularly not paid, or paid only in part, even if the costs were reasonable.
Your own liability on the piste
If you run into another skier, your liability is assessed under Article 6:162 of the Dutch Civil Code, with the international rules of conduct for skiers weighing heavily. This is not part of the travel insurance but of your personal liability insurance (AVP). Check whether it applies worldwide or at least in the country where you are skiing, and what sum insured applies there per event.
What does your premium depend on?
Continuous or single-trip — A continuous policy with a winter sports module is priced per year; a single-trip policy by the length of the trip.
Number of winter sports days per year — Some insurers limit the number of covered days per insurance year.
Household composition — The number of people insured and the age of the participants both count.
Area of cover — Europe or worldwide; destinations outside Europe mainly increase the repatriation costs.
Equipment included — Your own skis, board, boots and helmet are declared as luggage with their own limit.
Chosen additions — Accident cover, medical costs and separate cancellation cover are added on top.
Insurers weigh these details differently. That is why comparing pays off.
How we arrange it
You request a quoteWe take stock of your situation, your risk and your wishes.
We compareseveral insurers, on premium as well as conditions.
You receive a proposalWith an explanation of the differences and the exclusions.
We arrange the switchIncluding cancellation, so there is no gap in cover.
Customers rate our service on four aspects: personal service, service delivery, availability and the outcome. The reviews are collected and published by NH1816 and come from customers who have actually taken out a policy with Finass Advies B.V. or reported a claim.
With most insurers only under the supervision of a qualified guide or ski instructor. If you go off the marked piste on your own, an exclusion applies that covers the whole claim: recovery, treatment and repatriation. On a closed piste or under an avalanche warning there is hardly any policy that provides cover, not even with supervision.
Do I still need health insurance alongside this?
Yes. Within Europe your basic health insurance pays the medical costs up to the rate customary in the Netherlands. The winter sports module tops up the difference and pays for the items that health insurance does not recognise, such as recovery from the piste and suitable transport home. Take your European health insurance card and your policy number with you.
Do I get my ski pass refunded after an injury?
Usually yes, pro rata for the unused days, together with lessons and hire equipment. The condition is a medical statement from a local doctor and the original receipts. Without those documents it cannot be established afterwards from which day you were unable to ski, and the item is rejected.
Does the module cover damage I cause to someone else?
No. If you collide with another skier, that is a liability matter and it runs through your personal liability insurance (AVP). Check before departure whether that policy is valid in the country where you are skiing and what sum insured applies; injury on the piste can lead to substantial claims, certainly where the injury is permanent.
Finass Verzekert is a trading name of Finass Advies B.V. We advise on and arrange non-life insurance on the basis of an objective analysis of several insurers, and receive commission for this from the insurer, which is included in the premium. You pay no separate advice fee. Before you take out cover, we establish your wishes and needs.
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