Winter Sports Travel Insurance: Our Pick Of The Best

We’ve identified what we consider to be the best winter sports insurance policies taking into account the most common issues such as lost or stolen ski equipment, hiring replacement equipment and piste closure. Find full details for how we arrived at our Forbes Advisor star ratings at our Methodology, below.

For skiing, snowboarding or taking part in any number of winter sports, a standard travel insurance policy won’t always go far enough.

While standard travel insurance is likely to cover you for this type of trip as they would do any other type of holiday,  it won’t always be the case that cover is included for specific scenarios related to a skiing or snowboarding holiday, for example, such as Piste closure, due to an avalanche, among other things.

For this reason a specialist winter sports insurance policy will be necessary, either as a separate policy or as an add-on to an existing travel insurance policy.

Exactly what sports are covered on a winter sports policy varies but all include on-piste skiing and snowboarding. For less common winter sports, such as off-piste, alpine or cross-country skiing, ski jumping, luge, skeleton, bobsleigh, ski orienteering, glacier walking, dog-sledding, ice fishing, or tobogganing, always check the activity is covered.

Suggested Read: Travel insurance for sports holidays

Winter sports insurance covers a whole raft of risks that are part and parcel of this type of holiday. After all, an injury on a skiing trip is much more likely than spending a fortnight lying on a beach.

As well as risks covered by standard travel insurance, such as medical costs, cancellation, lost or stolen baggage, and repatriation, a winter sports policy also covers risks unique to winter sports. These can include:

• losing a ski pass
• loss, theft or damage to sports equipment
• delays to sports equipment on an outward journey
• avalanche delay
• piste closures
• not enough snow or too much
• personal liability if the policyholder injures someone else
• mountain rescue

A winter sports policy can also include cover such as:

• travel delay: offering an inconvenience benefit up to a pre-specified amount if a booked outward or return journey is delayed for a set period of time (typically 12 hours) after checking in
• missed departure: covering the cost of additional accommodation and travel should you miss your departure due to a reason accepted under your policy
• gadget cover: paying out if items such as a laptop or mobile are lost or stolen.

When shopping around for winter sports travel insurance, pay particular attention to the following:

• the excess – this is the amount the policyholder (and others named on the policy) must pay towards a claim. The way an excess is applied can vary. Some will charge on an amount per claim, some per person, some per person and per section of a claim. It is important to be aware that the excess stated could be applied more than once, therefore consider what is realistically affordable should you be unfortunate enough to experience a claim
• lost possessions and equipment – a policy will provide cover for possessions that the policyholder takes with them on the trip. As well as the overall amount that can be claimed, check any total valuables limit, plus single item limits and single valuable item limits too. The definition of personal items and valuables can vary by policy, so always ensure what you are taking with you is included under your specific cover
• restrictions and limits on ski equipment cover – sports equipment, such as skis etc may not be covered as standard and equipment damaged whilst it is in use can also sometimes be excluded
• cancellation – ensure this is at least the cost of the trip itself. It is usually the case that the maximum claim limit will apply for each person on the policy, but check the terms and conditions
• piste closure – check you would be covered and compensated should the pistes at your resort be closed. It is likely to hugely affect your holiday if you are unable to ski/snowboard
• mountain rescue – the cost of rescuing someone from a mountain can be hefty, so it may not be wise to skimp on this cover to save money in the short term. Check if repatriation (getting back to the UK) is included in the cover
• legal fees/personal liability cover – this will cover the policyholder if they accidentally injure someone on the slopes or elsewhere, or damage someone else’s property.

Not all policies offer the same level of cover. Some common exclusions to look out for include:

• extreme winter sports – while skiing and snowboarding are likely to be covered, other snow-based activities such as tobogganing and snowmobiling may not be. Consider what activities the holiday will involve when comparing policies
• straying off-piste or breaking other rules – some policies may state that cover does not extend to an accident that happens while off-piste while others may stipulate that policyholders wear a helmet to be covered
• accidents while under the influence of alcohol or non-prescription drugs – policies generally won’t cover an accident that happened after drinking alcohol or taking drugs
• unattended equipment – the insurer may not pay out if lost or stolen equipment was not kept close by
• travelling against the advice of the FCDO – as with the majority of travel insurance policies, travel to a destination that the government advises against travel to, will likely void a policy unless it’s specialist insurance.

For travel to Europe, it can help to take a Global Health Insurance Card (GHICs). Formerly known as EHICS, these grant travellers the same state-run medical treatment as a local should they fall sick or become injured while away.

Travellers can still use a valid EHIC until it expires. GHICs replacements are free to apply for at the NHS website.

It’s important to note that neither card is a substitute for good quality travel insurance. It won’t cover all medical costs, for example, or other unforeseen events, such as cancellation, or a lost or stolen bag or passport, that would be covered under a comprehensive travel insurance policy.

We ran quotes in March 2025 for a single traveller, aged 30, taking a skiing holiday in France for seven days in April 2025. We only reviewed policies that offer at least £10 million for emergency medical expenses, medical rescue cover and ski pack cover; £3,000 for trip cancellation; and £2,000 for lost or stolen baggage.

The following factors were also considered as part of our scoring:

• ski equipment: the sum paid out for lost, stolen or damaged ski equipment
• ski hire: the amount of cover available to hire replacement ski equipment if yours is lost, stolen or damaged
• avalanche: cover for if your arrival or departure from the resort is delayed due to an avalanche
• piste closure: cover available if you’re unable to ski due to piste closure
• off-piste skiing: cover for if you are skiing in areas of snow that are not within the resort’s boundary.

Each policy received a Forbes Advisor star rating out of a maximum of five stars.

Each policy requires the payment of an excess by the policyholder towards the cost of any claim which could be applied either ‘per policy’ or ‘per person named on the policy’ – the policy documents which it is. Many policies allow any excess to be waived if an extra premium is paid at the outset.

Cover for ski equipment, equipment hire, avalanche and piste closure may only apply if the particular issue persists for longer than 12 or 24 hours. Check the policy wording for details.