 Poster: A snowHead
|
Do you have any recommendations for insurance company/policy best suited for a skiing holiday? Covering skiing injuries, medical treatment/repatriation and the like. I usually stay on-piste so no fancy stuff (ski touring, competitions, etc.) to cover.
Many thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
|
Try the Post Office, Snowcard and LV.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
|
Last year I moved to LV for multi-trip annual insurance (after several years with MPI who at that time had temporarily stopped doing wintersports travel insurance, although they have now recently restarted). I've just got quotes from both of them for new cover from 1st February and LV looks to be better value, so I'll probably stick with them again.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
|
What about taking out the local insurance when you buy your ski pass. The Carre Neige in the Savoie region of France seems to cover all your requirements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
|
Check out your bank, mine, Barclays does annual travel insurance for the 2 of us, over 70 with pre-existing medical conditions, 30 days winter sports cover (they only count the days you participate) for £12.50 per month
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
| skichampcouk wrote: |
What about taking out the local insurance when you buy your ski pass. The Carre Neige in the Savoie region of France seems to cover all your requirements.
|
Looking at the cover of the Carre Neige it doesn't seem to make any reference to third party liability cover i.e if you injure someone else? This is now a legal requirement in Italy for example. Also of course the Carre Neige doesn't cover loss or damage to luggage or personal effects....
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
@Alastair Pink, But wouldn't a standard travel insurance policy cover that? And the OP didn't ask that question.
Last edited by Then you can post your own questions or snow reports... on Fri 6-01-23 20:54; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| skichampcouk wrote: |
| What about taking out the local insurance when you buy your ski pass. The Carre Neige in the Savoie region of France seems to cover all your requirements. |
Odd advice. You don’t know of she is skiing in the Savoie region which is what you seem to know about. And does it cover repatriation, someone coming out to look after you if your injury means you can’t be sent home immediately etc etc. I think not.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| skichampcouk wrote: |
What about taking out the local insurance when you buy your ski pass. The Carre Neige in the Savoie region of France seems to cover all your requirements.
|
Looking at the cover of the Carre Neige it doesn't seem to make any reference to third party liability cover i.e if you injure someone else? This is now a legal requirement in Italy for example. Also of course the Carre Neige doesn't cover loss or damage to luggage or personal effects.... |
Agreed. Carre Neige (and indeed GHIC) are no substitute for taking out Insurance (needed for Liability, Private Hospitals and Repatriation).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
It's well worth having the very cheap (price of a cup of coffee) insurance with the lift pass, if you ski in France. Will get you off the mountain quicker and makes life far easier for whoever is with you, who will otherwise spend stressful hours trying to pay bills on your behalf for piste rescue, and to recover your skis which will be held hostage till they do. But as @Old Fartbag rightly says, that's no substitute for UK based insurance (assuming you're UK based) which covers a wider range of costs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
@zikomo, It does cover repatriation, not sure if it covers somebody coming out to look after you but normally most people have somebody with them and I'm pretty sure it covers that.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
always thought you need both. Carre Neige is mountain treatment and any medical care if required. Travel insurance also covers your booking, luggage, etc.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
It doesn't cover all the medical things either, for people who are not part of the local health insurance system. The overall claim is also limited to 50K, which is not a lot once you get into fancy medical treatment and being flown home. When I broke my pelvis it would not have flown two people out to drive me home in my car and it might not pay extra hotel expense for somebody staying on with you.
You'd be daft to travel without reasonable holiday insurance cover, but Carré (or Carte) Neige is a worthwhile adjunct. It costs so little that it would be totally unreasonable to expect it to cover everything which much more expensive policies cover.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
Another vote for both Carre Neige and travel insurance.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
Care Neige is hugely less comprehensive than my travel insurance even when it comes to medical treatment and other fallout from injury. And inadequate for that purpose. It works well for locals who will have other health insurance. Not to say it would not be worth having in addition if you wanted to belt and brace it all.
