 Poster: A snowHead
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Dear snowheads, first of all - thanks for your help so far, i think i've got the theory prepared as well as the equipment.
I am planning a trip to Flaine with UCPA in 2 weeks time and have now recalled that I need to get the insurance. I've checked the qoutes online and looks like M&S Insurance has got the best deals, it's roughly £45 for 7 days.
UPDATE: i'm 33 and based in the UK.
When I actually go into the details of the insurance, it says the following:
If you are taking part in winter sports whilst abroad, you can extend your policy to cover winter sports holidays. We can cover winter sports holidays up to a total of 17 days during the period of insurance under our Annual Multi-trip policy and up to 120 days under our Single Trip policy.
Winter sports equipment
Delay due to Avalanche
Piste closure
Ski Pack (ski school lessons & ski hire)
Lift pass
Inability to take part in Winter Sports activities due to injury or illness during the holiday.
Question: why it doesn't say anything about the healthcare? Or this is just a standard wording and healthcare is sort of self-explanatory?
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Fri 4-03-22 12:48; edited 1 time in total
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Healthcare is included in the standard package.
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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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Personally, re insurance, I'm not worried about secondary costs like lift passes, lessons, lost luggage or damaged equipment. The two main things you want to be covered for are heli-evac and consequential costs of injury or illness. The latter including paying for accommodation if you need to extend to recuperate before being deemed Fit to Fly or well enough in to be driven home; extra seats next to you on a scheduled flight; costs of someone coming out to stay with you or as an assistant on the way home; and medical flight home if you have serious injuries or need a prolonged convalescence. It's not just the cost that's important, it's the pressure this puts on the insurer to streamline your repatriation that's key. People will often agonise over the fine detail of lift pass refunds and ignore the latter.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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| LaForet wrote: |
| Personally, re insurance, I'm not worried about secondary costs like lift passes, lessons, lost luggage or damaged equipment. The two main things you want to be covered for are heli-evac and consequential costs of injury or illness. The latter including paying for accommodation if you need to extend to recuperate before being deemed Fit to Fly or well enough in to be driven home; extra seats next to you on a scheduled flight; costs of someone coming out to stay with you or as an assistant on the way home; and medical flight home if you have serious injuries or need a prolonged convalescence. It's not just the cost that's important, it's the pressure this puts on the insurer to streamline your repatriation that's key. People will often agonise over the fine detail of lift pass refunds and ignore the latter. |
Thank you for your note. Totally agree and understand the concern. As far as I understand, the M&S Insurance that I've quoted above does not include any of the things that you've mention, do you agree with me?
What insurance provider do you normally acquire? If you do not mind me asking.
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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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Have a look at this thread:
https://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=156081&highlight=
My first thought was that £45 seems quite pricey, but I don't know your age of personal circumstances.
I think you'll find all travel insurance policies with winter sports cover rescue, medical costs, repatriation etc., but there are differences around the edges as you'll see from that thread.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
My first thought was that £45 seems quite pricey, but I don't know your age of personal circumstances.
I think you'll find all travel insurance policies with winter sports cover rescue, medical costs, repatriation etc., but there are differences around the edges as you'll see from that thread. |
Would seem pretty high and if going to UPCA the OP is unlikely to be too aged or frail?
I would shop around. And look at an annual policy if you ate making other trips rather than these short run ones. As a comparison we get Euro travel family cover incl winter sports (sufficient for our needs) for £13 per month with a Nationwide bank account and that includes other insurances too so not just travel.
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@mihail439, as suggested above, it's highly probable that the basic package includes health cover and repatriation, and the only things mentioned in the "winter sports" add on are items unique to a ski holiday, like life pass refunds.
But where are you based? A uk policy would normally include repatriation to UK, but not necessarily elsewhere.
If in doubt, I'd phone them. That's quite an expensive package, and I suspect it's quite comprehensive.
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For a one off week (my annual policy didn't cover enough wintersports) I used:-
https://www.payingtoomuch.com/
In the OP's thread he says the M&S Insurance can be extended to cover 120 days of winter sports for single trip but only 17 days for their annual cover?
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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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| welshflyer wrote: |
For a one off week (my annual policy didn't cover enough wintersports) I used:-
https://www.payingtoomuch.com/
In the OP's thread he says the M&S Insurance can be extended to cover 120 days of winter sports for single trip but only 17 days for their annual cover? |
Thanks for the link, just had a look and the prices have surprized me. On the other hand - the reviews on trustpilot are awful.
