The annual multi trip ski insurance hunt!

A snowHead

BUMP

Which firms are offering the best insurance to price this coming 2022/2023 season?

A snowHead

Just had a quote from Insure and go of £860 for two us! Shocked

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

My LV annual cover renewed at £143, an increase of £35 over last year, but I didn't research my options as I'd forgotten about it!

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@boredsurfin, £510 for ones wife and one european only with the BMC. That includes declared health conditions and an old age premium. All the usual stuff is included including unguided off piste, rock climbing, mountaineering up to IIRC 6000m, etc. In fact all the stuff you'd want to do on holiday and want to go on holiday to do. With aplogies to PamW I don't think it includes intercontinental sailing and sadly not ski racing.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

@johnE, Just had a recommendation for https://www.cedartreeinsurance.com much the same price and much the same additions and exclusions Toofy Grin

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Couple aged 70+ pre-existing health conditions, 31 days winter sports + RAC recovery and European cover. £12.50 per month with Barclays Travel Pack, an add on with standard Barclays current account. Cheapest insurance I have ever had.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

@Timc, a friend had to use that Barclays insurance last winter to deal with a broken leg (in France). They were brilliant, I was very impressed.

Good communication, sorted everything with little fuss, handled all payments without complaint.

I would definitely consider them now myself...

I used Post Office last winter to get the coverage I needed (enough days, offpiste, touring etc), but will look again this year

After all it is free

@fixx, I claimed from them for my PSB2021 Easyjet fiasco. They initially refused my claim but paid eventually. The claims administrators are the CEGA group who I have found to be fair and well organised in the past.

Austrian Alpine club, £50 a year, you have to upgrade for the US but I don't go there.
Covers off piste/climbing solo and without a guide. It's covers you in conjunction with the health card, but most insurances do that now , if you read the small print. I know 2 people who made claims resulting from Alpine climbing, no issues.

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admiral "platinum" policy, annual cover including winter sports (excludes off-piste), Europe only, £76 for a couple in their 50's

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AAC for hubby and Nationwide Flexplus for me, as I don't ski off-piste now. Flexplus account is (I think) £13 per month, and includes travel, breakdown cover and mobile phone cover.
I claimed on travel when I had appendicitis in March, both for cancellation of a subsequent trip (it was only 3 weeks away) and any medical fees not covered by my EHIC card for the one I was on when I took ill. They paid for an extra night in a hotel travelling home as we were driving, so I didn't have to sit in the car for long periods, and for medicines and wound dressings bought at the pharmacy as well as the GP bill and the daily hospital charge. They were a bit slow and every time I had to submit something else they'd asked for you went to the back of the queue for processing. I had to chase things a couple of times, but all paid up without a quibble in the end.

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Struggling to find a single trip policy for 40 days winter sports. Allianz (Lloyds) won't allow an upgrade from 31 days, will only insure the first 31 days of the trip which means I can't get a top up policy (that I can see) as the insurance has to start when you travel from the UK. any ideas? looked at Snowcard, Voyager, AAC - which I can't get my head round - LV

@holidayloverxx, skicover.com appear to offer 60 days per trip (we still use LV + AAC).

You know it makes sense.

@holidayloverxx, AAC is not travel insurance, it's membership which includes insurance for accidents and illness, so will pay for rescue, medical expenses and repatriation costs in the case of an accident or illness while skiing (and lots of other activities), so you would still need a travel policy for the trip for cancellation and delay etc etc. It also has 3rd party liability cover and legal expenses. Good value for the money though.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@Hells Bells, yes, I understand that and my Lloyds would cover everything else..i couldn't get as far as becoming a member, but I was on my phone. I'll look again
@oui4ski, thanks, will have a look

A snowHead

@oui4ski, only do up to 31 days for winter sports cover

A snowHead

Ah sorry - I read their recent email as "up to 60 days cover per trip" - but it might have been their long stay annual policies ... I usually find the annual cover is often cheaper than single trip!

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I used to have annual travel insurance with Insureandgo for wife and I. Have used them for years approximately £150 a year. Including skiing with guided off-piste, USA, diving and cruising.

