 Poster: A snowHead
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Hi snowheads - I'm looking for some advice.
I want winter sports travel insurance (for France) that covers "Search and Rescue" costs (on piste) and won't refuse to pay out if I have happened to have had a glass of wine at lunch time (or a couple the night before). Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm getting pretty cheesed off reading through endless policy documents!
Thanks!
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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 of us are recommending snowcard this season but I think you'll find that they all have the caveat that you will not be covered if you are under the influence - why should you be;? if it's single trip then Direct Travel will probably be cheaper
actually in France buy Carte (or Carre - can never remember which ) Neige with your lift pass; that will get you off the mountain, but I suspect you will want the whole treatment and repatriation 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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snowcard are first rate i speak from bitter experience of needing their assistance.
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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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And I speak from the equally bitter experience of trawling through endless insurance T&C's  Think I may have burnt out my last remaining brain cells.
Anyway,my conclusions so far.Like a lot of insurances its all on the change.Former good bets at low cost(Direct Travel/Insure and Go),are a lot more restrictive than they used to be,esp if you do anything even slightly off the norm.For bog standard piste only skiing(and nothing else)you should still be OK,but they seem very restrictive? These days there are fun parks everywhere,and we all play in them from time to time  Any incident in these = no cover,simple as that.Play around on the edge of piste = no cover.Of course the burden of proof still remains,but I'm not into taking risks where thousands of euro's could be involved
So.....I have concluded that good,reliable cover is my priority(as it should be yours).Yes,it comes at a higher cost,but if I'm down and broken somewhere,the last thing I need is an insurer who I'm dubious about(and it wont help your companions much either!).My choice(in accending order of cost),Snowcard,Dogtag,SCGB.As holidayloverxx, rightly says,many are recommending Snowcard,and I have just taken out cover for my son who's a pipe & park freak  Their website is excellent,as you can tweak levels of cover to suit....like it 
Carre Neige? In truth,all that avoids is a charge on your credit card.You will get evac under any circumstances but,as most French rescue services are,essentialy,private...they will look to charge you,not try and recoup it from your insurers.On the other hand,its cheap and freely avaliable.I have no doubt that many who are rescued dont have it,and equally sure the various services have mechanisms in place to deal with that.Their first priority will always be your safety and welfare...you can argue the cost later 
Finally,if you cant stand cos you've ripped your ACL...no problem(apart from pain!) If its because you're trollied you might be in trouble.Hopefully,a lunch time glass or two,wont cause either
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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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You will get evac under any circumstances
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Yes, you'll get evacuated because ski resorts don't like the punters seeing too many lifeless bodies strewn about the place, but don't kid yourself it will always be free. If you have no insurance at all, you'll pay, full stop. And even if you do have travel insurance, they might decline to pay if you are brought down with an injury incurred doing something not covered under your policy. For example skiing off piste without a guide, like a guy I saw being rescued under a chairlift yesterday, about 40m from a piste, or playing in the park, or drunk.
The reason the insurance companies are running increasingly shy of these risks is that they are only there to make money, and those are costly risks.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| pam w wrote: |
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You will get evac under any circumstances
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Yes, you'll get evacuated because ski resorts don't like the punters seeing too many lifeless bodies strewn about the place, but don't kid yourself it will always be free. If you have no insurance at all, you'll pay, full stop. And even if you do have travel insurance, they might decline to pay if you are brought down with an injury incurred doing something not covered under your policy. For example skiing off piste without a guide, like a guy I saw being rescued under a chairlift yesterday, about 40m from a piste, or playing in the park, or drunk.
The reason the insurance companies are running increasingly shy of these risks is that they are only there to make money, and those are costly risks. |
Exactly.Many,I believe,get confused by off piste definitions...and equate it with uber knarly death defying stuff,WRONG! Any insurer would define it as anywhere not on piste,even if that was only by a few meters.The park is obvious,and many insurers wont touch it under any circumstances.Drunk...you deserve everything that's thrown at you 
Snowcard cover all this quite clearly,and I especially like their description of 'slack country'.....
| Quote: |
| Piste/Slack Country: refers to the most usual form of alpine or downhill skiing and snowboarding using the runs prepared as pistes and shown on a typical resort lift map. Slack Country is the term for unpisted runs shown on your resort map including unpisted links between runs. Slack Country runs are patrolled and are freely available to all skiers and boarders. |
As opposed to Lift Served Freeride......
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| is for skiers or boarders accessing runs that do not form part of a resorts marked pistes away from the crowds. Runs are accessible via lifts but may entail a short hike or walk to access the start of the run. An example may be the Vallee Blanche in Chamonix. |
They also publish clear guidence on Avalanche warning levels:ignore at your peril
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Thanks for the advice folks.
Went with snowcard. £63 for a couple isn't so bad (£4 more than insure and go) and it's reassuring to know it's reasonable insurance!
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