I am planning a 16 day hike across the GR20 (Corsica) in early summer which tops out 2,700m and is typically 1,000 - 2,000m and I need to sort insurance.
In a separate thread about travel or bike insurance, in the last 6 months an STWer recommended a particular company for hiking/trekking (or perhaps climbing?) which I am interested in following up on. However despite using the, normally pretty good, forum search facility I cannot find the name of the company.
Grateful for insurance recommendations for trekking up to 3,000m with mountain rescue, helicopter recovery, hospital, repatriation, etc...
I have found the following companies:
- Insure&Go (but a pain when providing medical details as they insisted on knowing the root cause of every issue)
- Yellow Jersey (came across as helpful on the phone though the CSAL bit did not fill me with confidence and will check what other insurance companies use)
- Snowcard
- British Mountaineering Council
- StaySure (limited to 2,500m)
- SportsCover Direct
- Big Cat
Thank you
I vote the AAC as well, tons of sweet perks besides the insurance
I've always used BMC, primarily because if you talk to them they understand exactly what you are planning to do.
You do need to be a member though. But that is not a bad thing and will often get discounts on kit purchases
I have never made a claim with them though
Also used and claimed through snow card, was many years ok but no problems to report
Add Dog tag to the list. Used once,.but no claims so don't know how they handle that. Switched to Snow card as better cover for the bikes, but not an issue for you.
That thread you were thinking of wasn't the gofundme one was it?🤣
I would have thought your average travel insurance should cover this, certainly as a named activity, but perhaps not to the level of cover you want, i.e. rescue. So if you risk adverse perhaps overlay AAC insurance on the top. It important to note AAC is not travel insurance, just rescue insurance.
For the daredevils AAC and an EHIC card should provide adequate insurance if your not fussed about belongs, cancellation etc
I've always used one of three companies.
M+S which you probably can't get anymore. They've covered me for everything from 5000m trekking in Peru to Horse riding across Mongolia to sitting on a beach in Majorca. They paid out promptly for both my wife and I when I had to cancel a 2 week trip due to appendicitis. Underwritten by Aviva so they might be worth checking.
Failing that I have used both Dogtag and Snowcard. Both allow more specific needs - Helicopter rescue being one add on. Also some more dangerous pursuits like skiing, climbing, canoeing, mountain biking etc. They'll both cover the necessary, probably cost a bit more.
Other option if you are going with a company is to see who they suggest. The likes of Exodus and KE will have recommended insurers to cover similar trips.
A slight tangent but what are the conditions like in Corsica during early summer? I ask as when we went trekking in the Pyrenees in July there were high passes pretty much snowed under IE very tricky without axe.
Also what's the crack with hut accommodation these days? I kept hearing it was crazy busy on the gr20, certainly high season
Some useful suggestions, I will start following up tomorrow.
@kormoran there is always a risk of snow especially on the peaks. I am doing the hike solo and starting from the the south mid'ish June. By then most of the snow on the main route has usually gone, or at least the troublesome snow will hopefully have largely gone ie filling up gullies to make them impassable. I understand it would be v unusual for hikers to take an ice pick in the main season, June to September. Where there is snow on the peaks it can turn icy early morning/late evening.
There are a number of route options, so if the conditions demand you can often take a lower route. Careful checks on the weather forecast at the refuges is absolutely essential, even so things change up there, snow, wind thunderstorms, ....
A friend of mine who has hiked the GR20 and in the Pyrenees (not sure when) said GR20 is tougher but ice/deep snow was much more of an issue/challenge in the Pyrenees and he used an ice pick.
Yep, it can be busy on the GR20 so I will be taking my own tent, sleeping bag, etc ... I accept that quite often I will not be able to get in to a refuge but meals or buying food and cooking should be OK.
As I am solo'ing it I have also bought an InReach device courtesy of the STW members discount portal.
Great post nickingsley and I am v jealous. Would love to do the gr20, the Pyrenees were exactly as you described
I did the GR20 in Sept 2004. It's quite hard but great.
I thought they had changed the access now so that you had to book ahead to reduce erosion etc. I understand you have to book the huts in advance. The famous chained section in cirque de la solitude has gone due to a couple of deaths so it's now going a slightly different route.
The standard route does not take in many of the peaks but there are options to do them if you're up for it.
The weather should be fine but given a lot of it is over 1000m being prepared is a good idea.
We had a few big storms when we did it and they just let a lot of campers in the hut dining areas. We were left outside though and had a few rough nights. C'est la vie
I think we used Snowcard back then. Over the years we've changed from that to AAC but nowadays we just get annual cover that includes hiking up to 3000m, via ferrata and MTBing (that covers gravel routes). It's rare we go over 3000m as we mostly go to Austria and Germany. We buy ski cover separately per trip as we don't go every year
I thought they had changed the access now so that you had to book ahead to reduce erosion etc. I understand you have to book the huts in advance
News to me! What if you are ill for a day or you need to take a 2 day low-level detour due to the weather ... you have to stop!
The standard route does not take in many of the peaks but there are options to do them if you're up for it.
Hope to do the 3 highest peaks depending on the conditions.
being prepared is a good idea.
Looking forward to getting some practice in the UK, maybe Knoydart, Ben Nevis (been put off before as heard its a grim slog, sounds perfect training!) and both the Clwyds and Snowdonia are close by.
Just confirmed what I understood on the GR20, if you have not booked in advance you pay more and the refuge itself is likely to be full so you're camping.
If your prepping on Ben Nevis, go via the CMD arete route, that is a great day out and amazing views into the northern Corrie's.
Id also recommend the glen shiel five sisters and the forcan ridge, also in glen shiel. Excellent, rugged peaks. Mind bending views
Cheers, I will check those out.
EDIT. The CMD on Ben Nevis looks a good hiking test without being ridiculously sharp pointed for extended distances.
Yeah CMD is a reasonable but not outrageous. Imo the best walking route up the Ben.