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Winter sports enthusiasts have been warned to check that their insurance policies adequately cover them for all of their likely activities when abroad.

The warning comes from the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA), who have also published a checklist for holidaymakers to complete before they head for the slopes in 2007.

BIBA is concerned that one in seven holiday makers has no travel insurance at all, and with over a million heading for the slopes this winter, hundreds of thousands could be putting themselves at risk.

The BIBA checklist includes:

1. Have you ensured that your travel insurance policy covers winter sports?
2. Are you putting yourself at risk by relying on credit card insurance policies or similar travel insurance products?
3. Are you just relying on your free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC)? As many clinics on the slopes are private.
4. Have you checked with your insurance broker that your insurance adequately covers any potential activity while on the slopes? E.g. If you ski off piste should you be accompanied by a guide?
5. Make sure that you obtain a travel insurance quote from a broker as many insurance policies from tour operators and travel agents are tied to one insurer, are expensive, often exclude terrorism cover and have high or multiple excesses.

Many people come home injured from winter sports holidays each year. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office has listed ski-slopes amongst its top five locations where injuries are most likely to occur.

The basic cost of treatment for a broken wrist in Europe is £3,000 and contrary to popular belief the EHIC card does not ensure free medical attention in all cases. If you need to be airlifted from a mountain or flown home in an air ambulance you can be looking at a bill of tens of thousands of pounds. The vast majority of ski slopes in EEC countries have no public healthcare available. In France, even for a broken arm or leg you will normally be treated in the resort where the piste rescue, doctor, ambulance and pharmacy are all separate organisations and all privately owned, so you cannot use your EHIC card.

Graeme Trudgill, Technical Services Manager at BIBA, has warned:

“We estimate that millions will be heading to the slopes this season and too many of these will be putting themselves at risk by travelling without adequate travel insurance cover or no cover at all. We want everyone to be able to enjoy their holidays with peace of mind, and we want to ensure that if anything should go wrong they have the appropriate level of care, and won’t be left out of pocket.

“Winter sports are renowned to be some of the most dangerous, and we believe that many skiers and snowboarders are leaving the UK without adequate cover or no cover at all.

“Our advice is clear – don’t put yourself or your family at risk. Check you are properly covered by speaking to your insurance broker before you set off.”

The Foreign Office estimates that if you aren’t adequately prepared for your holiday it could end up costing you:

• £600 for two days in a general ward – Mediterranean
• £400–600 for Gastro-enteritis – Mediterranean
• £10,000 for a broken leg – USA
• £20,000–30,000 for a heart attack – USA
• £15,000 for bronchitis requiring seven days inpatient treatment, Far East
• £20,000 for bronchitis requiring seven days in-patient treatment, USA

And the cost of repatriation to the UK if you don’t have the correct travel insurance:

• £30–35,000 Air ambulance (Jet) – East coast of USA
• £12–16,000 Air ambulance (Jet) – Canaries
• £10–12,000 Air ambulance (turbo-prop) – Balearics
• £1,200–3,000 Air taxi (propeller driven light aircraft) – Northern France
• £15–20,000 Scheduled flight, stretcher and Doctor escort – Australia
• £9–12,000 Scheduled flight, seated club, with a nurse escort – West coast of USA
• £1,800–4,000 Scheduled flight, seated economy with a Doctor escort – Mediterranean
• £100-£800 Scheduled flight, seated economy without an escort – Mediterranean
• £3,000-£6,000 Scheduled flight, stretcher and Doctor escort – Mediterranean

Further travel insurance advice from the Foreign Office can be accessed online here.

Coversure Insurance Services are members of the British Insurance Brokers Association – www.biba.org.uk; this article is reproduced here with their kind permission.

Remember; remember… to check your insurance ahead of Bonfire Night
With Bonfire Night only a month away, the British Insurance Brokers' Association (BIBA) is warning homeowners to double check their insurance cover before lighting a bonfire near their property or setting off any fireworks.

