The British Insurance Brokers’ Association has warned that British skiers will not be able to claim compensation on their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) in the event of an accident.

Winter sports are inherently dangerous. An average of 0.3% of skiers require medical attention every year and many European ski resorts have their own private health care facilities to help nurse battered tourists back to health. These facilities are often outside the jurisdiction of regional hospitals and do not enter into communication with the NHS or the British government.

The EHIC website makes it abundantly clear that the card does not provide insurance cover for every eventuality, and warns that any emergency requiring immediate medical attention will have to be paid for by the patient or their insurance company: “You still need sufficient holiday insurance to cover healthcare costs. Many people don’t take out insurance and they regret this when they have to pay thousands of pounds for an air ambulance back to the UK.”

A survey conducted by insurance company, eSure, revealed that one in five skiers would not buy additional insurance despite the plethora of risks posed by winter sports. The collapse of world markets has been blamed for the slow uptake of travel insurance with many skiers opting out of insurance plans in order to cut costs.

Insurance for winter sports is available at many online retailers and companies such as Tesco will cover medical bills up to a total of £2,000,000. Single trip cover is available from £6 per person.