 Poster: A snowHead
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This is all of great interest to me,as I'm about to renew my Annual Multi Trip Insurance.Like many,I felt that I was covered in the event of accident/loss.Yes,I would expect some haggling,but never imagined my first problem would actually be getting myself,or wife/children to the hospital  I would personally like to thank davidof and PG for making the position clear.The above comments point to one thing;we all need two insurance policies(that ski in France)
1.A UK based policy to cover travel,baggage loss etc,along with the things we can worry about when back home,say,ski theft or piste closure.
2.A French based policy,carre neige,to cover any misshap whilst actually skiing.This actually makes a lot of sense.Most of us would struggle in dealing with the French Emergency Services;as they would with a UK insurer?
Is the above a solution?
Finally,anyone know the situation with off piste cover under carre neige?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowskisnow wrote: |
1.A UK based policy to cover travel,baggage loss etc,along with the things we can worry about when back home,say,ski theft or piste closure.
2.A French based policy,carre neige,to cover any misshap whilst actually skiing.This actually makes a lot of sense.Most of us would struggle in dealing with the French Emergency Services;as they would with a UK insurer?
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Carre/Carte neige cover off piste and a lot of other activities.
You know I'm never in favour of giving insurance companies too much of my money and a lot of these different policies are backed by either Zurich/Mondial Assistance or Generali/Europ Assistance. The insurance companies have people on their "assistance" lines who speak French, German, Chinese even so there is no problem for the French to deal with them. Maybe you are right and it is just easier to have two policies but it just doesn't seem very fair to me.
As I say for the incident we are discussing I would inform the mayor of the ski resort and also
M le Préfet Christian Sapede
Préfecture de la Savoie
Château des Ducs de Savoie
BP 1801
73018 Chambéry CEDEX
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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But bear in mind that Carte Neige is a French mutuelle, and not full health cover. It only covers moutain rescue and any excesses you have to pay - it won't pay your hospital bills etc. You'll have to deal with all that via the NHS or whatever other health insurance you've got (assuming that covers skiing injuries).
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| it won't pay your hospital bills etc. You'll have to deal with all that via the NHS |
Good point to make. I personally don't think the Carte Neige and European Health Passport (ex E111) is sufficient cover. The Carte Neige's health cover basically pays for the things that your private health insurance (aka mutuelle) doesn't cover such as part of the cost of injections by a resort doctor.
Most people, like me, pay around 30 quid a month for additional private cover because the French NHS does not cover all your bills... by a long chalk. This is why UK visitors need proper health insurance when visiting France (or take a chance).
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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In Austria My son was helicoptered off the mountain with no questions asked! He needed help (turned out leg broken in 3 places) and that was all there was to it.....what a difference.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Yes, but who paid the bill. We once had to use helicopter and air-ambulance home and the total bill was over £15000. Annual insurance picked up the bill straight away.
I'm wondering do we need Carte neige in addition, especially given the conditions in the 3V next week. 
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It seems a bit of a 'belt & braces' approach but,at around 15euro a week(12euro child)I personally think carre neige is the way to go?At the very least you should then have no problems getting off the mountain/transferred to hospital.Chances are any reputable insurer will pay out......eventually?But when you,or your child,are in a heap somewhere,the last thing you need is to be trying to phone a UK helpline 
BTW,does carre neige cover unguided off piste,or not?
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| snowskisnow wrote: |
| BTW,does carre neige cover unguided off piste,or not? |
My understanding is that it does. Terms and Conditions (in English) helpfully reproduced at My Snow Sports. This is for Carte Neige, but I think that Carre Neige is the same.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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rob@rar.org.uk, no difference in cover between Carte Neige and Carre Neige, just that one is per season and the other for a designated amount of time. I'm always amazed that when we ask guests if they want Carre Neige they invariably say no.
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| David@traxvax wrote: |
| I'm always amazed that when we ask guests if they want Carre Neige they invariably say no. |
I used to, until I discovered snowHeads  Now I consider it a very small price to pay for a large chunk of piece of mind.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Does Austria have anything similar to the Carte Neige, do we know?
