Go Travel Insurance at the Daily Mail Ski Show

Press Release - 12th September 2005 

Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show, Olympia, London

Go Travel Insurance are for the second year exhibiting at the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard show in order to encourage skiers and snowboarders to purchase their travel insurance before they leave for their winter holiday. While the exhilaration of the slopes and the glow of the sun beckon, it is worth remembering that having travel insurance is as important as booking the flight.

This season, over a million British will go skiing worldwide. In the USA alone, there will be around 165,000 ski and snowboard related injuries. Males between the ages of 18 and 30 are the most accident prone, followed by female beginners. The most common of injuries are knee sprains which accounts for 22% of all skiing injuries1.

Most accidents occur at the end of the day when enthusiasts are getting tired, the weather is turning colder and the skies are getting darker. Collisions with other skiers and boarders and lift related accidents (where the skier fails to load or unload properly) are common and cause a substantial number of injuries which entail considerable medical costs and can result in serious liability and safety issues.

Go Travel Insurance and other professional skiers and boarders recommend spending a little extra on a good helmet to protect against head injuries. Doctor’s can rebuild damaged knees and limbs but if you damage your brain, even minimally, it can affect you for life. 'You can walk with a limp, but it is hard to think with a limp.’2 says Christian Young, Chief Executive Officer of Go Travel Insurance quoting Dr PJ Perrinjaquet, of Breckenridge Medical Centre.

It is now compulsory in Italy for children under the age of 14 to wear helmets, with other European countries soon to follow.3

Skiing and snowboarding is great fun but enthusiasts should remember that it is still a dangerous sport and accidents can easily happen. Every skier and boarder on the mountain has a duty of care to avoid causing injury to others. Christian Young, advises that '’Taking reasonable care means not going too fast on a slow run, yielding right of way to the skier below, skiing within bounds and not skiing along the tree line.’’

He adds, '’If you are involved in a collision; stop at the scene, offer assistance and give your name, address, identification and insurance certificate and obtain the same from the other party. It’s also advisable to draw a sketch of the incident as you would for a vehicle accident.’’

Go Travel Insurance understands how important insurance cover is should someone need to make a claim. Winter sports claims can easily run into the thousands with some airlines now refusing to take injured people on a stretcher or with a full leg cast. This becomes clear that insurance is not a luxury, but a necessity as it is possible a plane may need to be chartered to get the injured home. 4

Go Travel Insurance’s winter sports policy includes £10 million of medical and repatriation cover and also provides £2 million of personal liability cover as well as covering ski equipment, ski packs and piste closure.

So, once you’ve bought your Go Travel Ski Insurance policy, all you need to do is boot up, grab your helmet and have fun but just remember that you are not alone on the mountain when you are with Go Travel Insurance.

Notes to Editors:

1.  www.skilaw.com Grade III knee sprain defined as a complete rupture or at least one of the ski ligaments
2. www.skilaw.com/slopeshelmetsart.htm
3. www.surlapiste.com
4. Figures from Go Travel Statistics- Claims usually include:

Ambulance Fee:       £323.52          Doctors Fees:                       £237.97
Taxi to airport:           £187.94          Loss of holiday:         £146.29
Ski Pack:                    £93.00                        Additional flight:        £661.60
(BA do not take stretchers, however, Virgin Atlantic and Ryan Air still do).

About Go Travel Insurance

Go Travel Insurance is a leading online and UK call centre travel insurance intermediary, which was established in 1998 and a full supporter and partner of the 'Know Before You Go’ campaign launched in 2005 by the Foreign Office.  The Consumer Intelligence survey of 2004 placed Go Travel Insurance in the top ten of travel insurance providers.

Go Travel Insurance is a division of Drakefield Insurance Services Ltd, which is Authorised and Regulated by the Financial Services Authority. Drakefield Insurance Services Ltd is an insurance intermediary which specialises in the delivery of retail and wholesale insurance products via the Internet and our Essex based telesales operation.

Go Travel Insurance is recognised as a competitive, secure and easy online customer transaction site www.gotravelinsurance.co.uk, as well as a professionally trained insurance telesales team, based in Essex. (Tel: 0870 421 1521)

We are a customer focused business, an entrepreneurial and flexible organisation whose people are seasoned insurance, internet, IT, marketing and financial people.

Drakefield is a member of:

• British Insurance Broker Association http://www.biba.org.uk (BIBA No. 005340)
• Association of British Travel Agents http://www.abta.com (associate member)

Christian Young is the Chief Executive Officer of Go Travel Insurance and Drakefield Insurance Services Ltd. Christian is always happy to discuss the company and /or provide comment or interview and can be contacted on 0870 152 5848 or by email christian.young@gotravelinsurance.co.uk

Alternatively, please contact Gina Booth, PR & Marketing 0870 152 5848 or gina.booth@gotravelinsurance.co.uk

UK Call Centre 0870 421 1521