Mass. Ski Area Gets a Lift from Prime Insurance

The Blue Hills Ski Area in suburban Boston has reopened after the private operator of the state-owned facility found new liability insurance coverage.

“We found a carrier that would work with us,” said Al Endriunas, who co-owns Ragged Mountain Resort, the company that operates Blue Hills.

A lawsuit by an injured skier required the ski area’s former insurer to put aside $200,000 to meet a possible claim. When a new insurer took over the policy, it opted not to renew the liability insurance earlier this month.

But the state would not let the ski area operate without coverage.

Endriunas said a deal with Prime Insurance, of Utah, came Friday after he spent three days talking to insurers.

“It was a huge break,” he said. “There was a lot of people who tried to come out and help us here.”

The reopening allows about 250 high school students in the Ski East League to salvage the remaining weeks of their season. They use the Blue Hills slopes for practices and races.

Warm winter weather had prevented the area from opening this season except for a beginner’s slope. But several days of cold weather helped snowmaking equipment, and the area’s main slope opened Saturday.