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Off Piste Ski Insurance

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
Can anyone recommend a broker or company that offers good cover for any addressing injuries while Off Piste, many thanks
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
We have just taken out policies through MPI brokers (based on recommendations from other snowheads).
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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?
also snowcard and SCGB worth looking at
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I went with MPI for my specific needs, based on SH recommendations, but got lots of other great advice too! All here if it helps:
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=120253&highlight=
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
@roche1800, I'very said to you before to do a search. There is a thread running at the moment about insurance with a discount code....as there is most weeks. You'll find loads of good info on insurance if you search
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You'll need to Register first of course.
Holidaylover, can you tell me the company with discount code
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Thanks to everyone else
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Also see here
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2775805&highlight=insurance#2775805
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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.
@roche1800, search "insurance discount code". All words. Not rocket science.
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 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
@roche1800, If you cant manage the search on snowheads, you can always use google. Try this 'let me google that for you' link:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=site%3Asnowheads.com+insurance+discount+code
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Try Austrian Alpine Club - http://aacuk.org.uk
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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.
welshskier wrote:
Try Austrian Alpine Club - http://aacuk.org.uk


AAC membership is excellent value and the insurance covers off piste and much more (e.g. ski touring, hiking/trekking, climbing etc). BUT it is not general holiday insurance, so doesn't cover things like lost bags, delays, cancellation etc.

I now use AAC and have a general purpose policy via my bank which covers the rest. The bank policy does cover skiing but the small print around off piste bothers me (and it won't cover touring or trekking at all), so the AAC takes care of that. Which reminds me, AAC runs to the calendar year so it's time to renew!

One catch with the AAC cover is the limit on medical expenses - it's fine for Europe if you have an EHIC card but would likely not be adequate for N. America.
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
MPI
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
One question I have with using AAC and dovetailing it with normal skiing holiday insurance is that if you have an accident in North America whilst off-piste and have normal skiing holiday insurance, whilst the ACC may cover getting you off the mountain and into hospital, presumably your normal holiday skiing insurance could decline the medical bills as they happened off piste
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
When I was doing off piste, BMC insurance was impressive - and was not weasel worded.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
+1

Best out there IMHO
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
dsoutar wrote:
One question I have with using AAC and dovetailing it with normal skiing holiday insurance is that if you have an accident in North America whilst off-piste and have normal skiing holiday insurance, whilst the ACC may cover getting you off the mountain and into hospital, presumably your normal holiday skiing insurance could decline the medical bills as they happened off piste


This would concern me too, for N America I don't think AAC is the best option.
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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?
achilles wrote:
When I was doing off piste, BMC insurance was impressive - and was not weasel worded.


I'm sure the cover is good, but it's also pretty expensive compared to AAC or quotes via MPI.
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sah wrote:
achilles wrote:
When I was doing off piste, BMC insurance was impressive - and was not weasel worded.


I'm sure the cover is good, but it's also pretty expensive compared to AAC or quotes via MPI.


I had a feeling that if I were in real trouble that I might be glad that I had a policy for which I been more interested quality than price. Each to his or her own. I could find nothing like the cover anywhere else.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
I have the BMC insurance also, and when I did my MCL off-piste they were very helpful, making sure I had everything I needed. You do have to be a BMC member but if you do other activities - Climbing, mountain biking, diving etc like we do it covers everything. Be careful if you are a boarder though as it covers it only in Europe, worldwide is an extra.
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sah wrote:
achilles wrote:
When I was doing off piste, BMC insurance was impressive - and was not weasel worded.


I'm sure the cover is good, but it's also pretty expensive compared to AAC or quotes via MPI.


Annual multi-trip policy (45 day maximum each trip) for Europe and Asia (where I'm skiing this winter) is £276.

Tremendous value I think.
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I use MPI and find their coverage very good. Happily haven't had to claim on them yet.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
A second for MPI. Used them for my season, watched them deal with a friend who broke a pelvis off-piste, now will not use anyone else. Excellent.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Thanks everyone for your input, I have made calls to a few!

I specifically want off piste cover without guide without such caveats as, for example:

- agreement from resort manager
- within the designated ski area
- providing it is safe
- subject to complying with resort rules

Etc etc

All the above in my opinion are cop outs for when you claim you will not be covered.

Can I ask anyone who has had off piste cover without a guide, in Paradiski I regard it back country!

Your help would be appreciated as I leave on Wednesday night!!!
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You may want to consider that many of those caveats may not actually stand up in court as being fair. So I've personal experience (in another sport) of a legal case where an insurance company tried to weasel out of their responsibility with this sort of small print, but that was successfully challenged as being unreasonable in court.