Stupidly had an arthroscopy for a long term niggly knee issue in 2021 which required a simple excision of a flap of cartillage. Now have a constantly painful knee and insurance is proving difficult. Annual quotes from Insureandgo was £800. Have since purchased annual without ski and am planning to take out weekly insurances for the skiing. My knee seems to bump it up by £80.

Any views?

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

On their homepage (https://www.skicover.com) it says "Breaking news: New annual winters ports policies including off piste cover for up to 60 days per trip" - but you have to call them - so I suspect that the website is not quite up to speed with the policies available. I haven't used them however, so cannot offer advice on how good their claims process is in reality!

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@oui4ski, i'll give them a call if necessary. currently got an enquiry in with snowcard - I really don't need extreme adventure but thats what you have to have for longer trips

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AAC for off-piste without a guide, and Amex Platinum charge card inclusive travel insurance + EHIC for everything else.

Amex Platinum is expensive, but the cost can be offset a great deal with the signup bonus and other cashback deals the card includes.

I used it once for a small claim in Japan (around £100) and it was in my bank account before I'd even returned from the trip.

After all it is free

dogtag.co.uk

AAC only provides cover for first 8 weeks of each trip, if my understanding is correct.

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Looks like snowcard have come good for my trip

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Renewed with Coverwise for another year. Cover ski touring and heliskiing as well as off piste without a guide in the standard winter sports cover. Also have reasonable cover for COVID. Worldwide ex USA/Canada for a year was just under £49 which I thought was fair. However, standard ski trip duration is 17 days which is fine for me as I only go for 1-2 weeks at a time but might not suit everyone.

I was just looking at the Dog Tag FAQs and saw this, it has to be the most straightforward explanation I have seen from an Insurer. And possibly saves the annual 'Who Offers cover for Off-piste?' topic.

Do you cover Off Piste Skiing and what is the definition of Off Piste?

Going ‘off piste’ is generally understood to be simply leaving the groomed trails within the resort. If you want to ski outside the resort, we would term this going ‘out of bounds’ or ‘back country skiing ‘ and it requires a higher level of cover. These activities require different levels of cover:

Skiing Off Piste (within the resort):- Sport
Skiing Back Country (outwith the resort) with a guide:- Sport+
Skiing Back Country (outwith the resort) without a guide:- Extreme

Skiing ‘off piste’ within the resort, in most cases, will offer you as much scope as if you go outside the resort boundaries. However, if you are going out of bounds or outside marked areas of the resort, we recommend you do so with a fully qualified local guide because, in our view, you will then be taken to the best areas and you’ll have a higher degree of comfort concerning your safety; the choice is yours but you will need to make sure that you have the right level of sport cover.
And remember, even some areas within the overall resort may be considered out of bounds because they are hazardous and they will probably be marked as such. You are in charge of your own personal safety and ‘going under the wire’, where you knowingly compromise your own safety, may compromise your insurance cover.
In most parts of North America, going out of bounds contravenes local law whether you have insured for it or not and you may, at best have your lift pass confiscated or worse, face arrest and have an overnight stay courtesy of the Sherriff’s office. Normally there is a physical fence with warning signs so you shouldn’t be in any doubt.
It is your responsibility to ensure that on any particular day you are aware of and obey local advice, information, and instructions given by the resort authorities and that you obey any signs and information you encounter on the mountain – the source of this information will vary resort to resort and country to country and it is your responsibility to find out. If a section is marked ‘closed’ there will be a very good reason for it (e.g. high avalanche danger) and ignoring such signs or advice may invalidate your cover. You should be aware that under the terms of cover, needless self-exposure to peril except in an endeavour to save human life may invalidate your cover.
Obviously, you must never ski off-piste alone.

And

Will I get rescued by Helicopter?

Whether you are on the ski slopes, in the rainforest or in the Himalayas, the rescue system used is the choice of those attending an injured or sick person at the scene, or more likely, the rescue organisation dealing with your case.

