Decent insurance that includes off-piste without an instructor

Hi, all! New to this. Have posted this question on chatter forum, too.

Have just booked last-minute family ski holiday, going in a couple of weeks time so keen to get insurance sorted pretty quickly. We went skiing last year for the first time in 20 years and have re-caught the bug!! I am at lower intermediate level and hubby has lots of experience and is v. competent off-piste. However, have found most general winter sports insurance only covers off-piste if with a qualified instructor, and hubby would want to go on his own, or with any mates he makes on holiday. Considered using InsureandGo but have since seen some rubbish reviews about their service.

I'd be really grateful for any recommendations, especially if anyone has had to make any claims, as it is often only when things go wrong that we find out if these companies are any good or not!

From a very excited mum who's determined not to descend into middle-age without a fight!!! :D

Hi nitty,

I have got my insured with Direct Travel which includes off-piste without instructor but ONLY in Europe. Normally off-piste in the USA/Canada needs to be with a guide.

Where are you going?

vin

Thanks for that, Vin, will have a look.

We're going to Alpe D'Huez - looks like lots of blues and greens for me and the kids, and plenty of blacks for hubby, too.

I'm keen to make sure we're properly covered as a friend broke her tibia and fibula when going off-piste last year. Ouch!!

Nitty

I don't think many people would recommend going off-piste on your own unless you actually were a mountain guide/high level instructor or someone working on the mountains.

Going with a group of friends is IMO not ideal either unless you really know what you're doing and where you are, but it is certainly better than being off piste alone.

I'm not sure whether mountain guide would, in your insurance policies view count as instructor. It should do, and they may even be better than some instructors for off-piste skiing but insurance companies are not very flexible on their specific interpretation of their policies.

Have a great holiday what ever you're able to do.

snowpack wrote:

I'm not sure whether mountain guide would, in your insurance policies view count as instructor. It should do, and they may even be better than some instructors for off-piste skiing but insurance companies are not very flexible on their specific interpretation of their policies.

Have a great holiday what ever you're able to do.

This is a good point, many insurance sellers simply don't understand that a Mountain Guide is way more qualified for the environment than a ski instructor, once the marked pistes are left behind.

Always read the very smallest print on any policy. Insurers are in business to make money.

I reckon Direct Travel will offer enough cover for nitty's husband skiing in Europe.

Thanks for the replies. Have already booked with Direct Travel but it's nice to see others recommend it.

Currently wondering whether we'll get there at all due to the weather. Need to get from Sheffield to Gatwick at the weekend, and am stuck at home with the kids on their second day of school closure! Had another 2" of snow on top of 6" already on ground. After waiting for lovely snowy weather for ages I can't believe I'm praying for it to get washed away with rain!!

Not too worried about hubby going off-piste, he's pretty uptight about safety and won't go far from main areas. Also off to buy helmets, too, but that's a whole other topic for debate!!

Nitty

I'm sure once you get onto the main roads you'll be fine weather wise. I know exactly what you mean though about waiting for snow and then it appears in the wrong country at the wrong time.

My guess is that it'll be melting by the weekend. Obviously, I'd allow more time for your journey to Gatwick, but all in all I'd say the roads should be passable.

Not that I'm a travel expert or anything - just trying to keep you positive!
Have a great holiday.

if you're in France then carte neige/carre neige should cover you for a small charge with the lift pass.

The remits for guides, instructors and leaders are fairly complex to an outsider but I doubt an insurer would make any headway legally as long as the person were operating within their remit regardless of the title they were using that day. I would guess an insurer that did cover off-piste without a guide would still expect the skier to take normal precautions and know what those precautions were though.