"Providing it is safe" would not, in my non-qualified view, stand up. If it's "safe" then you do not need insurance, so either it's being miss-sold or it's a contract clause which is nonsense.
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 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
I've used BMC the last few years for off piste without a guide, but MPI is looking a lot cheaper for the forthcoming year, so I will probably change over to them for this winter.
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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.
Alert 1Cover ski insurance
This insurance claims to cover off piste under its FAQs. Here is the wording and make your own decisions:"Yes we provide cover for off-piste skiing and snow boarding as long as it is within a short distance from designated areas of ski resort boundaries ON GROOMED TERRAIN that are open and patrolled by ski resort."
This would seem to offer no relevant off piste cover whatsoever. It certainly wouldnt cover ski routes in Switzerland and Austria, between the trees off the edge etc. This wording is so vague it is as good as useless for anyone but piste skiers.
When I rang to ask there definition of a "short distance" they would not commit to any definitive response whatsoever.
Because they would not be pinned down I decided to cancel my cover - 9 months in advance of the trip - only to be told there would be no refund of any kind. This inspite of the fact i have been a recurring customer.
My fault I suppose: buyer beware!
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:

Yes we provide cover for off-piste skiing and snow boarding as long as it is within a short distance from designated areas of ski resort boundaries ON GROOMED TERRAIN that are open and patrolled by ski resort


Why writes this crap?
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 You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
There is so much BS with all the mainstream insurers in terms of what is defined as off piste vs ski mountaineering (eg if you hike up...is that mountaineering?), guided vs unguided offpiste, what constitutes high risk conditions (is it reasonable to ski off piste on a 3/5 avalanche risk; in words this translates to considerable risk) etc that in the last 5yrs i gone with BMC. Very clear cut and no BS. ps as i do a lot of off piste i also have taken out life insurance policy through them as others excluded off piste skiing from their policies!
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 Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
I've always used a top up on the free for account holders Nationwide policy. I've not read the off-piste conditions but when I was asking about it they said yes so confidently that I did no more about it. Now I'm feeling a little nervous with all this talk.
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 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
@henzerani, Nationwide winter sports inclusive, or winter sports top-up covers off piste, but with guide only. They do not cover when on your own/with friends.

They told me no top up is available to cover off piste without a guide either... and they are not able/willing to explain to me how their cover would work in tandem with Austrian Alpine Club...



I'm with holidaysafe which writes it covers off piste without guide. I also have AAC as the discounts this will give me on the haute route will cover the membership fee.
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Insure and Go appear to have a very straightforward approach to off piste. Here's their standard T&Cs: Bobsleighing*, cat skiing, cross country skiing, freestyle skiing*, glacier walking or trekking (under 2000m), glacier walking or trekking (over 2000m but under 6000m)*, heli-skiing*, ice climbing under 100m (fully supervised)*, ice fishing, ice hockey*, luge on snow/ice*, monoskiing, off piste skiing/snowboarding (except in areas considered to be unsafe by resort management), recreational ski or snowboard racing, skeletons*, ski acrobatics*, ski bob racing*, ski racing or training (nonprofessional)*, ski stunting*, ski touring (with a guide), ski/snowboard fun parks*, skiing, snow mobiling*, snowboarding and tobogganing.

An asterisk indicates an additional excess applies and you don't get compensated for things like a loss of limbs (although your medical treatment is covered). Only three sports are specifically excluded from cover: ski flying, ski jumping or ski mountaineering.

This all seems very simple, commonsense and plain English. I suppose that my only query would be where the boundary lies between ski mountaineering and ski touring.
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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?
It's the "except in areas considered to be unsafe by resort management" that's the catch. In a European context what does that mean? Clearly it excludes closed pistes - that's straightforward. Avalanche level 2? I tried in vain to get any sense out of Dogtag on this - their policy had wording about "skiing against local advice". What about avanche warning level 1, I asked. Not covered at all if there was any avalanche warning, they said. I asked for a callback from someone familiar with European skiing but nobody ever called....
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@pam w, fair comment. I don't have sufficient understanding of the risks to ski off piste without a guide, though, and I figure an insurance company would find it difficult to argue that a slope regarded as safe by a qualified mountain guide fell within their exclusion. In the worst case, I'd have to claim on the guide's insurance.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
For off piste with a guide a lot of ordinary holiday insurance policies will cover you
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Anyone except " insure & Stay at Home" - as we call them! They delay everything, postpone replies to the last minute and only pay up when they see that you are going to the Ombudsman where they know that they will lose, because they have done on similar facts before.
But if you are with them, remember to wear a helmet or your insurance is invalid! ( whilst skiing , that is)
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Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
@Scrumpy, they've paid up for two broken arms in my family over the years. Not skiing though - one surfing accident and one trip over a carelessly placed rucksack. Not had any problems at all.
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Scrumpy wrote:
... But if you are with them, remember to wear a helmet or your insurance is invalid! ( whilst skiing , that is)


Do you have any evidence of that actually happening? It sounds kind of Daily-Mail to me.

If you break a leg, what's on your head is fairly likely to be irrelevant, and I doubt trying to weasel out of a contract on that basis would work. They'd be laughed out of court.
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