Risk Management
Ski trips
Skiing trips pose risks in unforeseeable ways. By David Collard
More than one million Britons will be skiing or snowboarding abroad this season and 1 in 20 of them will make an accident or injury claim on their insurance. On average, this means that one person on every school ski trip will suffer an injury.
Fortunately, the majority of ski and snowboarding injuries are minor and can be managed by medical staff at the resort. Even where the injury is more disabling, the person can often hobble around until the flight back. Interestingly for schools, most casualties involve young and fit males, with those under 17 being most at risk.
Little relief
Claims can also arise when skiers are nowhere near the slopes. One young man was “taking light relief” after some après-ski hospitality when he touched a metal lamp post with a certain part of his anatomy. In temperatures of -20oC, he got stuck to the metal and had to be rescued – very gently – with a bucket of warm water!
With this in mind, it is unsurprising that premiums for winter sports insurance have increased over the past few years, with excess levels also rising under the majority of policies currently available.
Make notes
An interesting growth area in claims is where one skier sues another for injuries sustained. If a skiing accident occurs during the school trip, it should be treated like a car accident, with witness statements and reports on weather conditions. Skiers involved in an accident with a local person are more likely to be found guilty of negligence and will therefore be sued under their travel insurance policy.
It is important that travel insurance policies should be checked thoroughly well before the school skiing trip to ensure that the terms and conditions are noted and understood. An example of a typical policy exclusion that is often missed by schools is where the policy might exclude off-piste activities, where these are unaccompanied by a ski instructor. An instruction to pupils not to ski off-piste is one thing, but ensuring that they actually stick to the piste is quite another.
Is it worth it?
A large number of schools will buy insurance from the travel or tour operator and assume that all eventualities will be covered. The insurance might appear good value as the premium is sometimes built into the price of the holiday, but the policy wording should always be examined to check the actual extent of cover provided.
The number of travel insurance policies available to schools is considerable and cover is rarely the same between any two providers. The fact that premiums vary so much only serves to further confuse the situation. It is therefore vital that the arrangement and understanding of travel insurance should form a key part of your usual risk assessment process.
David Collard is the marketing manager for HSBC Insurance Brokers specialist education division. David can be contacted on enquiries.school@hsbc.com or through www.schools.hsbc.com
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