And still no idea where the OP is skiing so no idea whether this is even an option.
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
@pam w, having retrieved a SH's skis (and boots and helmet) after an accident on last year's PSB, I'm quite amused by this idea I occasionally hear of skis being held hostage. Does this really happen?
The skis went down the mountain with with the SH to the Val d'Isere medical centre. As the people skiing with the SH were staying in Tignes, they probably wouldn't have been able to take all their things back anyway. When someone kindly drove me and another SH round to pick up the skis, they were in a room accessible for anyone to pick them up, with no sign of security preventing it. I'm not sure we needed to even speak to anyone. Someone who knew about that room could probably nick some great skis. I think I'd prefer my skis were "held hostage" until someone definitely associated with me picked them up (even if they had to put the rescue on their credit card.)
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
Take out UK Travel Insurance with winter sports extension and then add any local assurance to streamline piste evacuation and A+E processing.
A few points to consider: Don't assume there will be someone with you: you might well be separated. There certainly won't be spare space in the helicopter so you'll arrive at A+E all alone - any companions will have to make their own way down the mountain, back to the accommodation, change and then go to wherever you've been taken. Can anyone with you stay on if you're in recuperation after the end of your holiday, perhaps for weeks? Will your insurer handle the logistics and costs of the requisite hotel/apartment bookings? How about the flight home? Will your insurer be able to organise four adjacent seats on a full flight - one for the helper and one each side of the injured? And so on.
People quibble over the cost of cover, but over and above expenses, it's probably the logistics that are going to be uppermost in everyone's mind, along with concern over the injured's health. The best insurers will have a UK handler who will sort all this out for you. Including stuff like having a French-speaking medic in the UK check the Discharge Report from A&E to make sure they aren't just chucking you out prematurely. It's easily worth having a bit of overlap in cover and a slightly more expensive policy that means any incident and its aftermath is handled as effectively as possible.
LV= travel insurance with premium winter cover handled my wife's ski accident and repatriation brilliantly. I couldn't have wished for better. In contrast, the injured guy who got on the 'plane with her had a rubbish insurer, no local assurance, no help at all with the A&E process and no check on his discharge, no help with organising a helper and just a single seat on the 'plane. You get what you pay for, in my view.
Last edited by Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see? on Fri 6-01-23 22:11; edited 1 time in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
@LaForet is absolutely right. I have been rescued myself (broken pelvis) and helped with various others. Nothing too dramatic, thankfully. The key advantage of the local insurance is getting you off the mountain, no questions asked. If you buy Carré Neige with your ski pass it'll be marked on the pass itself. With a serious injury, probably no questions will be asked anyway. None were asked when I broke my pelvis, not that that was very serious, but yes, my skis were held hostage and my brother in law, who spoke not one word of French, had to get them out of hock, which was a pain for him as he had no local transport (I was the driver....) I did have Carte Neige (season, and not on my ski pass) but he didn't immediately know how to deal with proving that, as I was incapacitated!! And there are tales on SHs of folk being taken via a cash machine to the medical centre. It's the price of a cup of coffee.....
I did have someone with me when I had my accident, and the Frenchman who collided with me stopped and helped, too, and we were very near a lift, and they called the pisteurs. But I've often been skiing on my own
There are probably similar arrangements in other Alpine countries.
I would never bother about cancellations, or losing baggage or cash. It's just the medical stuff which is vital.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Last January we had travel insurance with Direct Travel Insurance. We booked TI Gold with winter sports additional. My partner had an accident and broke his arm on the slopes, he had surgery in Austria. The insurance company were very good and covered everything, they refunded any payments we had to make at the time and covered the full cost of his surgery at the time.
