It’s that time of year again, for our Alps trip.

Who else is there other than Snowcard and Dogtag whose worth having a look at?

I used British Mountaineering Council insurance last year. Same underwriters as snow card but bmc membership = discounts in various places

Rachel

I went to the Alps 2 years ago and used snowcard because the mountain biking activity descriptions were best. Tried getting a quote from BMC (mentioned above) but phoned to confirm t&cs. The guy on the phone called the underwriters of BMCs policy who seemed confused by my questions, but didn’t think the policy included lift assisted trails or downhill.

Be weary of policies that include mountain biking but aren’t more specific!

https://www.sportscoverdirect.com/quote/522135

I was planning on using these guys here…

Any reports ?

I’ve only ever used snowcard, but havent had to claim so cant say how good they really are.

When we went to switchbacks in Bubion last year, Michael (who runs it) was telling us a story about a chap that year who had an accident that required hospital intervention, extended stay etc etc, and dogtag insurance wouldnt pay out.

So Michael was saying he couldnt recommend dogtog anymore.

When we went to switchbacks in Bubion last year, Michael (who runs it) was telling us a story about a chap that year who had an accident that required hospital intervention, extended stay etc etc, and dogtag insurance wouldn’t pay out.

Was that because he was under insured, lied about which activities he was doing (inc for uplifts either mechanical or lift) or was it because Dogtag were arse’s to be insured with??

So who did he recommend and on what basis??

I need to sort mine but my mate has gone with Virgin (black cover) £30.95

Mountain biking (not including downhill racing and extreme terrain)

From Virgin, I’m sort of betting they classify Alps as extreme terrain, when you claim….

I’ll stick with Snowcard I think, since the only time I claimed, they paid out promptly and with minimal fuss.

What’s a ballpark price for single trip insurance, say a guided holiday in the Alps?

andymc06 – Member
What’s a ballpark price for single trip insurance, say a guided holiday in the Alps?

Paid around £60 – £65 for 10 days with Dogtag for the last 3 trips, that’s covering extreme and Gold or whatever they call the top cover.

I’ll prob get slated as I’m sure there are cheaper out there and I know some will chance that their CC holiday insurance will cover them, but for me personally it’s one of those thing you hope you’ll not use/need and for the sake of £65 it’s not worth not buying it.

My 2p

Cheers Carlos

I’ve gone through snowcard previously but never claimed – they were very explicit about what each category included and relatively cheap for US trips
(I ski in europe and mtb in US so buy annual insurance – the US bit adds £loads with some companies)

When I broke my back downhilling in NZ snowcard were excellent. One phone call to them and they sorted out everything. Admittedly hospital and ambulances were free as that’s how it works in NZ but they had no issue in stumping up for business class flights, assistance with baggage and transfers etc.

dogtag were awesome when i bust my leg in canada in 2006.

Another +1 for Snowcard.

I like the fact you can select the type of mountain biking your doing. A lot of insurance companies will say they cover mountain biking but really they cover riding on road or fire trails when you look into it, so try make a claim off piste in the alps down some remote single track and you’ll have trouble.

Last trip to the alps 4 of us all used Snowcard and my mate had to be heli lifted off the mountain on a back country day as he fell off and dislocated his shoulder, they took him to hospital and did X-rays etc. Snowcard covered all this no questions asked, they even paid up for his GoPro that was lost.

I now use them for Ski and Mountain biking, expensive but at least they pay up when needed.

Coolhandluke I’m not sure where you’ve seen that but on the policy wording I’m looking at on Virgin it says Mountain Biking ( including downhill racing and extreme ground conditions)

http://travel.virginmoney.com/PolicyWording.aspx

Antares:

Page 28 of the document states ‘Mountain biking (not including downhill racing and extreme ground conditions)’ for the Standard travel insurance policies (Silver, Gold and Black).

Page 35 details that it covers ‘Mountain biking (including downhill racing and extreme ground conditions)’ under

‘…… activities where you need to tell us in advance of your intention to undertake the activity. Cover is restricted in that no cover is provided under either the personal accident or personal liability sections of this policy whilst you are undertaking the activity and an additional premium is required.’

So Virgin Black cover does not insure you for downhill or extreme riding – both of which, I think, riding down the Alps will be. You will need to speak to Virgin directly to be quoted and issued with a certificate of insurance.

In fact looking closer it seems to suggest that even if you pay the extra premium to include downhill and extreme it will cover for all areas except personal accident and liability – to my mind two of the things you most likely to want covering.

I always use Snowcard, tried shopping around recently but realised Snowcard still makes sense for trips over 30 days.

With Virgin insurance you have to add extra cover for “extreme mountainbiking” on a daily basis. (I phoned them to check the small print)
It would work out about £3.70 a day for a Canada trip but you can specify which days you want it or don’t eg travel days.

Gonna have to have a word with my mate then and get him to make sure he’s gonna be fully covered. I had a text off him last week regarding our trip saying he’d gone with Virgin black but had to ring them to add mountain biking as an extra. Like you say seems a bit pointless if it’s not gonna cover personal accident and liability.

Out of interest guys, what selection are people using on snowcard for doing the PPDS ?

Moutain biking high altitude trails ?
MTB Downhiller ?

MTB tracks and trails competition is good for the PPDS. If you look on the activities tab it even mentions the PPDS. I’ve gone for the MTB downhiller just to make sure I’m covered for the other days I’m riding as you are covered for the activity you choose and all the ones below it, and it was only another £3.

http://www.snowcard.co.uk/activities-single.php

the cover level sliders on snowcard – does ‘Sports Equipment’ cover your bike if its nicked?

all the other stuff; baggage, tech pack etc is covered under my annual insurance.