Ski Club 2.0 Home
Snow Reports
FAQFAQ

Mail for help.Help!!

Log in to snowHeads to make it MUCH better! Registration's totally free, of course, and makes snowHeads easier to use and to understand, gives better searching, filtering etc. as well as access to 'members only' forums, discounts and deals that U don't even know exist as a 'guest' user. (btw. 50,000+ snowHeads already know all this, making snowHeads the biggest, most active community of snow-heads in the UK, so you'll be in good company)..... When you register, you get our free weekly(-ish) snow report by email. It's rather good and not made up by tourist offices (or people that love the tourist office and want to marry it either)... We don't share your email address with anyone and we never send out any of those cheesy 'message from our partners' emails either. Anyway, snowHeads really is MUCH better when you're logged in - not least because you get to post your own messages complaining about things that annoy you like perhaps this banner which, incidentally, disappears when you log in :-)
Username:-
 Password:
Remember me:
👁 durr, I forgot...
Or: Register
(to be a proper snow-head, all official-like!)

Annual insurance conundrum

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
A question for any insurance experts on here. My annual insurance expired on the 14th of March the renewal started from the 15th
I booked a 3 week trip to France starting on the 14th of March in December which was under the old policy.
I abandoned the trip on the evening of the 13th when it was obvious the ski area and country were going to be shut down despite assurances from the ski area that they would be open until the end of the season.

So do I claim under the old policy and cancel the new one (still under 14 days approval) or claim under the new one?

Or lodge a section 75 claim against the French government for removing their country as a tourist destination?
ski holidays
 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
I would have done the same as you and not travelled. However, you may now struggle to claim on either insurance policy. For the first policy they will probably say there was no formal advice not to travel and it was your own decision. This would also apply to the renewal but in addition nearly all insurers had removed any cover for coronavirus by 14 march renewals. Mentally I think of it as losing an experience rather than losing money. The usual caveat that alot depends on the exact conditions of your insurance and also any specific limits you have set yourself. We have annual insurance with Snowcard but did not take out the cancellation part !
snow conditions
 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?
I think you may have difficulty here as it sounds like it was your choice to "abandon" rather than wait until the shutdown was put in place by the country.
You need to check the policy terms and conditions to see if you are in fact covered at all, which makes the question of which policy you attempt to claim under moot, even if the expiring policy covers you then you might as well cancel the new one under its cooling off period, or "as not meeting your needs" as its likely the Insurance company will have changed its T&Cs as a result of the Virus claims that have been flooding in in the last few weeks!
As far as "section 75" claim is concerned, not sure how you think this works, but pretty sure the claim is made to your credit card company, not the French Government, better odds of gettiong some refunds of credit company than the French Govt!

let us know how you get on
ski holidays
 You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
I tend to agree with the posters above. I think it'll be a long time before things settle down and we really know where we are with travel insurance. They will be flat out dealing with claims and trying not to go bust at the moment and we can be sure that when the dust settles it will have obliterated some previously clear small print. Nothing will ever be the same again....
snow conditions
 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
pam w wrote:
I think it'll be a long time before things settle down and we really know where we are with travel insurance. They will be flat out dealing with claims and trying not to go bust at the moment and we can be sure that when the dust settles it will have obliterated some previously clear small print. Nothing will ever be the same again....


They won't go bust, or at least it is highly unlikely, because of reinsurance - not all of them shell out for that though. What they are actually dealing with at the moment are people cancelling policies, rebooking policies, inquiring about new policies and claims, and claims and assistance cases. I know from someone on that side of the fence who simply describes it as "chaos" and add to that the number of staff off self-isolating. The majority won't be paying out anyway because pandemics tend to be excluded as does travelling against FCO advice (a ski trip isn't essential travel no matter how well you argue it) and because, in the first instance, tour operators are meant to refund in full (by law). So, I'm pretty sure they will be bruised but alive when things return to a more normal state. Premiums will go up anyway - almost certain loss of EHIC, terrible exchange rate, and extra costs associated with this current situation.

As for the OP - better to tackle the companies you have paid upfront for any services not delivered. If you paid by credit card, go that route too.
ski holidays
 You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
Isn’t there a provision the insured have an obligation to “mitigate” passible damage as reasonable?

In other words, had the OP traveled in the face of obvious disruption, the insurance company would have to pay additional return journey cost which probably are higher...
ski holidays
 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Update:-- cancelled the insurance and got a refund for the car hire. No refund for the flights, no doubt they will claim disinclination to travel, but who would knowingly travel to what is now a police state? Re-booked airport parking for the summer (wishful thinking there), and waiting to see if there is any redress from the apartment agency.
snow conditions
 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Police state here now.
snow report
 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.
abc wrote:
Isn’t there a provision the insured have an obligation to “mitigate” passible damage as reasonable?


I had the same thought a couple of days ago in a conversation

It's a lot of years since I studied Contract Law, but there was always such an obligation, although it's not often mentioned publicly these days. Can't think of any reason for the insurers to remove any such clause as it allows them to reduce the amount of payout. Reduced claims help keep the price of renewals down.

eg. In the case of floods where plenty of notice was available, it would not be unreasonable for insurers to expect certain valuables to be moved upstairs, (if physically possible).
I saw an article on the TV where the flood defences had failed. The driver who left his vehicle parked behind the barrier for 5 days, despite the fact that it was expected to fail should have his claim rejected as he failed to mitigate any loss.

It's definitely worth discussing it with the insurers, although I wouldn't expect the call center staff to have a script for it. Try talking to a manager, or send an email addressed to the claims manager. Check the small print in the policy. Might be useful to quote how much extra it would have cost them to repatriate you if it had been necessary.
ski holidays
 Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
countryman wrote:
Police state here now.


What..in Newton Abbott?
snow report
 snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
holidayloverxx wrote:
countryman wrote:
Police state here now.


What..in Newton Abbott?


Laughing Laughing Laughing Laughing
snow conditions
 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.
I suspect that, in the current situation, most people will not be renewing annual policies until there is any chance of traveling which might leave some insurers with a cash flow problem.
If your policy expires in the next few weeks, it should cover cancelled holidays later in the year so long as it was booked before the situation became apparent. Get a claim in before the policy expires. No need to renew, which will probably exclude pandemics anyway.


I took out a new policy to start the day I traveled to the Pre Birthday Bash. As I booked for the next Birthday Bash in February, before the problems in Italy became public, it is covered under the policy. Unfortunately, the Pre Bash will not be covered as not yet booked. Nor will flights for the same reason.

Unfortunately the policy will expire just before the next BB. However, We will probably be aware of any travel problems more than a couple of days before, and I should be able to claim if it gets cancelled, except last minute.
latest report



Terms and conditions  Privacy Policy