This article was written exclusively for Expat Network by Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers

In the wintertime a person may move to a cold country from a warm one, and can be caught off guard by the change in climate. There are certainly risks to travelling in wintry areas. Here, Pacific Prime Insurance Brokers covers some of the most common accidents that occur in cold climates, and lets you know how you can protect yourself with international health insurance.

Slip And Fall

The one thing that anyone who lives in a temperate climate zone knows about winter is that the #1 culprit of injuries and accidents is often right under your own two feet. The US National Center for Injury Prevention and Control even stated in 2016 that slips and falls are the single leading cause of non-fatal injuries for people over 24 years of age. As well, the organisation set a nationwide cost of $34 billion to cover the costs of fall injuries on an annual basis in the US. While ice and snow are not present for all of these actions, they no doubt represent the cause of a sizeable portion of falls.

Vehicle Accidents

There may be no more humbling experience than trying to drive in the snow. Those that do without the proper vehicle and accessories will quickly find that their ability to stay on the road will be almost completely out of their hands when the right combination of gravity, speed and ice are involved. To be sure, a snow storm in many parts of the world will result in numerous traffic accidents that can cause severe bodily injury, and even death.

While abroad, you can address the costs of injuries to others with third party liability insurance on your vehicle. However, if you are the cause of an accident, you will need to either have comprehensive car insurance coverage, or an international health insurance plan in order to cover medical costs in a foreign hospital.

Muscle And Back Injuries

On the off chance that you are visiting family back home, be wary when volunteering to help shovel the show or warm up the cars. This is because it is a common occurrence to strain back muscles, or even worse, when participating in these activities. If you do need to seek treatment for this type of injury, there is a chance that the only way to have such medical costs covered is with an international health insurance plan while abroad. Your other option would be to wait to get home to see a doctor about this type of injury, where your local insurance plan may have you covered.

Winter Sports Injuries

Needless to say, when you’re speeding down a mountain on a slick surface while riding skis or a snowboard with sharps edges, and steep precipices, trees, people and other obstacles are all around you, you are up to your neck in risk. Certainly, the potential injuries that can be incurred while skiing, snowboarding, or sledding are serious, and being able to cover costs for life-saving surgery while abroad is important.

Travel Delays

Outside of actual physical injury or illness, one of the most miserable things that can occur to you while you are travelling during the winter is getting stuck at an airport due to a snowstorm. Luckily for many travellers, travel insurance is as common an item to possess while travelling as luggage is. This is because delayed or canceled travel accommodations can be reimbursed with this type of short-term insurance. Travel insurance plans can also provide coverage for stolen, lost, or damaged property.

One thing to note, however, is that the medical insurance coverage provided by travel insurance is typically only for emergency medical care. This means that if you needed outpatient treatment of any kind, or tried to seek out treatment for something like a sore back that is not deemed to be an emergency, your travel insurance very well may not reimburse you for medical costs. International health insurance plans, on the other hand, will provide you with outpatient coverage while you travel, in virtually any country or hospital around the world.

Get The Right Insurance

As you can see from the items above, travelling in wintry conditions can certainly be much riskier and more dangerous than travel during the warmer months of the year. If you are concerned with being able to cover medical costs incurred abroad, your best choice may be international health insurance. To find out more about the benefits of this type of health insurance plan, contact the knowledgeable experts at Pacific Prime! They will provide the answers you need, and can provide you with a plan comparison and free quote.