The warning comes because every bonfire night sees thousands of pounds worth of property damage occurring across the UK as a direct result of the misuse of fireworks or a failure to properly supervise or control bonfires.

Government figures show that in 2005 fireworks injured nearly one thousand people in the four-week period in October and November that covers Bonfire Night. The figures, found at http://www.dti.gov.uk/…ile30136.pdf, show that the North West, the South East and the North and Yorkshire regions are the UK’s danger spots for firework injuries.

The figures show the following regional breakdown for the number of firework injuries in 2005 (during the same four week period):

North Western – 179
North & Yorkshire – 131
South East – 131
Trent – 121
Scotland – 93
West Midlands – 89
Wales – 69
Greater London – 65
Eastern – 64
South & West – 49
Total – 991

The figures also show that the majority of accidents involving fireworks occur at home or in the immediate vicinity of houses – highlighting that insurance cover is a necessity. Without insurance, even a seemingly minor mishap could become a financial nightmare.

Every year sees a raft of insurance claims in the days following Bonfire Night. Claims, related to the 5th November celebrations, include:

• Shattered windows
• Garden damage
• Fire spreading to outbuildings or homes
• Personal Liability for injury to other parties e.g. guest or neighbours

Every homeowner or Bonfire Night party host should be checking their insurance to ensure they are covered.

Commenting, Graeme Trudgill, Technical Services Manager at BIBA, said:

"Too many people are putting themselves and their property at risk on Bonfire Night. We want everyone to enjoy themselves, but only after they have taken the necessary measures to insure against mishaps, and to cover themselves should anything go wrong.

“We strongly urge homeowners to check their property insurance cover with their local brokers to ensure they are covered, and to follow the Firework Safety Code. After all, 36% of UK homeowners don’t have building insurance. By taking these simple steps everyone will enjoy the night with peace of mind and without finding themselves in harms way.”

Coversure Insurance Services are members of the British Insurance Brokers Association – www.biba.org.uk; this article is reproduced here with their kind permission.

During April and May 2007 over 1,800 customers were invited to respond to a number of questions in relation to their dealings with and the service offered by Coversure Insurance Services. The survey was sent out to a wide range of customers, both male and female and aged 17 years old and upward. The survey asked customers to provide feedback on the service, advice and products purchased from Coversure, as well as an indication as to whether they would purchase another product through Coversure or recommend Coversure to their family and friends.

The results of the survey were very pleasing and encouraging, showing 96% of respondents were satisfied with the service/advice received from Coversure. Of this 96%, 72% were very satisfied indicating nearly three quarters of our customers are very satisfied with the service/advice received from Coversure.

In addition to this, 95% were satisfied with the policy that was recommended by Coversure, of which 58% were very satisfied. These figures indicate that the insurance needs of our customers are being assessed accurately and our sales staff are recommending the correct policy to meet their needs. Further to this, 99% of respondents said the product was explained properly and that they understood the product fully.

With the positive results seen above, it was no surprise to see that 98% of respondents would purchase another product through Coversure and 97% would recommend Coversure to their family and friends. This demonstrates that our customers are happy with both their policy and the service received. These are excellent findings as it indicates that customers must have a lot of faith in the products and service Coversure offer in order to put their reputation on the line and recommend Coversure to their family and friends. When asking the customers if they felt they had been treated fairly in their dealings with Coversure, 97% of respondents said they had been treated fairly.

The final question asked the customers to rate their overall dealings with Coversure, 96% of respondents rated their dealings with Coversure as good and 77% of these felt their dealings were very good. This is very impressive and expected in a way, given the results in the previous questions.

To conclude, the April/May 2007 Customer Satisfaction Survey results were very impressive and an improvement on the good results from last year’s survey. The survey shows how important it is to use customer feedback to continuously improve the products and service we offer customers. Over the last twenty years, we have worked exceptionally hard to ensure we have the right products and to give exceptional service to our customers and it’s always very pleasing and gratifying to receive such positive responses from our customers.