In respect to M&S Insurance - that's just a 7 days cover for a predetermined period (they ask for dates) and not a window of 120 days.
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I'm with Coverwise. Seems a reasonable price and good cover, but you only really find out how good an insurance company is when you need their support.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Quite a lot of snowHeads seem to have gone with LV this season.
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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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| Hurtle wrote: |
| Quite a lot of snowHeads seem to have gone with LV this season. |
Myself included, and with regard to @LaForet’s post above, they covered everything when I was injured at the PSB, including paying the rescue costs which should have been covered by carre neige.
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| sugarmoma666 wrote: |
| My first thought was that £45 seems quite pricey, but I don't know your age of personal circumstances. |
Me too. A quick comparison on Money Supermarket gives prices for 1 week, with winter sports starting at £16.
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You know it makes sense.
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We were with LV= when my wife broke her arm. They paid for the heli-evac at £100 a minute; the heli-doctor and paramedics, the pisteurs fee (it can take a big team to close off a piste) and the Federal Helathcare Charge. They also organised and paid for me to fly over as an assistant plus the hire car (or a transfer, whichever I preferred); the pharmacy medicine costs; and the taxi to/from Gatwick. They checked the A&E discharge report immediately, which was in French, just to be sure she wasn't being jettisoned prematurely from the hospital. And would have paid accommodation and subsistence for us to stay on if she hadn't been fit to fly. They secured two seats each side of her on a packed return flight, plus mine. If she'd needed further prolonged treatment, they would have organised for a medical charter flight home.
So this is what's behind my observation that this sort of cover is worth it over a policy that might be cheaper, but not so comprehensive. This is not to say that this sort of cover is unavailable from cheaper insurance, just that it's important to know what you're getting, and what you aren't.
And yes, carre neige in France and additional ski pass assurance at CHF 5/day in Switzerland will cover the heli-evac and associated on-piste emergency charges, but this cover ends once you're off the mountain and doesn't include all the rest described above. I take the assurance out as well, anyway, just to streamline the hassle around dealing with a serious on-piste accident, even if this is paying twice for something. A serious incident is stressful enough, especially if your companions have to make their own way to the hospital separately (the helicopter doesn't have space for anyone else). And yes, the GHIC will provide reciprocal cover in France and now, Switzerland too but again, this won't cover recuperation extensions, flying out an assistant, and repatriation on scheduled or medical flights.
Oh, and always have your GHIC on you. Again, this is to streamline the hospital administration when you're admitted - you may well be on your own, as your companions may take some time to get back, change and get to the hospital. Given the state you may be in, you'll likely welcome just being able to show the GHIC as opposed to more involved procedures around billing. Or as in my wife's case, letting them go into your purse/wallet to retrieve it because you can't move due to the pain/morphine. And always take a photo of it for your mobile - administrators are just interested in the details on it, not necessarily the card itself, which isn't like a credit card and doesn't carry any digital data.
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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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@mihail439, You could of course just read the policy and find out exactly what it covers.
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Poster: A snowHead
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| LaForet wrote: |
| And yes, carre neige in France and additional ski pass assurance at CHF 5/day in Switzerland will cover the heli-evac and associated on-piste emergency charges, but this cover ends once you're off the mountain and doesn't include all the rest described above. I take the assurance out as well, anyway, just to streamline the hassle around dealing with a serious on-piste accident, even if this is paying twice for something. |
Although, as per Tazz2bme's post above, the Carre Neige doesn't always deliver, whereas her insurance did.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Many thanks everyone for your time and for your responses. With your help i've learned how to shop around, please excuse the newbie 
I ended up going to Money Supermarket webpage, searched for I needed, then purchased the insurance cover for £26 (one-off 7 days ski), however this was not the cheapest one, I picked with the best review rating, the price differences was around £9, which I didn't bother to spend given that you've helped me to reduce the price significantly from initially quoted £46.
If anyone is in Flaine during 12-19 Mar - please give me a shout!
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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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The Austrian Alpine Club, Sektion Britannia, provides mountain rescue as part of it's annual membership. It's not expensive, £44-57 currently depending on age group and partner.
I use it to support my annual travel insurance through my bank account.
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FAQ
