Snowboard And Ski Insurance: Remember To Check The Small Print

Snow sports offer a thrill that few other activities match. Accessible to all ages it is a unique experience but also carries a unique risk. Getting the right travel insurance for a trip was once a quick 10 minute search online. But over the years insurance companies have changed their policies making it more difficult for people to find the correct level of cover. Here are some areas of your policy to consider carefully.

When the insurance policy starts
Firstly if you’ve already left your country of residence a policy might cover you. This may be because insurance companies are worried that you are only taking it out when you need to claim. But it’s awkward for long term travellers who may decide to go snowboarding at the last minute as they travel from country to country. Or for those whose plans are last minute. There are companies who will cover you if you’ve already left the country but it requires a bit of searching.

The date you return
Unless you are able to prove you had a return ticket a lot of insurance policies wont cover the costs of repatriation. This means that if you need to get flown home for medical reasons or in the unfortunate event of death, there will be a hefty bill for you or your family. This can be difficult if you’re not sure of your travel plans and when you’re coming back. However an open return ticket can often cover you, just check with the insurance provider.

Value per item
Check the value of what your insurance will pay out for because basic cover might not pay the full value of ski equipment. Even if your skis aren’t high end you may still find yourself unreasonably short, especially after excess.

Off Piste
This is the biggest area of difference with ski insurance policies. It used to be a case where most brokers covered you off piste if you followed local guidelines and the avalanche risk level was 3 or less. These policies have become rarer with many policies insisting that you go with a qualified local guide.
This isn’t always practical or necessary as an insurance provider should know. So make sure you go with a company that covers the type of skiing or boarding you want to do on a trip. There have been cases where people were in an avalanche and the insurance hasn’t paid out because they blamed the skiers despite the fact they followed local guidelines and took precautions. So don’t be in a rush to take the first policy you see. There’s rarely any different in cost, so you can still get good value with a policy, whether they insist you ski with a guide or not.

Take your time and research the policy and insurance provider. There are a lot of companies saying they specialise in ski and snowboard insurance yet they clearly don’t understand the sport.  They can place the blame on a skier without even investigating the incident properly. If you are in any doubt about the policy details phone your insurance provider. It’s always best to go with a company which knows what it is doing and can ensure your needs are provided for.

The Moon Landings: A Hoax Or An Amazing Feat?

I have always been interested in space travel. This is written as a simple explanation to some of the crazy theories

On the 40th anniversary of the Apollo missions there are many who still believe them to be a hoax.  Conspiracy theories have always been popular and this is one of the biggest.
The landings become even more incredible as we look back at the technological limitations of the time, with computers far less powerful than the mobile phones we have today.
Yet with 9 missions to the moon and six successful landings that would be a well over done lie. These are the main theories broken down into sections.

They couldn't reach the Moon

The idea that the moon was unreachable stands little scrutiny. The Gemini missions had already extended the time humans could spend in space. The Russians had also sent a probe which reached the moon, indeed it crashed into it after taking a few close up pictures. This was in 1959. Having led the space race for years, the USSR would have been the first to say what NASA did was impossible. As the Cold War was a prime motivator in the space race, the Soviets could have won a great moral victory in exposing a hoax.
The development of the Saturn V rocket, which allowed men to reach the moon from Apollo 8 onwards, would also have been a huge waste of money for a hoax. This money could have gone into developing reusable spacecraft such as the Space Shuttle far sooner. This is why the Apollo missions were cancelled in the end, to ensure future space faring.

Missions were unmanned

Some believe the missions were automated by robots because of the radiation astronauts would be exposed to in space. This doesn't fit well alongside the idea that technology wasn't advanced enough. NASA has been open about the trouble Apollo 11 had landing, missing its target and almost running out of fuel. Skilled pilots were needed.
Other ideas are even wackier in saying that extraterrestrial technology had to be involved hence the fake photos. It seems one way to make a conspiracy theory plausible, is to stick a crazier one on top.


Fake Pictures 

Not many people have had chances to take a photo on the Moon, but many believe they're experts in the field. Professional independent groups who have studied the photos agree the photos fit what might be expected in those conditions. With the lack of atmosphere and extra light reflected from earth, objects and shadows will look different.

Landings were shot on a set

The landing videos show how lunar dust that was kicked up went high due to the low gravity and settled immediately due to a lack of air. On earth they would have formed momentary dust clouds. Videos also show that the flag was still, not moving as pictures might suggest. The ripple in the fabric is a result of its folding during transport. A rod held the flag in place for visual purposes.

 

Apollo 13

 

A near disaster when an explosion almost killed three astronauts during flight.  Both Jim Lovell and Fred Hayes would have had to be willing to let their wives and kids believe that they were likely going to die. Children don't make good conspirators, but any of the  people in on the conspiracy would have had to have lied to their families and not shown the strain. Having to pretend for the rest of their lives to be proud of a fake accomplishment.
The greatest evidence against a conspiracy is the sheer number of participants who would have to have been involved. An estimated 400,000 people helped to get man on the moon. That would require a lot of bribes and a lot of trust in people’s dishonesty. Not many people could imagine taking such a lie to their death. For example Jack Swaggert on the near fatal Apollo 13 mission, died later of cancer, making no revelation of foul play.
Of course the great success and real purpose of such conspiracy writing is the money it generates. Yet how so many people prefer to believe mankind failed and lied, rather than achieved a great thing is perhaps the greatest mystery of all.

For a more in depth look into why the conspiracy theories are nonsense I found this to be a fantastic page. http://www.xmission.com/~jwindley/

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This Work Is Not To Be Reproduced With Out Permission.