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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You've gotta love the Swiss. My brother got blood wagon followed by skidoo off the hill last January. No charge. The doctor didn't need paying directly because he recognised me, such faith, and let the insurance cover it. This year Mrs P has torn a latteral ligament whilst skiing, blood wagon followed by ambulance to Drs, all free, and again (although different dr) because we live here for half the year is happy to wait for the insurance company to pay out.
FWIW we have Air Glacier insurance on top of BMC insurance. Echoing above, better to be over insured than under. Most of the time it's a question of cash flow, I don't really have the cash, or credit, to cover any large medical expenses so being heavily insured is a peace of mind.
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| Quote: |
I'm always amazed that when we ask guests if they want Carre Neige they invariably say no.
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Can't recall ever being offered it by a tour operator. or indeed antone else.
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You know it makes sense.
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| parlor wrote: |
| ... all free ... |
Surely somebody has to pay for these services? Unless they are staffed by kind-hearted volunteers?
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Frosty the Snowman, I was asked if I needed insurance when I bought my pass last month in Les Deux Alpes. I said no. Next time I will say yes.
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Poster: A snowHead
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It's around €2.50 a day extra isn't it. Seems very little on top of a €200+ lift pass. Think I might go for that. Thanks for all the wise advice, everyone.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Frosty the Snowman, that's because most ski/chalet hosts don't know about it, ours do they get it with their lift pass but I'll bet we're the exception.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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If I recall correctly though, Carte Neige doesn't cover you if you're working professionally on the mountain.
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Every year I have this debate with the co-owner of the travel firm I usually ski with. He maintains time and again that there is no need for Carte Neige and that the type of thing talked about here doesn't happen in Val D'Isere! I still buy Carte Neige.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We're going to the Aravis region: hope we don't have to use the services of this chap, although I'm sure he's very nice really:
ALP'AMBULANCE - Fitzwilliam ERICService d'ambulances
Adresse : Villavit - 74450 GRAND-BORNAND
Tél. : 04.50.02.71.39
Fax : 04.50.02.23.89
No, I'm not making it up! 
Ant
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Chris Bish, insurance of course, but what I was ineptly trying to say was that helping my son appeared to be a higher prioity to the pisters, medic etc than my insurance papers. Thank goodness the incident at the beginning of the thread is not indicative of every resort, I wonder why?
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| Lorraine wrote: |
| Thank goodness the incident at the beginning of the thread is not indicative of every resort, I wonder why? |
*devil's advocate*
Because not every resort is in France?
*end devil's advocate*
ON a more serious note, for years I've been less than keen to ski in France after personally experiencing poor customer service (although thankfully nothing on that level), and stories like this simply add fuel to the fire - depsite having had three great trips in a row. Having said that, they were all in the Tarentaise, perhaps that's a lone civilised outpost in France?
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 8-02-06 9:21; edited 1 time in total
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| nbt wrote: |
| ON a more serious note, for years I've been less than keen to ski in France after personally experiencing poor customer service (although thankfully nothing on that level), and stories like this simply add fuel to the fire - depsite having had three great trips in a row. Having said that, they were all in the Tarentaise, perhaps that's a lone civilised outpost in France? |
Although this story (and snowbunny's) are very distressing, as far as I can tell both would have been easily avoided by the purchase of carre/carte neige. That's not to excuse the actions of ambulance/pisteurs who demanded payment in cash (I think complaining to the local Mayor is a good suggestion), but this particular problem can be negated for the cost of a couple of Euro per day.
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| rob@rar.org.uk wrote: |
| both would have been easily avoided by the purchase of carre/carte neige. |
I've alreay paid a lot for comprehensive insurance. It's accepted everywhere else in the world without problems, it would appaer. Why should I thne have to buy more insurance in France?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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nbt, you shouldn't - it's just a matter of convenience, should anything untoward happen, before the French and the insurers get their act together. The situation is that ambulance companies are left with unpaid bills because the set-up is wrong and because insurers can be pretty unscrupulous.
