New figures from the Association of French Mountain Doctors show just how important it is to perform a travel insurance comparison setting off on a skiing trip.
You have to find and purchase the most appropriate policy because the association's doctors handled 140,000 injuries last year and recorded 16,439 collisions on the country's slopes.

Experts claim that many of these skiing injuries could have been prevented, as the majority were caused by badly adjusted boots or poor physical preparation.

Paul Thilo, vice-president of consumer marketing at Direct Travel Insurance, said that the report should act as a reminder that good travel cover is "paramount" when skiing or snowboarding.

"It goes without saying that the price of travel insurance is negligible when you consider the cost of medical bills and mountain rescue," he pointed out.

Insurer More Than has also urged skiers and snowboarders to take out adequate travel cover in recent days.

Head of travel Matt Pernet advised travellers that as well as putting insurance in place, they should ski on runs suited to their ability to help lower their risk of injury.

What you should do

While travellers can tend to be a bit overwhelmed for choice when it comes to general medical and travel insurance, companies offering high quality, specialised ski insurance are thin on the ground. Nonetheless, when comparing any company you need to take certain points into consideration.

For International Cover

The alpine regions have notoriously unstable weather conditions, with ridiculously pricey accommodation and related expenses. Policies should include cover for bad weather, avalanche and piste closure, lost deposits and cancellation fees.

While not wanting to frighten anyone off the slopes, given the location and access of many ski areas, and the high-risk nature of snow sports, critical overseas cover should include emergency rescue, including helicopter rescue, and evacuation, plus medical, hospital and dental cover, ski pack and unused equipment hire. Also Personal Liability, accidental death, permanent disability and loss of income should be included.

As with any travel, luggage can go astray and credit cards, documents and belongings lost or stolen. Each of the above should be factored into all travel insurance policies. The important point is to compare the cover assigned to each aspect, plus travel delay and alternative transport.

Confirm if off-piste cross country is covered and if deviations such as telemark are included. Sports such as heli-skiing, night skiing, snow-biking and half-pipe snowboarding are rarely, if ever, covered.