SKI insurance is the one sector of the travel insurance market that agents continue to shy away from. They prefer to sell the tour operator policy at the back of the brochure rather than one of the many dedicated retail ski policies on the market.
“Where skiing is concerned, agents would rather be sure that clients are properly covered than compete with operator policies,” said Ketteridge general sales manager Doug Weston.
While there is nothing wrong with that, it does mean agents are missing out on higher commission on retail ski insurance policies.
Those offered by Citybond, Hamilton Barr and Suretravel, for instance, are net-rated so agents decide their own commission. As an example, adding 40% to Citybond’s nine-day Europe rate of £19.60 earns £7.84.
Crystal Holidays, on the other hand, does not pay any commission on its ski insurance and the premium for nine days in Europe is £43.50.
Preferential director John Buckingham said he suspects agents are selling more retail ski insurance, not because of the commission but because they are more confident about selling skiing holidays generally and have dedicated policies to offer.
“There are plenty of specialist policies that compete well with tour operator schemes,” he said. “Not so long ago agents would have had to sell a standard retail policy with higher medical expenses but no ski cover.”
These days, many single-trip retail schemes, including those sold by ABC Holiday Extras and Journeys Travel Insurance, have an optional ski section, adding cover for ski equipment and ski pack – pre-paid lift pass, ski hire and lessons.
Some also pay out for piste closure.
There are also a large number of dedicated winter sports policies that cover not only skiing but additional activities such as snowboarding, off-piste skiing, cross-country skiing, tobogganing and snowmobiling. Select also allows heli-skiing.
“I recommend that agents always use a specialist product,” said Weston. “Because skiing is so specialised it needs to be underwritten in the correct way.”
As an example, Primary marketing database manager Simon Redgrove estimates that most medical claims on ski policies are for broken legs or wrists and average £1,500.
Journeys managing director Patrick Chong added: “There is not a huge difference between our policy and a dedicated ski scheme, but it is hard to compete with operators who can pay piste closure on the spot while our clients must claim on their return.”
All ski policies are based on a standard travel insurance package, including cancellation, travel delay and legal expenses, and have separate cover for ski equipment and ski pack. Most also have piste closure – this usually applies January to March only. After that, cover varies. Hamilton Barr and Travel Protection Group pay out if physiotherapy is needed on return to the UK, while Suretravel offers avalanche cover, which kicks in if clients cannot get to their resort because of snowfall.