I'm not sure how much it (insurance generally) would be accepted elsewhere by a private business though, if you were about to walk, or hobble out, of the door, heading for the other side of the world.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| nbt wrote: |
| rob@rar.org.uk wrote: |
| both would have been easily avoided by the purchase of carre/carte neige. |
I've alreay paid a lot for comprehensive insurance. It's accepted everywhere else in the world without problems, it would appaer. Why should I thne have to buy more insurance in France? |
I agree, but if I were laying in a blood wagon in pain faced with this kind of problem I think I'd be wishing I'd paid that extra tenner for my lift pass. Several comparisions have been made to practice in other countries where piste evacuation is "free" with the lift pass - it's not free, of course, you just pay for it as a "compulsory" element when you buy your lift ticket. In France, this assurance is optional rather than compulsory.
As I mentioned earlier, my only experience (not personal, fortunately) of piste evacuation was also in the Trois Vallees, but in Courchevel not Val Thorens. In that example, the pisteurs and medical staff were professional, calming and courteous. They didn't demand payment in cash; credit card was fine. Skis were kept as a deposit for payment by the pisteurs; this was explained and both me and the injured person thought this was reasonable (and inconsequential).
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*whispers*I agree, just playing devil's advocate*whispers*
In truth, I understand the points - however my argument isn;t really about the money, it's about the customer service. I accept that private ambulances need to be paid for, and indeed when Mrs NBT had an accident in Canada we had to pay for everything once we got off the mountain (getting off was a trauma in itself as mrs NBT insisted she was not too imjured to ski down - turned out she'd torn a calf muscle and if she had been carted off might have recovered a lot quicker, but that's another story!) - anyway - as I said we had to pay for all th medical bills etc, but we were able to pay by card. never a mention of cash, and when you're in painm hassle like that is the last thing you need.
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You know it makes sense.
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rob@rar.org.uk,
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Skis were kept as a deposit for payment by the pisteurs; this was explained and both me and the injured person thought this was reasonable (and inconsequential).
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I also considered that reasonable, right up to the point when my SO saw a pisteur ON MY SKIS and skiing them to the office for ransom. Then, when I complained in writing about this action, the VT piste management called me a liar 
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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Poster: A snowHead
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rob@rar.org.uk,
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I will ski with my liftpass, Carte Neige and EHIC card in the same pocket (and keep my fingers crossed I don't get hurt in Val Thorens ).
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Yes, spot on with the last bit. You could not offer me enough money to risk skiing there, since the layout of the piste crossing point was a large contributor to my collision circumstances. Some resorts try to manage the flow at crossing points, but not VT.
If you fancy skiing VT, I suggest 500 Euros in notes as a supplement, which should at least get you as far as being treated in the Cabinet Medical. You will most likely need more of course, but at least they will give you a paracetamol and your skiboots.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| snowbunny wrote: |
| I suggest 500 Euros in notes as a supplement |
Or the small payment for the optional insurance offered in all French resorts 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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rob@rar.org.uk, VT private blood wagons/medical centre etc like cash, it's apparently sooo much easier and keeps their admin costs down. There are no guarantees there that a Carte or Carre Neige which is not on a VT lift ticket will be accepted. I was told many times, that the only assurance acceptable in VT is the one issued at the VT lift co. ticket offices. I guess that it's another nice little earner for them.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| snowbunny wrote: |
| I was told many times, that the only assurance acceptable in VT is the one issued at the VT lift co. ticket offices. |
Isn't that the Carre/Carte Neige? Or does Val Thorens have its own, unique insurance policy?
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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rob@rar.org.uk, VT does sell the standard Carre/Carte Neige - as far as I am aware.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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whats the cost per person in VT as heading out at the weekend, already have snowcard insurance but think i will top it up so to speak, and can i buy it on the sat and start skiing on the sunday.
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jtobin03, it's 2.50 Euros per day. You buy it at the same time as your lift pass, and yes you can buy it on Saturday when you arrive with the pass and the carre neige policy starting on the Sunday. You will need to buy it at a lift pass office yourself, as I doubt that your tour operator will include the cost of the Carre Neige insuarnce when they try to sell you a liftpass on the coach transfer to the resort.
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I have already prebooked my liftpass, so can i just go down and buy the carre neige
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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jtobin03, yes.nbt, your comments about the Tarentaise echo our experience, we have only ever had help and a warm welcome in the area, but the locals here insist they are Tarins first, Savoyards second and then French.
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is it possible/necessary to get this Carte Niege thingy in Italy? Sounds essential...
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FAQ
