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Best ski insurance 2025
We reveal the best travel insurance for winter sports, including skiing and
snowboarding, covering piste closure, personal equipment and more.
Why you can trust our ski insurance reviews
Expert analysis
We've rated 15 areas of winter sports cover and 66 core elements of travel insurance to select our top policies.
Piste closure
The changing climate can make snow less predictable. We list the cover policies offer for piste closure.
What is ski insurance?
Ski insurance, also known as winter sports insurance, is a specific kind of travel insurance tailored to cover anything that might go wrong on a skiing or snowboarding holiday. It typically comes as an add-on to normal travel insurance.
Winter sports cover includes ski and snowboard equipment, medical treatment and the costs that come with ski-related injuries - which aren't usually covered by travel insurance.
- Want the best ski insurance policy or insurer? Use our tables below, then go to confused.com, another comparison site or direct to the insurer.
- Want the cheapest ski insurance policy or insurer? Follow the links to confused.com, or another comparison site, to get a list of policies. Then check what the policies scored by searching our tables.
Please note that the information in this article is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Please refer to the particular terms and conditions of an insurer before committing to any financial products.
Best ski insurance
Here we've listed travel insurance policies, which either include ski insurance, or where ski insurance can be added for extra cost.
The 'Best Buy' policies are Best Buys for travel insurance overall, not just their ski cover.
Click the links for our full reviews of these policies.
best buy | FlexPlus Worldwide Travel Insurance | As standard | 90% | £10 million | £500 | £250 | £300 |
best buy | Travel pack Insurance | As standard | 87% | £10 million | £500 | £250 (not including damage) | £300 |
NFU Mutual | Bespoke | Optional extra | 86% | £5 million | £500 | £500 | £500 |
best buy | Platinum | Optional extra | 86% | £10 million | £1,000 | £500 | £500 |
best buy | Platinum | Optional extra | 82% | Unlimited | £1,500 | £1,500 (damage not included) | £500 |
NFU Mutual | Home & Lifestyle | Optional extra | 82% | £5 million | £1,000 | £1,000 | £1,000 |
Cedar Tree | Platinum | Optional extra | 81% | £15 million | £1,000 | £500 (damage not included) | £500 |
Table note: Our winter sports score rates how comprehensive the cover is - the higher the better. From our survey of insurers in April 2024. See our full methodology below.
Ski insurance reviews
Nationwide FlexPlus
- Winter sports cover included as standard
- Nationwide FlexPlus bank account needed
Nationwide's travel insurance, provided by Aviva, is only available if you hold its FlexPlus packaged bank account.
While the idea of changing bank for a ski holiday might seem excessive, the FlexPlus account could pay off, as your whole family (you, your partner and dependent children) are covered in exchange for its £18 a month fee.
Mobile phone insurance and breakdown cover is also included, alongside fee-free spending and cash withdrawals abroad.
Older winter sports enthusiasts can also benefit, as the policy has no upper age limit or surcharge, though you must disclose pre-existing medical conditions.
If getting this account, look at out for the switching offers Nationwide occasionally offers. At the time of writing you could get a £175 bonus for switching, enough to pay for this account for nine months.
Barclays Travel Pack
- Winter sports cover included as standard
- Barclays bank account needed
The Barclays Travel Pack Worldwide is one of the few policies that includes cover for winter sports as a standard part of its travel insurance policy. Around one in five of the 161 policies we analysed this year include winter sports cover.
Cover is available for a maximum of 31 days per year but you can increase the number of days for an added premium cost. There’s an extensive £10 million limit for medical expenses which includes cover for emergency rescue services.
Personal ski equipment is covered for loss, theft, and damage up to a modest £500 but you’ll need to put up a £50 excess and this cover doesn’t extend to hired equipment.
It's also best to check the policy exclusions for certain winter sports because some activities such as freestyle skiing or snowboarding aren't included.
Barclays current account customers can add the Travel Pack in the Barclays app, or through online banking.
Covered2Go Platinum
- Winter sports cover available as an add-on
- Single trip cover available
While the top of our table is dominated by insurance policies available as add-ons, and annual policies, Covered2Go could be a great option if you need cover for just one shorter trip.
That said, it also offers annual policies, and saves you the hassle of switching bank (as in the case of Nationwide and Barclays) or home insurer (see NFU Mutual, below).
