hi - has anyone bought insurance for annual cover for mountain biking and skiing in the French alps?
Guessing @stoner may have some experience of this?
Thanks all
Yes. It can be an absolute nightmare if you do the two extreme ends ( ie Park sliding and lift assisted mtb)
Insure and go. Cover for both, night be a bit extra for winter and extreme sports. Claims handled well and a good level of cover.
You need to be careful here as the standard policies don’t include off piste without a guide and various clauses regarding MTB. I have cover with Staysure annually including winter sports and rescue insurance via my membership of Austrian alpine club circa £52 per annum. 25000 euro per rescue. It has been sufficient for uplift providers in Finale, Madeira and Lake Garda and also ski club of Great Britain off piste courses in chamonix.
You need to prove cover to some of these providers and this was sufficient. Not had a claim as yet buy AAC has an excellent reputation. Plus once you have had it for three years there are other benefits such as discounted training.
https://www.snowcard.co.uk
You select cover and what you want insured. Annual multitrip covering downhill/park biking and off piste skiing, in Europe - quote was approx £500 for me, with £1500 baggage and £4k equipment.
Another snowcard user here. They’re a lot more expensive than dogtag used to be for similar cover: coming in at around £700 for the five of us, worldwide, off piste snow sports and guided MTB. There’s also some business cover in there which will bump the price, along with covid cover which many are excluding. Used to be about half that. Made me weep when the quotes came through.
Yellow jersey?
Got ours through a premium bank account. I was a bit sceptical but its been OK. You get other benefits (eg breakdown cover, mobile phone insurance) and cash back on the credit card plus some other bonuses from direct debits brings the price right down. We had to pay extra for "extreme" sports. Had a couple of small claims and they were very easy to do.
BMC (British Mountaineering Council) may insure you. Skiing definitely, lift served biking I'm not certain.
With skiing as soon as you leave a piste it technically becomes Alpine mountaineering so cover prices go up. I don't know how their cover works for mountain biking but give them a ring (there are real people in Manchester at the end of the phone and most are climbers so understand the dilemmas and questions).
Austrian Alpine Club insurance covers mountain rescue but didn't used to (it may have changed) cover hospital bills and repatriation. If you break a leg off piste or mountain biking EHIC cards no longer work and even if medical cover is free in the country you are in getting the plane home which may need extra space or nursing won't be covered. If medical cover isn't free your insurance may not pay hospital fees for breaking your leg or whatever doing something in their long list of do nots.
Snowcard also used to have a good reputation but I've not used them.
www.thebmc.co.uk
Insure and go cover both off piste skiing (providing the area is not defined as unsafe) and downhill bike racing if you pay for the adventure extra. Bikes are covered but only a grand, however home insurance covers the bikes. think it was about 170 for annual world wide for the highest level with winter sports and adventure added. Only three if us though. Started using them as they were the only insurance company who would do longer than 60 day trips. Seems they have dropped that now sadly.
@nicjb - which account was that? Nationwide? Did you get them to cover MTB and off piste ski? Thanks!
Not sure about the skiing side but dogtag have been good for MTB.
It did take them about a year to pay for the only claim I've had with them. But it got paid eventually
Insure and go cover both off piste skiing (providing the area is not defined as unsafe)
Aye, there's the rub.
Good luck convincing an insurance company that the place you were injured doing extreme sports was safe....🥶
Looking for options for my lad’s trips to Morzine this year.
Used dogtag before but their website today says they are not quoting any new policies due to ‘business changes’. About to go bankrupt maybe? Anyone know more?
Insure&Go seem ok although no idea how to choose between all the increasing value options of bronze to gold…?
Coverforyou.
They charge a bit extra to add lift assisted MTB but cover skiing off piste.
Have claimed from them twice and they have been excellent