With warnings of snowy weather ahead, those off to the slopes in the next few months have been warned to ensure they take out travel insurance ahead of their winter holiday. Around 1 million Brits are thought to gamble and head off to the ski and snowboard slopes without adequate travel insurance.

According to AXA insurance around ten percent of winter pursuit holidaymakers will forgo travel insurance. Should the worst happen and an accident occur, these gamblers may find themselves several thousand pounds out of pocket. According to figures from AXA, if you had an accident in Austria and had to be evacuated from the slopes, have an operation and then have to take an air ambulance home, without travel insurance you would be looking at costs around the £25k mark.

Even those who have taken out an insurance policy should check the terms and conditions carefully as many people have annual travel policies yet fail to check to see whether they are adequately covered for winter sports.

Given that around a third of skiers and snowboarders are said to make an injury related insurance claim at some stage, it makes sense to ensure that not only do you have travel insurance, but it covers you for winter sports.

If you are thinking of skiing or snowboarding this winter but have yet to book a holiday, there are plenty of fantastic winter holiday deals still to be had.