Our snow sports cover explained

Rise and shine, mountain shredder! Your trip is booked and soon you’ll be waking up in the crisp morning air with the sun peeping over the snow-capped peaks and a fresh layer of powder outside your door. It's the dream, right?

But hold up: before you go chasing those first tracks, it’s a good idea to consider taking out travel insurance to give yourself increased protection against certain risks that come with your winter mountain fantasies.  

Whether you take a tumble going over a jump or your gear takes a beating, Freely’s travel insurance offers benefits that may lend a hand – so think about adding the Snow Sports Boost to your policy for greater protection on your travels.

Why you should consider a Snow Sports Boost

Our Essentials pack doesn’t include Snow Sports cover. But fear not – you can add it to your policy, and best of all, our Snow Sports Boost lets you only pay for cover on the days you are actually on the mountain and need it. Cool, huh?

Let’s look at an example. Say you and your pals are headed to  Hakuba in the heart of the spectacular Japan alps, and are planning to ski in three days’ time. If you boost your policy to include Snow Sports Cover, but end up changing your plans because the weather takes a turn, you can simply cancel your Snow Sports Boost – and you’ll likely get a full refund for the premium. If you’ve already started skiing, but then someone in your crew gets injured and your trip gets cut short, you can still cancel – and we would then look at refunding you based on a pro-rated calculation.  

Skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling are considered high risk adventure activities, and medical expenses can be super high in foreign countries if you don’t have adequate coverage. Travel insurance with snow sports cover, like what Freely offers, can therefore offer you further protection: and this may help you out if you receive an expensive hospital bill.

What's included in snow sports cover

To find out exactly what’s included in any travel insurance policy, you should always read over the PDS – which stands for product disclosure statement.  

With our Snow Sports Boost, there are benefits that may provide you with medical coverage when you’re skiing (that’s downhill or cross-country), snowboarding and snowmobiling on-piste. If you're planning to participate in extreme snow sports activities, such as heli-skiing or adventurous off-piste skiing, you have got to be a bit more careful. For the former, make sure you go with a guide, and for the latter, never go against local advice or warnings, as otherwise you won’t be covered.  

Woahhh – some big words, right?  

On-piste is a fancy French term meaning on a marked trail or slope – you know, those ones they prepare and grade for your downhill pleasure! These are also called groomers. To stay within the bounds of our rules around coverage, you need to stay on these trails and make sure you are using them in line with any regulations published by the ski field or resort. And when we refer to snow sport equipment, we mean skis, poles, boots, bindings, snowboards, or ice skates.

One more thing – the snowmobiling. Though Freely may help you out if you get hurt, if you injure someone else or damage the snowmobile as a result of driving negligently, that won't be covered under our Personal Liability. Just be safe out there and drive carefully!

Also note that even if you pay this additional premium, you will only receive coverage for medical emergencies that occur on the slopes if you are not racing or participating in a professional capacity. Our insurance isn’t for pros! Be sure to check out the PDS for more details.

Other coverage options

In addition to the Snow Sports Boost, you might also want to consider adding Specified Items Cover if you're bringing any valuable items worth more than $750 (for any one item, set, or pair of items  – including attached and unattached accessories) on your trip, such as expensive ski equipment . You can add this cover to your policy to help protect them against loss, theft or damage. Keep in mind that if you need to make a claim, you will need to have your receipts or valuations (less than 12 months old) on hand. If things go wrong and you need to make a claim, we may pay up to the original purchase price, subject to depreciation.

When to get Snow Sports cover from Freely

If you're planning a skiing, snowboarding or snowmobiling holiday, always do plenty of your own research and do consider adding the Snow Sports Boost to your policy when you're purchasing your travel insurance from Freely. You can also add our Snow Sports Boost to your existing policy while you are already on your trip – but you have to remember to do so before 00.00am (midnight) AEST the evening beforehand to ensure your cover applies the next day. This means it's easy to just add extra coverage for a day or two of spontaneous mountain time when the feeling takes you! We also allow you to toggle this coverage off, so if you want to have a break in between snow days after that big après ski afternoon, Freely can help you out.

Got all this under the belt? It’s time to shred.  

‍Disclaimer:

Limits, sub-limits, conditions, and exclusions apply. For full details on exactly what’s covered by Freely travel insurance always refer to and read the Combined FSG/PDS. The information contained in this article is indicative only and provides general information regarding likely coverage under the relevant terms and conditions of a policy. All claims are assessed in accordance with your level of cover together with the terms and conditions set out in the policy of insurance. Insurance is administered by Cover-More Insurance Services Pty Ltd (ABN 95 003 114 145, AFSL 241713) on behalf of the product issuer, Zurich Australian Insurance Limited (ABN 13 000 296 640, AFSL 232507). Any advice is general advice only. Please consider your financial situation, needs and objectives, and read the Combined FSG/PDS before deciding to buy this insurance. Visit freely.me for a copy of the Target Market Determination for our products.