Ski helmet a must

Skiers covered with Essential Travel must wear a helmet on the slopes. The travel insurance specialist says research revealed that 77 per cent of skiers/snowboarders are now wearing helmets when they hit the slopes – a 15 per cent increase since 2010 when the Use Your Head safety campaign was launched.

The poll also confirmed that nearly all of the skiers felt that they should be rewarded for the decision to protect themselves – by paying lower travel insurance premiums. As a result from this month, Essential has made it mandatory to wear a helmet in order to benefit from the protection offered on all its winter sports insurance policies. Skiers who do not wear a helmet will risk invalidating their policy.

Essential Travel’s Stuart Bensusan said: “Whie true that a helmet does not reduce all sports injuries, it seriously reduces the risk of potentially fatal injuries. That alone warrants making wearing helmets compulsory, and we choose to completely support safety conscious skiers by rewarding them with reduced premiums and bonus discounts.”

Essential Travel (www.essentialtravel.co.uk) are offering 15 per cent discount on Essential Travel Winter sports insurance premiums, discounts with Neilson Holidays (up to 25%), Ellis Brigham (10%), Tail-Wags (10%) and Facewest (10%). The company is also donating £1 for each policy bought to the brain injury charity Headway.

For more details on the “Use Your Head” campaign, supported by professional snowboarder and gold medallist Jenny Jones (above), visit www.essentialtravel.co.uk/travelinsurance/use-your-head/index.asp