Winter sports: should you also have extra insurance if you live in France?

Winter sports result in between 130,000 and 160,000 accidents every year, according to the mountain doctors’ group Médecins de montagne. Here is what insurance you need to be covered in case things go wrong.

The potential costs of a skiing holiday can escalate quickly in the case of an accident if you do not have insurance.

While medical costs and hospital stays are reimbursed for people in the French healthcare system, the extra costs caused by an accident can include mountain searches, transport, a more comfortable hospital room, paying for damage and compensating other skiers injured through your fault.

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The cost of rescuing an injured skier alone costs on average €367, reports specialised information website skiinfo.fr.

For people without insurance, a 2002 law limits these costs to:

• €50 for rescues mainly on toboggan slopes and lower pistes or at the foot of a ski lift involving light care.

• €150 to €200 for rescues on nearby piste areas.

• €340 for rescues in remote piste areas more than 1km from the rescue station.

Off-piste accidents can prove far more expensive, with an average cost of around €700.

This can include evacuation by helicopter, which costs on average €1,776 or €30 a minute.

All of these extra costs can be covered entirely by insurance, which can also reimburse other expenses, such as cancelled accommodation, equipment or lessons.

Before paying for ski insurance, you should first check your current policies, some of which may already cover winter sports, holiday rentals and accidents.

Responsabilité civile

Home insurance deals typically include responsabilité civile or third-party liability coverage, which still applies if you cause an accident while skiing.

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This means that your insurer will pay for any damage you cause to others, but not necessarily costs related to the damage you cause to yourself. Check your policy for details.

Home insurance often includes holiday cover, which also extends to theft and damage in rental accommodation.

Assurance ski

Winter sports coverage or an assurance ski is proposed as an option in a variety of insurance deals, including:

• Bank cards

• Health top-ups

• Home insurance

• Personal accident insurance

• Children's extracurricular insurance

• Often ski lift pass deals

It is also available as a separate deal, which is available from around €3.50 a day, €10 a week or €50 a year from several major insurers, including AXA and Allianz. 

This specialised coverage offers several key advantages including:

• Lift shutdown insurance: Reimbursement for unused days of a lift pass if weather conditions cause the closure of more than 50% of the ski area's lifts.

• A driver to return your vehicle home if you are unable to drive

• Search and rescue costs

• Equipment damage

Note that most contracts do not cover off-piste accidents. If you want to ski off-piste then you will need a specialised insurance deal, which may require membership of a skiing club or the presence of an instructor.