Australian skiers paying price for shunning insurance when skiing in NSW and Victoria

AUSSIE skiers are putting their bodies and wallets on the line when they hit the slopes in New South Wales and Victoria.

In this Sunday, May 3, 2015 photo, a skier with a leg injury is transported by sled down a 3-mile-long trail after getting hurt on Tuckerman Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Some are drawn by the freaky weather on Mount Washington, the Northeast’s highest peak that was once home to the fastest wind speed ever recorded (231 mph) and is a virtual snow gun from October to May. Others relish the risks, including avalanches, falling ice and crevasses. Snow rangers remind even Tuckerman veterans that no two runs are alike in the unpredictable bowl. People get hurt here. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

SKIERS heading off to the Australian slopes this winter are shunning travel insurance despite soaring injury rates.

Fewer than half of all homegrown skiers are thought to bother with domestic insurance, despite policies costing as little as $50.

But at the same time, snow sport-related injuries are increasing with one insurer processing 365 claims for the June to October period last year, or around two a day.

Risky business ... Australian skiers are reluctant to buy insurance cover for domestic travel. Picture: Steve Cuff / News Corp Australia

1Cover Travel Insurance paid out an average $2200 for each snow-sport related claim, significantly more than the average travel insurance payout of $1350.

Insurance Council of Australia spokesman Campbell Fuller said the proportion of uninsured domestic travellers was much higher than the 17 per cent who went overseas without cover.

“Unfortunately most Australians don’t think about travel insurance within their own country,” Mr Fuller said. “You’ve got a greater range of resources available to you, you've got the medical system on tap. But when people are faced with unforeseen circumstances that could cause their holiday to be cut short, that’s when you start weighing up the benefits.”

Kelly Santas who broke her elbow snowboarding at Perisher in 2014. Pictured with partner Tim Cartledge. Snow Australia

Sydney’s Kelly Santos found out the hard way what it is like to have no safety net on a snow holiday, during a weekend getaway to Perisher in New South Wales last year.

Within two hours of hitting the slopes, the 33-year-old fell awkwardly and broke her elbow.

After being transported to the medical centre where her arm was X-rayed and placed in a sling, Ms Santos and her partner asked their hotel if they could get a refund.

“They said no, so we ended up staying. I was in absolute agony,” she said.

“We had also paid for two day passes, that we couldn’t use.”

Kelly Santas who broke her elbow snowboarding at Perisher in 2014. Snow Australia

What followed was a week off work, then five weeks of “typing with one hand” as she underwent further medical treatment on the elbow.

“It was an absolute nightmare,” Ms Santos said.

“I was over $700 out of pocket but because you're travelling at home you think if anything happens I will be fine.”

Mr Fuller said his own son twisted his knee on the slopes of Thredbo a few years ago, but because he was insured, five days of accommodation and lift passes were all refunded.

“That was a $50 policy and the excess was really small as well,” he said.

As with all insurance policies, it was best to shop around, and choose the cover best suited to your specific needs, Mr Fuller said.

“It might cover your own equipment if it’s damaged or stolen, the accommodation, lift passes — which is where the major cost tends to be.”