Nearly half of all British winter-sports travel insurance policies sold as single trips last season went to just one country: France. New figures from Go.Compare Travel Insurance show France took 46% of winter-sports single-trip policy sales between October 2025 and February 2026, topping the rankings every single month. Austria (10.4%) and Switzerland (9%) trailed far behind.
There's a bonus for skiers heading to the Alps: France is also decent value on the insurance front. The median premium for a French winter-sports policy was £15.53 — actually below the European average of £16.26. And most Brits aren't flying far for their snow fix anyway: 93% of winter-sports policies were for short-haul destinations. The long-haul minority pick Canada (2.8%), the US (1.6%) and Japan (1.5%), and they pay heavily for it — median cover for those three countries sits around £55–£56, more than three times the European figure of £16.26.
If budget is the priority within Europe, Eastern and Nordic countries come out cheapest. Poland had the lowest median premium at £13.78, followed by Iceland (£14.14), Norway (£14.36), Sweden (£14.43) and Bulgaria (£15.45). Of course, insurance is only a slice of what a ski trip costs — Bulgaria's slopes are famously cheaper overall than a French resort, so the total spend can differ a lot.
The timing data is interesting too. Almost 62% of the season's winter-sports policies were sold in December and January, with January alone accounting for 34.7% — a wave of late festive and New Year bookings. That late rush pays off in one way: premiums dip to their seasonal low in January. Single-trip winter-sports cover fell from £27 in October to £15 by January, before nudging up to £18 in February. European single-trip policies dropped to a median of £14.48 in January from £17.57 in December. Multi-trip cover followed the same pattern, easing from £57–£58 in autumn to £45 in January.
Single-trip policies dominated, making up 79% of winter-sports sales versus 21% for multi-trip — sensible if you're doing one ski week a year, less so if you're planning several trips.
Why does this matter for your next trip? Two takeaways. First, booking a ski holiday to France or elsewhere in Europe keeps your insurance costs reasonable, while a Canada or Japan trip will carry a notably higher premium. Second, buy cover when you book rather than the week before you fly — not only are prices generally lower earlier in the season, but an early policy protects you if plans change and you need to cancel. Go.Compare's insurance expert Rhys Jones also stresses checking that your policy actually covers the activities you're planning, whether that's off-piste skiing or snowboarding. As always, compare policies rather than grabbing the first cheap quote — the cheapest option isn't automatically the right one for your trip.
Data note: the figures cover provisional policy purchases from 1 October 2025 to 28 February 2026, excluding customers with medical conditions and isolating winter-sports cover without add-ons.
