OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2010. In winter months, especially during the Christmas and New Year holidays, many Russians choose activity-based recreation: Alpine skiing and snowboarding. This period always sees the increasing sales of insurance policies providing an extended coverage of these risks. According to the experts of IC ROSNO, during the 2010-2011 winter holidays, Russians will be, as before, choosing the European resorts located in Austria, Germany, Andorra, France, and Switzerland.

As demonstrated by ROSNO’s statistics for the previous year, over 61 thousand tourists insured with ROSNO departed to the countries traditionally positioned as ski resort areas from November 2009 to March 2010. Of this number, only 22% purchased policies with extended coverage, whereunder over 450 insured accidents were settled, for a total amount of over 12.3 mln. roubles. The major reason for tourists to ask for medical assistance is injuries and cold diseases.

"According to our preliminary forecasts, in the 2010-2011 winter season, the quantity of the Russian tourists travelling to ski resorts will grow in comparison to the previous year. Accordingly, the quantity of insured accidents occurring to such tourists will increase as well. Unfortunately, we are not yet observing growth in the share of the policies with extension for extreme sports. Thus, many of the tourists travelling abroad arrive to ski resorts for Alpine skiing and snowboarding without extended insurance coverage. In case of possible injuries, medical assistance costs are not covered by the insurer, instead being paid by the tourist on his or her own. This is why, for example, the Austrian embassy demands an extended insurance coverage from the Russian tourists entering this country from November to February, even if the only tourist activity is the celebration of Christmas in Vienna. This requirement applies to small children as well", comments Ms. Svetlana Schwab, head of ROSNO’s Travellers Insurance Department.

The experts of IC ROSNO urge Russians to remember that, when planning holidays at the ski resort, they should purchase an extended insurance coverage for winter sports prior to their voyage. In this case, the most suitable option would be to buy insurance coverage of 30,000 to 50,000 US dollars. This is the minimum amount covering medical assistance abroad and transportation home in complicated medical cases. If a foreign traveller’s policy is complemented with the winter sports risks, a multiplier of 1.5. For example, the cost of ROSNO policy with an extended coverage including winter sports, issued for the voyage to a Schengen Treaty member country for 15 days (coverage of 30,000 euro) will equal 21.83 euro.

Also, one must keep in mind that, in case of engaging winter sports abroad, it would be useful to extend the travellers’ insurance policy by including the third party civil liability insurance. If the tourist inadvertently injures someone (for example, by colliding with another skier on the mountain slope), then, according to the legislation effective in the majority of countries throughout the world, court will oblige the wrongdoer to reimburse the victim’s medical expenses and compensate the latter for the salary lost as a result his or her temporary loss of working capacity. With a relevant insurance policy, such costs may be transferred to the insurance company. IC ROSNO also recommends tourists to purchase accident insurance policies: it must be remembered that extreme sports may be dangerous for the individual’s life and health and, as a result, lead to loss of working ability and even death. Unfortunately, fatal cases occur each year, and often the victims are parents of small children. In such situations, the standard insurance policy covering medical and medical transportation costs does not provide for a compensation. A substantial financial support to the lost breadwinner’s family is contemplated in the accident insurance policy with an extensive coverage.