Thoroughly recommend them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
Welcome to snowHeads @Karra 
We made a skiing claim through AXA last year. They were pretty good during the event - common sense showed by the incident team. When processing the claim they faffed about a bit but eventually came through after a bit of a delay (they apologised for both the faff and the delay)
So - recommended. We've re-insured with them. I originally chose them as they also cover diving to 40m and sailing. I think it's around £200 for an annual family policy with very little excess but excluding USA.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
Another vote for both Carre Neige and travel insurance.
|
This has been discused a lot on this forum and I still do not understand why. You are covered twice for exactly the same thing. I have been blood waggoned off once and the pistuers asked no questions about insurance. They just took me down to the medical centre. I went along the next day to collect my skis and sorted out the payment.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
OP here.
Many thanks to you all for your kind and generous contributions. As for location I will be attending the S19BB in Arabba (just for the week). Just me (and a hotel full of Snowheads). Is there an Italian equivalent of Carré Neige? I'm 72 if that makes any difference to insurance.
Thanks.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
One final point - make sure you take your GHIC with you and keep it on you. This helps to streamline the admissions process at A&E. If you're heli-evac'd you'll be on your own and morphined-up to the eyeballs. Anything that simplifies the process is welcome. All the hospital administrator wants is the data on the card so it's worth just taking a smartphone photo of it as a backup, as you no doubt do for your passport and driving license. If you don't have a GHIC, get one, as it's free and would be rather perverse to pay for all that insurance and not get a free GHIC. It's valid in Switzerland as well as the EU.
As for why get the local assurance: one reason is because it obviates much of the paperwork subsequent to the accident. The bill for our helicopter (at £100/min round-trip flight time), the helicopter medics, the pisteurs, and the local health tax all came through individually at intervals after the event and had to be paid by us and then reimbursed by the insurer. With the assurance all this would have been avoided. On admission at A&E the air ambulance team - in the nicest possible way - checked my wife's documentation to be sure they could trace her for the billing. Yet another complication that I'm sure she would have rather done without.
Last edited by You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net. on Sat 7-01-23 0:47; edited 3 times in total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Quote: |
You are covered twice for exactly the same thing.
|
Not always. Many UK policies will cover a lot of stuff that Carré Neige does not. And vice versa. For example, few ordinary UK travel policies cover you for skiing off piste without a guide.
It's a nice question what would happen if you were on a closed piste. I have no idea what Carré Neige would do but standard UK policies will exclude skiing against local advice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
|
|
@Craghopper, There is insurance sold with the lift pass in Italy but it isn’t the same as Carre Neige but is just 3rd party cover. You’ll almost certainly have that with your travel insurance. It doesn’t cover getting off the mountain which I believe is provided anyway in Italy. I’d always take Carre Neige in France but have never considered the Italian insurance. I think it’s wise to have a copy of your insurance showing 3rd party cover in Italy if asked.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
| LaForet wrote: |
| If you don't have a GHIC, get one, as it's free and would be rather perverse to pay for all that insurance and not get a free GHIC. It's valid in Switzerland as well as the EU. |
Many thanks for the reminder and including the link, @LaForet
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The risk of delayed/cancelled flight, lost luggage, problems with accommodation, etc. is the main reason I have travel insurance & I also add on the optional mountain insurance for liability cover, lost/stolen equipment, etc.
Carre Niege I take for the safety of knowing if something happens to me on the mountain I am covered & so are my medical bills without having to fight my travel provider first when presented with a bill!
Belts & Bracers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You know it makes sense.
|
| Gored wrote: |
The risk of delayed/cancelled flight, lost luggage, problems with accommodation, etc. is the main reason I have travel insurance & I also add on the optional mountain insurance for liability cover, lost/stolen equipment, etc.
Carre Niege I take for the safety of knowing if something happens to me on the mountain I am covered & so are my medical bills without having to fight my travel provider first when presented with a bill!