You can add winter sports cover as part of buying Covered2Go travel insurance, or add it later
This can be done online through Covered2Go's customer hub. If you bought a policy before the 8th Feb this year, you'll need to call in as they changed the rates after the 8th.
Covered2Go providers £50,000 search and rescue cover. Its platinum policy has no excess and twice the level of cover for personal equipment: £1,000 compared to £500 for Silver and Gold.
NFU Mutual Bespoke
- Winter sports cover available as an add-on
- You'll need an NFU Mutual home insurance policy
Both NFU Mutual's Bespoke and Home & Lifestyle policies scored highly, but we think the Bespoke policy has the edge.
If you have to cancel your trip, the Bespoke policy will pay up to £15,000 per person - three times more than the Home & Lifestyle policy (though this only needed if your trip actually costs that much).
The same amount is also offered for travel abandonment and curtailment - again three times as much and this is per claim. Bespoke also offers twice as much in its lost or stolen cash limit and passport cover, up to £2,000.
However, the Home & Lifestyle policy has one big advantage: its excess is £50, whereas with the Bespoke policy you'll need to pay £250. The Bespoke policy may be better suited to those with very expensive trips and equipment.
Confusingly, both policies are primarily home insurance policies, which you can add travel insurance and winter spots cover onto. NFU Mutual is highly rated for home insurance, and praised by customers, so it could be worth the switch.
NFU Mutual isn't on comparison sites, so you'll need to call your local NFU Mutual office, which you can find on its website.
What does ski insurance cover?
Most ski trip insurance policies will cover the following:
Medical expenses
Getting injured on the slopes can be expensive. There's the cost of the treatment, which - depending on where you are - may be covered by the new Ehic replacement, the Ghic. But there's also the price of air ambulance rescue from the mountains and of medical repatriation if you need to be sent home.
Most ski insurance policies will cover emergency medical treatment costs up to the millions - however, rescue cover can be capped at a lower amount.
Lost, stolen or damaged equipment
If your skis, sticks or snowboards are damaged, stolen, or go missing, most policies will cover you for a few hundred pounds, although some go into the thousands. You can claim back the cost of your own equipment, or for hiring replacement equipment.
Cancellation or curtailment
If you have to cancel or cut short your trip due to an injury, you can claim back the cost of what you missed. Cancellation limits range from £500-£15,000.
Avalanche delay
Very specific to winter sports breaks, ski insurance will cover you if an avalanche delays your skiing.
Piste closure
You can claim for this if you can't ski because the piste is closed. It will normally have to be closed for a certain amount of time first.
Other eventualities
Ski insurance can also cover events such as death, overseas funerals and legal costs for causing injury to others or damaging someone else's property.
Check each policy carefully to see what it will and won't cover before you decide on an insurer.
What does ski insurance not cover?
While considering specialised winter travel insurance, make sure you understand what isn’t covered.
Going off-piste
If you go off the main ski paths and have an accident, your insurance may not cover the medical costs for that situation.
Accidents under the influence
If you get an injury during apres-ski or while doing winter sports under the influence of drugs or alcohol, your insurance might not cover it.
Leaving equipment unattended
For some policies, if you leave your belongings in public spaces or in plain sight, leading to theft, your policy may not provide coverage.
Travelling against government advice
Your policy is unlikely to cover you if you travel against the advice of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It's worth checking the country that you're travelling to by verifying travel advisories from the FCDO here.
Not using the right equipment
Some policies require the use of specific safety equipment, such as helmets, for insurance coverage to apply. Failing to comply may mean that your policy is voided.
Extreme winter sports
Certain extreme winter sports like heli-skiing, glacier climbing, and base jumping may not be covered by standard policies. Check if your activities require extra cover or specialist insurance.
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More on ski insurance
How we analyse ski insurance
Our editorial independence means we are able to work on behalf of consumers, not insurers. That means our reviews are fair and there's no hidden agenda.
Our winter sports policy score is our rating of the winter-sports elements of travel insurance policies.
In April 2024, we surveyed 59 travel insurance companies about their levels of cover and analysed 166 of their policies.
Initially, we score specific product elements out of five, reflecting how competitive each provider is in that area compared with other insurers. Then, based on our assessment of which elements are more or less important for customers choosing and using policies, we adjust the impact that each element has on the overall score.
We only looked at elements that were named in all policies. For instance, some providers offer ski pack cover (for unused lessons) and we didn't rate that.
Claims performance, service and price aren't taken into account - just the levels of cover.
More questions on travel insurance? Take a look at our guides:
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