 Poster: A snowHead
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I was once asked if I wanted 'the insurance'. I think I was buying a one day pass at the end of a trip when I was taking the train. I said I had cover and they sold me the pass. It might have been St. Gervaise. I haven't been aware of being offered insurance with the pass elsewhere, but usually don't buy my own pass.
With vending machines taking over, I don't see how they could police it anyway.
I suppose it depends on how you define 'many', there might be some resorts that require you to be insured.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Why do you think anybody didn't realise what you were saying?
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Yep, I think we caught the irony, bertie bassett.
Yes, Carte neige is a bit "belt and braces" but the season version is very cheap, and it's worth it for us in case the OH gets ill up a mountain from his uninsured "previous conditions" (which is not an insignificant risk, given his degree of coronorary heart disease) and because there are simply no questions asked, no need to grovel in pockets to see if you remembered to put the insurance details in, etc etc. And the ski pass cover is infinitely better - we had good experiences with UK insurance on two previous occasions but on neither occasion was it possible to get any lift pass cost back - just too much hassle all round and I gave up. As we have season passes, this is also a significant consideration.
Christopher, you could be left with some quite big bills using just EHIC for medical expenses. Depends on the nature of the treatment you need and quite complicated to work out if (like me) you don't have much knowledge of the way the French system works.
I have found almost all French ski pass sellers ask you if you want insurance (I think Lizzard told us one day that they got commission?) but if you say no, that's that.
easyJet make you tick a box to say you've got insurance - so don't expect any sympathy there if you turn up with a leg in a brace and needing three seats.
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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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Kaiser, even though my kids have travel insurance and proof in their jacksets, becasue they often go off without us (they are 19 and 21), I buy them the carte neige. Neither of them would have the cash required for a piste rescue, and definitely not enough in their bank accounts to pay by card.
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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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I have found almost all French ski pass sellers ask you if you want insurance (I think Lizzard told us one day that they got commission?)
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Ha, I wish! But the lift company makes a commission, yes. The worst culprits for skiing uninsured are the French who ski in February. They all think they are adequately covered via their expensive platinum/gold/other posh bank cards, which they are not. We sold a load of insurance to everyone in the queue once after one lady had a loud rant about how her bank said she was covered last season and then refused to stump up because she hadn't called them for authorisation before she got in the helicopter. 
And a nit-picking point here: Carte Neige is an annual policy sold by the FIS and nothing to do with what you buy at the ticket window, although the cover is similar.
Here's a summary of the 2Alpes policy and what it covers (in English); http://www.2alpes.com/pages/en/152/assur-2-alpes-insurance.html
I must go and get a Carte Neige on Saturday, thanks for the reminder.
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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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Helen Beaumont, Well done you, I was trying to say that I thought Carte or Carre Neige are a good thing, certainly makes my life easier when someone breaks themselves and I can tell them I will sort out the return of their ski hire and lessons and pass money!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The only conceivable advantage of Carte neige I can think of is that you won't have to cough up for your ride down the mountain in advance and then claim it back.
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there might be another advantage in that some travel insurance policies are less than clear about coverage off-piste (dogtag is a prime example in that their definition only makes sense in the North American context). It could be that Carte/Carré Neige is a useful supplement from that point of view. Also, as there is an excess to pay with most policies, a short ride down the mountain with a minor problem could still cost you a bit.
From memory I paid about 38 euros for the season last time.
I remember a very sad case a few years ago when the parents of a lad who was killed in an avalanche in Tignes, from which his brother was lucky to escape, were subsequently charged for the helicopter rescue (though they had been insured with a British travel insurer) I wonder whether it would have made any difference if they'd have Carte Neige? This might have been discussed at the time - can't remember the outcome. But it's such an important topic it's worth giving it another airing anyway.
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In Meribel last winter the annual Carte Neige was sold in the tourist office not the lift pass office.
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So my insurance will not pay to get me off the mountain but i can claim it back? So whats the point in this C/Neige Insurance apart from you dont have to flash a card to some happy French bloke on the mountain?
The reason i ask is it was put across to me Id need C/Neige with taking the kids just incase anything happened on the mountain. Is this a fear Insurance?
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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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So my insurance will not pay to get me off the mountain but i can claim it back?
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When I've dealt with staff/guests who have been stretchered/helicoptered off the hill, their insurance companies have always paid directly. This has been the case in Montgenevre, Serre Chevalier, 2Alpes, Alpe d'Huez and Vars/Risoul. The lift company presents you with a bill, you fax it to the assistance company, they deal direct with piste rescue.
You don't need Carte Neige at all - it's an annual policy. You may wish to take the insurance offered at the ticket window (2,50€ to 2,80€ per day), but if you have adequate wintersports cover you don't need it. See link above for details of what it typically covers. If you have pre-ordered you pass through a TO it will be sold without this insurance, but you can add it on at the ticket window if you want to.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| When I've dealt with staff/guests who have been stretchered/helicoptered off the hill, their insurance companies have always paid directly. This has been the case in Montgenevre, Serre Chevalier, 2Alpes, Alpe d'Huez and Vars/Risoul. The lift company presents you with a bill, you fax it to the assistance company, they deal direct with piste rescue. |
Depending on the day and time, and insurance company, I would agree with this, although a lengthy wait in with the securite des pistes is not uncommon, and if you are in a linked resort and have an accident somewhere other than where you are staying it could mean a taxi back as well, non refundable of course.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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I'd be interested in any thoughts on my post just above - no-quibble off-piste cover? And it has been known, as in the case I quoted, for a travel insurer to refuse to cough up if they decide people have taken unjustified risks. What happens with Carte Neige (I believe the daily Carré Neige gives the same cover?). In our resort the annual Carte neige is sold at the Club des Sports - not that that's what this thread is really about.
shefellover, there have been some cases (including some on snowheads, and we have no reason to suppose the people concerned were lying about it) of people having to come up with a lot of cash before being taken off in a private ambulance - but perhaps the Carte neige wouldn't cover that either? That's why this is a useful discussion.
Interesting question: if you end up down at the medical centre in a nearby resort, with a leg in a brace, would your insurance - or would Carte neige - pay for a taxi back to your accommodation?
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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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pam w, these insurance policies pay up front for piste rescue and transport to the nearest medical facility. After that you need to rely on your state provision and/or private health insurance. Once you have claimed against these for any costs you have incurred and been reimbursed for those costs, your lift pass insurance will cover the difference between what you have received from your health insurers and what you have actually had to fork out. However, it will only do so if you have sent your claim form to them within a week of your original accident.
This again: http://www.natives.co.uk/news/2004/10/16cart.htm
Whether or not your insurer would pay for a taxi to your accommodation would depend on the policy, I imagine, and you would certainly have to pay for it yourself in the first place - lift companies will usually deal direct with assistance companies, and resort medical centres will often do so as well, but a local taxi driver is going to want cash.
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