Ski Resort Medical Rescue:

In ski resorts, ski patrollers are generally very well trained and experienced in assessing injuries and managing the evacuation of an injured person off the mountain and to a hospital in the manner most appropriate to the patient’s condition. It is they who will decide what is appropriate for the circumstances regardless of your insurer. Serious cases occasionally involve helicopters but more often a combination of sled, ski lift and ambulance is more immediate and appropriate.

Remote Locations

We often get asked by people going to remote locations and especially by mountaineers and trekkers going to the Himalayas whether a helicopter or other rescue services can be called in without first contacting us.

Here’s our position:

Summoning helicopter rescue: With DOGTAG, medical rescue is covered as part of the emergency medical section of cover. Where it is possible, you, someone travelling with you or your representative should contact us before calling in a 3rd-party evacuation services, this is because we may be able to arrange appropriate assistance for you straightaway. Where it is impossible to contact us before calling in a 3rd-party evacuation services, then as long as the evacuation is for emergency medical reasons only, cover would be considered.

We define emergency medical treatment as “Any ill-health or injury which occurs during your trip and requires immediate treatment before you return home or to enable you to return home”.

Claiming for helicopter rescue: Claims for helicopter rescue will only be considered by our insurer if the situation is caused by and linked to an emergency medical situation for which the helicopter rescue was required.

Other factors such as weather, remoteness and the local availability of rescue systems are also taken into account. Again, it is not uncommon to be asked for proof of insurance whilst on the mountain or in a remote location. Therefore, please ensure that you have your DOGTAG insurance information on you at all times.

Please be aware:

We will only provide cover for medical rescue if it is medically necessary. No cover is provided for any additional costs incurred to find you if people don’t know where you are, for example, we don’t cover the cost of Search and Rescue. If this is a possibility due to the activity you are taking part in, such as Offshore Sailing or Remote Expeditions/Marathons, we strongly recommend that you have 3rd Party Search and Rescue Cover in place for the entire time that you will be taking part in the activity.

You know it makes sense.

Revolut

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

FYI SCGB Platinum European Membership for a couple over 60 (with or without children) with up to 45 days ski cover per year (including off piste without a guide) is £315. However, you can get an extension allowing up to 60 days per trip, for £63.

A snowHead

@Bob, what are these resort boundaries they talk about. Are they referring to a natur piste that is marked but not bashed?

A snowHead

@johnE, just stay inside the electric fence...

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

I have a coverwise Silver tier policy which is rolling over from last year (bought it in May having used single trip previously) which seems like pretty good cover.

I'm no insurance expert, but seemed at the time to be pretty comprehensive, pretty much all skiing is covered if you pay the winter sports premium, including racing (but it specifically says "non-FIS racing"), off piste (as long as it's not against the advice of authorities), glacier skiing and heli-skiing. It also says that in the US or Canada, you're only covered outside of the resort boundaries if you're with a qualified guide. Trip length for the annual cover is limited to 31 days per trip for non-ski trips, and 17 days per trip for ski trips, though there's no limit to the total number of trips or days, so as long as you're only skiing for 1-2 weeks at a time it's fine, but that may not work for everyone.

They have higher tiers than silver with higher premiums, but as far as I can tell, the only real difference is the excess and maximum amounts for cancellation, delays, lost/stolen items etc, my silver policy has a £50 excess for all claims, and covers up to £20 million for medical claims and £2 million for liability claims. It also covers lost ski equipment (though only up to £500), and unused ski passes, lessons, and hired equipment due to injury, and £400 for any physiotherapy needed once back in the UK.

Cost me £32 for the year including winter sports for Europe only cover.

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@zaphod424, that sounds far too cheap. Who provides the actual cover?

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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I'm with Coverwise as well. Who are covered by AXA
Mine is annual multi-trip worldwide silver and seems to cover all my needs, solo off-piste, Heli, Cat, touring, Japan, Canada.
I am 62 and my renewal is £197, down from £270 last year, due to loyalty bonus ...
I did a lot of research, I was with Dogtag, but these guys were the only one's that covered everything I needed at a manageable cost.

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

After all it is free

Coverwise annual policy Inc USA/Canada comes back at £200ish for me. A single 2week trip is £20
more! Puzzled

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The annual multi trip ski insurance hunt!

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