£25,000 To Get Home or Piste of Mind from Top Cashback
Added: (Fri Dec 03 2010)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
With more Brits hurling themselves down the side of a mountain than ever before, there's never been a greater need for insurance as figures from a leading provider have shown it costs an average of £25,0001 to be repatriated.
The UK's biggest free to use cashback website Topcashback.co.uk always recommends travel insurance for any holiday but when it comes to a skiing holiday it's an essential and in most cases a booking condition, despite this about 5% (usually independent travellers) take the risk with no insurance cover.
The need for insurance is highlighted by the fact that AXA grant cover of up to £10 million for medical expenses. Multi-million pound pay-outs are possible particularly if skiers are rescued from remote locations around the world. Most injuries occur off piste. 36% of fatalities occurred while ski touring and 53% while off piste skiing and snowboarding2.
Insurance cover for a skiing holiday need not be expensive, a basic policy can be less than £40 including £5m worth of medical cover and £5m of repatriation cover for a weeks holiday for a couple. Children are at a higher risk of injury than adults and need to be included, there's usually no extra cost for under 18s. As usual it's worth shopping around to get the best deal and cashback sites like Top Cashback are an ideal way to compare prices and book online to save money.
The cost of repatriating an injured skier is high for many reasons, for example, someone with a broken leg may require a first class seat or possibly two to give them enough space and in the case of more serious injury, a professional medical practitioner may be needed as an escort. Without adequate insurance, these costs would have to be met by the injured person, or their family.
Thankfully the chance of injury is small, 2-3%, but novice skiers and those who may not be as fit as they once were, are more likely to be hurt. Statistically the second afternoon of a six day ski holiday is the most common time for an accident with damage to the right knee the most frequent injury, followed by the left knee and then the head3.
More people are going skiing than ever before, figures from the Office of National Statistics show visits to Slovenia have increased by almost 1000% in the last 6 years and new ski resorts are being developed in other parts of Eastern Europe with budget airlines quick to exploit the lucrative Winter market. The recent Post Office Ski Resort Report named Poiana Brasov in Romania as the best value for UK skiers with resorts in Bulgaria and Slovakia 2nd and 3rd.
Skiing can still be an expensive sport with more specialised clothing and accessories necessary for style and safety. Skis and boots can usually be rented as part of a holiday package but warm waterproof clothing, hats, gloves, goggles and the like can soon bump up the cost of a week away. Thankfully Top Cashback can help skiers by enabling members to earn cashback when they buy online. Merchants include insurance providers, holiday companies, outdoor equipment specialists and ski-hire companies.
Duncan Robb of Top Cashback commented “There is an element of danger when skiing but for many that's half the attraction, we wanted to let people know that being properly insured is essential and not expensive. Risking a bill of £25,000 or getting peace of mind through Top Cashback, I know which one I'd prefer!”
ENDS
Date: 30 November 2010
Issued by Duncan Robb
For further information call 0207 1939 029 or email duncan@topcashback.co.uk
Notes for Editors:
1 - http://www.axa.co.uk/media-centre/media-releases/news-story?id=20101122_0800
2 - http://www.steeleslaw.co.uk/news-item.aspx?id=02b74025-155c-47e7-8b3f-441e69aba121
3 - http://www.steeleslaw.co.uk/news-item.aspx?id=02b74025-155c-47e7-8b3f-441e69aba121
TopCashBack is the UK’s most generous and biggest free to use cashback website. Retailers pay a referral commission for any purchase made on their website via topcashback.co.uk but rather than keep this commission, Top CashBack passes 100% straight back to the customer as ‘cashback’. TopCashBack is funded by sponsored adverts across the site. The basic aim is to help each and every UK resident to save as much money as possible on their online shopping. Established in 2005 TopCashBack has an ethos of ‘fair play’ and has gone from strength-to-strength with a member base now approaching 700,000.