Belts & Bracers. |
Agreed, totally. For the peace of mind and it’s not as though Carre Neige is overly expensive. Quite the contrary. My only “gripe” is that it isn’t a Europewide option….so far as I know.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
|
|
@Cacciatore, Our Carre Neige covers the Savoie region this season. That is an improvement on previous seasons where I think it only covered skiing in the Paradiski area.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Poster: A snowHead
|
|
@skichampcouk, I’m fairly sure it covers the whole of France - certainly I’ve used in Tignes, La Ros, Serre Che, La Plagne, AdH and probably a few others.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
|
| Alastair Pink wrote: |
| Last year I moved to LV for multi-trip annual insurance (after several years with MPI who at that time had temporarily stopped doing wintersports travel insurance, although they have now recently restarted). I've just got quotes from both of them for new cover from 1st February and LV looks to be better value, so I'll probably stick with them again. |
One quick note with LV - DON'T auto renew with them. I had in the past but hadn't had anything through the post this year. Not being sure if that was just down to postal strikes or an issue I got a fresh quote from their website and then gave them a call. Turned out my policy hadn't renewed (bank card got replaced last year so number changed) - but 'on the phone' renewal price was a good £5 more expensive than taking out a new policy online. OK £5 isn't much but I now have another 12 months LV cover and £5 that's in my pocket, not theirs.
So DO keep using LV, just check it's not cheaper to let the old one die/start a new one.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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?
|
@Cacciatore, No, it only covers the Savoie department this season.
Sadly, I have looked in some detail at insurance policies to see what I am covered for this year. I broke my wrist in Australia in October so needed to check if I was covered for an existing condition.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
|
| skichampcouk wrote: |
@Cacciatore, No, it only covers the Savoie department this season.
Sadly, I have looked in some detail at insurance policies to see what I am covered for this year. I broke my wrist in Australia in October so needed to check if I was covered for an existing condition. |
It seems you’re correct. I wonder why Carre Neige no longer covers France? It always seemed, to me, to be an excellent idea.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
|
Is cart neige still viable for UK residents now we are no longer in the EU? I’m sure I read somewhere that it only covered EU citizens.
Anyone know for sure? As I’m out next week and if it covers UK citizens I will deffo be purchasing it.
|
|
|
|
|
|
You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
|
i just had a quick look through policy details and I cannot see anything that says it does not cover UK citizens. It does however say the following which would indicate it does.
REPATRIATION ASSISTANCE
In the event of an emergency, you must contact the emergency services about any problems that fall within their
remit.
The Repatriation Assistance cover is offered to private individuals residing in the following countries:
Albania, Germany, Andorra, Austria, the Balearic Islands, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
the Canary Islands, Cyprus, Croatia, Denmark, Continental Spain, Estonia, Finland, mainland France, Georgia,
Gibraltar, Greece and the Greek Islands, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy and the Italian Islands, Jordan, Latvia,
Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madeira, Malta, Morocco, Moldavia, Monaco, Montenegro,
Norway, the Netherlands, Poland, Continental Portugal, the Czech Republic, Romania, the United Kingdom and the
Channel Islands, Russia (European Russia, including the territory up to the Ural Mountains), San Marino, Serbia,
Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey (European Turkey) Ukraine, and the Vatican (Holy See)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Not wanting to hijack this thread but can anybody recommend a policy that offers up to 90 days Snow Sport cover.
I have been caught out by LV policy which states it cover trips up to 90 days but then in the Snow Sport section it limits this to 31 days. Lesson to learn always read the whole policy details 
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I can confirm that the travel insurance you get with one of those bank accounts that give you AA car cover/ mobile phone cover ect covers you for rescue, hospital, reparations, ski pass for days you & your party never used, ambulance waiting at U.K. airport, frankly everything.
|
|
|
|
|
|
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.
|
|
@kevinrhead, snowcard...they will quote for any number of days
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Jonny996 wrote: |
| I can confirm that the travel insurance you get with one of those bank accounts that give you AA car cover/ mobile phone cover ect covers you for rescue, hospital, reparations, ski pass for days you & your party never used, ambulance waiting at U.K. airport, frankly everything. |
But not all allow an upgrade. My Lloyd's is max 31 days per year and you can't add more. I've had to buy a separate policy for my current trip
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
FAQ
