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Supplementing Annual Travel Insurance Policy

 Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
I have annual travel insurance through my HSBC Premier Account. However, winter sports cover is limited to £500 and off piste is only covered if with a qualified guide. Are there any top-up policies available that would cover me for off-piste and also other things such as evacuation?
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 Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Gaza, what is limited to £500? Medical bills? Reimbursement for cancelled holiday? It seems a bit limiting if so. I have the NatWest Advantage Gold version and I'm not aware of any financial limits but it only covers off-piste with a 'qualified instructor'.
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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?
This is what the policy says under Winter Sports. It does cover medical bills except for off-piste. What I am not sure about is whether I need cover for evaculation from slopes in case of injury or evacuation from off-piste.


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Gaza, If your policy doesn't cover off piste skiing it won't cover any aspect of off piste skiing, I'd have thought. But piste rescue should be covered (and should be there in the small print somewhere). But if you buy the French Carré Neige insurance (or equivalents elsewhere) with your lift pass they will cover you for evacuation from anywhere, including off-piste, by helicopter if the safety patrol deem it necessary.

Just make sure you don't exceed the number of winter sports days covered on your policy, which are sometimes quite limited.
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 Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Thanks pam w.

I am covered for off-piste as below. I can't find anything regarding piste evacuation so may need to call them.


















What I am not clear on is the following scenario:-

    I buy Carré Neige (more on that in a moment)
    I ski off-piste without an instructor
    I get injured
    HSBC don't cover evacuation off the mountain as I am not with an instructor/guide but my Carré Neige does (???)
    I end up in hospital requiring treatment


I suspect HSBC would take the view that as I am not covered for off-piste then any injuries resulting from that incident would not be covered by the policy. Puzzled
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When skiing in France I recommend you always get Carré Neige. It means that following an accident the safety patrol will not charge you for recovery from anywhere on the mountain. Once they get you to the local medical centre you will then have to pay for all subsequent costs then claim back from your insurance policy, assuming that you were covered under the terms of your policy. Carré Neige only costs something like 3 euros a day and is well worth it.
Not sure if Carré Neige covers you for any other countries though.

If you wish to ski off piste without a guide/instructor then you will need proper off piste insurance.

Hope this helps, and that you don't get injured!
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 Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Gaza wrote:

What I am not clear on is the following scenario:-

    I buy Carré Neige (more on that in a moment)
    I ski off-piste without an instructor
    I get injured
    HSBC don't cover evacuation off the mountain as I am not with an instructor/guide but my Carré Neige does (???)
    I end up in hospital requiring treatment


I suspect HSBC would take the view that as I am not covered for off-piste then any injuries resulting from that incident would not be covered by the policy. Puzzled


Assuming HSBC do take that view, then it depends where you end up being treated and what your treatment is.

My understanding is that Carre Neige will cover your rescue, reimburse your lift pass and get you repatriated. If you required treatment in France before you can go back to the UK and the local health centre is Secteur 1 or Secteur 2, you will probably have to hand over cash and get it reimbursed via the EHIC. Secteur 1 has rates fixed by the state. Secteur 2 has an additional charge "within reason" that won't be covered by EHIC. The EHIC won't reimburse most of the cost of secteur 3 treatment (as these are private facilities and can charge whatever they like). State hospital treatment shouldn't require you to hand over any cash up front. The EHIC won't reimburse you for everything if you do have to hand over cash, but it should give you a good percentage back. Carre Neige will then pick up the remainder up to €3000 but you have to have claimed all you can via the EHIC first.

This is based on my experience using the Carte Neige (annual insurance) so I would read through the Carre Neige (short term insurance) T&C.

I posted this elsewhere a while ago:


If you are going skiing in France, you can look up doctors in the area you will be going to and see whether they are conventionne. If you're in good enough shape to take yourself off to the doctor, maybe you could go there rather than a "private" medical facility.

Select medecin generaliste from the list of professions in the middle box, put the postcode or name of the place you will be staying in the box saying 'ou?' then press recherche.

http://ameli-direct.ameli.fr/nouvelle-recherche/professionnels-de-sante.html

So when I do it for here, it brings up my doctors and shows that they are conventionne Secteur I which means I will be able to claim money back via EHIC - these are the doctors that run the local sports clinic and A&E, where you will get X rayed, plastered etc. as required, although this site seems to only have them listed under "Medecin Generaliste".
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 After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
After all it is free Go on u know u want to!
Gaza, how long are you goign for, if it's just a week get a Snowcard policy for about £25 (there's lots of of info on Snowcard if you do a search on here). I had to claim last week and the clinic thought they were fantastic, bext experience of UK insurance they had ever had.
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Gaza, if you intend to go skiing off piste without a guide I'd advise you to get a policy which covers that. The top levels of Snowcard cover do - but you need to read their categories carefully. I can personally recommend Snowcard too. It will cost very little compared to the overall cost of a ski holiday and give you peace of mind.
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Thanks all.

In terms of the Carré Neige wouldI be able to purchase one in Val d'Isere if I've already pre-booked my lift pass with Esprit?

I'll check out Snowcard.
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Gaza, we were in Espace Killy last week with pre-purchased lift passes that excluded Carré Neige. We went to the lift office and purchased the additional cover. We were given separate paper 'receipts' referencing each lift pass number (so no cheating!) and told that the receipt must be kept with the lift pass at all times, so someone would know we had purchased it if we had a problem.
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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.
Thanks sj1608. That's what I wanted to hear. Very Happy
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 So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
What does "in areas that the resort management consider safe" mean? Anywhere off piste on a category 3 (therefore avalanche risk is "considerable") day? And what if your guide takes you off piste beyond what could be considered part of the resort? It would be nice if the people who drafted some of these policies actually understood a bit more about skiing off piste!
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