Santo Domingo air/hotel, 4 nts., from $599: BQ Santo Domingo by BQ Hotels, 3 stars

Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to Santo Domingo from $599 based on travel 8/6 through 8/10. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.

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Aruba air/hotel, 4 nts., from $874: The Aruban Resort & Casino, 3 stars

Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to Aruba from $874 based on travel 8/6 through 8/10. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.

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Grand Cayman air/hotel, 4 nts., from $600: The Ramada Grand Caymanian Resort, 3 stars

Sample 4-night air/hotel package from New York to Grand Cayman from $600 based on travel 8/6 through 8/10. Sample prices are per person, based on double occupancy and vary by dates of travel, availability, and departure city.

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Learn To Ski : Insurance Considerations

In this installment of our learn to ski guide we look at ski insurance.

About one-third of all skiers do not purchase insurance, and thereby open themselves up to the risk of owing literally thousands of dollars of medical and/or rescue bills in the event of an accident.

Murphy’s Law would suggest that what can go wrong, will go wrong, and skiing is no exception; consider issues such as baggage loss, stolen or broken equipment, personal liability in the event of an accident that requires repatriation/restoration, and even things like piste closure that you may not have thought about, all of which can cost you money.

These are all reasons why purchasing an insurance policy for your ski trip makes the best sense. There’s a huge range of policies to choose from though, so how do you choose between them?

The first consideration is what kind of skier you are. If you’re a beginner or inexperienced skier, or someone happy to stick to the piste at all times, you’ll find basic policies will suit your requirements, even the cheapest ones. Starting right around $30, basic insurance policies can be purchased from your insurance broker, your travel agent, and you might be surprised to find this type of insurance offered in the supermarket.

Skiers who are more advanced and who will be engaging in heli-skiing, cat-skiing, or off-piste will need a more inclusive policy to cover those things. Premiums can be significantly more expensive in line with the increased risk or danger and you should expect to have to use a specialist insurance provider to be fully covered.

You must also consider how much coverage you need. A policy may offer different bands of coverage and your activities will fall within one of those bands. An example of a premium policy would be coverage of up to a million dollars for medical expenses, whereas for losses under a basic policy, you would be covered up to $250,000. Excess payments on any claims made can end up being a considerable amount of money if you go with a less expensive policy, so that is something to which you should pay attention.

To ensure that you are covered with a valid policy of insurance, make sure you buy it before you take your trip. An insurance company will protect its interests by making sure you have documentation that proves you had your insurance in place prior to any accident occurring.

As with any policy of insurance, read the terms, including the fine print, thoroughly so that you know exactly what you are covered against. Nothing will protect you more than to know what’s covered in your policy, and this can only happen if you actually give the contract a thorough read-through and ask questions about anything that doesn’t make sense to you or that you don’t understand.

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