 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi everybody - I'm back (long story).
I read about Fortis being in trouble re Snowcard, but I'm just interested in whether they are any good from people who have been insured with them before. We need an insurance policy that will cover us for
a) Within bounds of resort off-piste
b) Competition - by this I mean one amateur charity race during the season, plus some race training
c) Potentially more than 30 days per year - 35 would be OK
Lloyds TSB use AXA as underwriters and forbid off-piste except on a lesson or with a guide, and also all competition and race training.
It seems to me that Snowcard tick all the boxes but nobody else does - they are all either too short, exclude competition and race training completely, or offer a 17 day restriction.
Any thoughts?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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I have always liked doing business with them but have never had to claim so that might be a bit misleading, however, I did hear of someone who said they were very good...booked 3 seats and taxis etc for the plane. very impressed.
Maybe someone else will be able to tell of their experience
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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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docsquid, I switched to them last season, but have not needed to make a claim.
I wanted race insurance, my only alternatives seemed to be SSGB (not much help if you don't have a FIS licence) and BMC.
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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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docsquid, my wife needed to see a GP and had a couple of Physio sessions including acupucture whilst in Canada last season which all in came in around $300 from what I remeber. Put a claim in to Snowcard on return and the claim was settled promptly without any arguments based on the receipts submitted.
The reason I decided on Snowcard is that they have different activity levels and I wanted an anual worldwide policy for both of us to cover climbing, mountaineering and skiing and at the time they were significantly cheaper than the BMC insurance (also underwritten by Fortis) which was originally my first choice. Very impressed with our experience so far and hence why I will stay with them this year.
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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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Thank you for the information. They do seem like a good outfit if you do anything other than the standard "go out for a week with the missus and kids once a year" type of skiing. We will probably go with them.
Plus they don't seem to care that my 50th birthday is next week - all the other insurers seem rather worried and load the premium for anybody over 50.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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docsquid, I own an insurance agency. From my experience of the market they offer the widest snowsport cover and seem to understand the varying level of activities carried out in the mountains. Cannot vouch for their claims handling.
This is totally unbiased as I do not sell Snowcard (Fortis) policies.
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My experience. I remain with them.
Their cover is modular. Make sure you have the right level for you. If in doubt, phone.
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docsquid, My experience of Snowcard has been good.
I too had trouble tracking down a policy which covered racing. I was recommended to contact them for race insurance. I couldn't find any elsewhere, apart from the SSGB policy for team racers (now for FIS licence holders too). Snowcard were able to tailor the policies slightly to fit our time on snow and activities, so it is worth contacting them if you have any questions, or you don't fit within their policies.
I switched to them for my own insurance for all travel, as I have a few health problems, and I found all the other insurers I tried, either refused to cover the existing illnesses or refused cover totally.
Snowcard were really helpful in advising about cover and I simply email them before renewing, with my current state of health. There has been only one time they were not able to get clearance from the underwriters for full cover.
We had to make one small claim for a loss a couple of years ago. It was settled promptly and without fuss.
Last edited by After all it is free  on Wed 8-10-08 11:32; 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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docsquid, you could also look at Direct Travel Insurance. Following a tip-off from skimottaret I went with them for this year. They allow any number of days per year, trips for 30 to 66 days at a time, although restricted to no more than 17 days snowsports per trip. Unrestricted off-piste in Europe (unless prohibited by local authorities) and ski-touring (but not ski mountaineering). They cover non-FIS racing and training and professional courses too, which should be good enough for you; rjs needs coverage for FIS races. No age restrictions below 66. All for £45 annual premium for individual European cover. I've not had any need to claim on them so no ideas about their claims handling. You'd probably also have to check up with them about your medical history though, but they do claim to cover a load of pre-existing conditions. Underwritten by AIG - so I guess similar concerns to Fortis. Comparing with the SCGB policy (backed by Fortis) there seemed to be a few differences, a few slightly worse, but generally seemed to have wider coverage, and a lot cheaper too.
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I'm also with Direct Travel, although never claimed with them so can't say how they do in that respect. IIRC they have varying options which you can add, so were flexible enough to cover all the things I wanted covering.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I would unreservedly recommend Snowcard. They understand what a skier (or boarder) wants from insurance. And when I broke my tibia and stripped off the ACL in Vail last year they were great in getting clearance for the operation (within two days); and upgrading me and one of my party for the (complicated) return home (Denver- Minneapolis - Amsterdam - Glasgow). All payments were handled by them (other than the immediate charge for emergency treatment when I arrived at the hospital - which they paid to me promptly). I would never go skiing without insurance from a specialist insurance company now. Total cost for this incident - pushing £40,000!! Annual insurance about £120.
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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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GrahamN, Direct Travel do seem to be one of the best non-specialist ski insurers. I joined them a while ago when I was looking for suitable cover for off-piste and was then pleasantly surprised by the cost.
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| rob@rar wrote: |
| I'm also with Direct Travel, although never claimed with them so can't say how they do in that respect. IIRC they have varying options which you can add, so were flexible enough to cover all the things I wanted covering. |
Me too. They've covered everything I wanted/needed, including child travelling separately from the adults named on the policy, makes life so much easier! Not had to claim with them though & hoping never to need to (cripes!). Not heard anything bad about them either, so...
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