Ski insurance restrictions

In my view if your insurance states this then they will try to wriggle out of a claim if there is ANY alcohol taken.
I have just had an insurance claim turned down on a TINY technicality that was not even relevant. So I don't trust insurance companies at all.
There is plenty of evidence that points to the fact that ANY alcohol impairs. In my view they will absolutely use this not to pay a claim. For me it simply isn't worth the risk of being uninsured.

You have to look at it from the claim handler's point of view, not yours. This is particularly the case where the claim handling is outsourced by the insurer e.g. the AA outsource to Drakefield Insurance Services, which is a completely different organisation. The handler will usually be a relatively young, often badly-paid clerk, who is bonused on minimising the payout. An outsourced or separate claims company will also be incentivised to pay out as little as legally possible. They hold the money that you want, so they're in a position of power. If you are even slightly over the legal limit then you can be 100% sure your claim will be rejected. Even if it's not necessarily your fault. Any claims handler will be on the lookout for any possible exclusion - just like in a driving accident here in the UK. Ignoring any moral issues around being drunk and skiing, the financial damage you risk by drinking too much is substantial. It just seems sensible to do the same as you (surely) would do at home and leave more than a glass of wine / beer 'till the evening.

Yes Tony most folk do like to have a social life, but that gives you the right to ski while seriously under the influence of alcohol...?
I think not, have you ever tried having a social life without getting pissed up and taking the chance of killing or seriously injuring another person, who might just be a child who happens to have the bad luck to be in the path of an alcoholic skier, if you accept you would be over the limit to drive why is it then acceptable to ski in the same state..?
as for the others on this forum who think along the lines of it's ok to drink and ski then you all need to have a reality check!!

tspill wrote:In my view if your insurance states this then they will try to wriggle out of a claim if there is ANY alcohol taken.
I have just had an insurance claim turned down on a TINY technicality that was not even relevant. So I don't trust insurance companies at all.
There is plenty of evidence that points to the fact that ANY alcohol impairs. In my view they will absolutely use this not to pay a claim. For me it simply isn't worth the risk of being uninsured.

Tspill, your insurance company should have provided you with a complaints/appeals procedure. If they have not done so, they are committing an offence. Basically just keep appealing until you reach the point where the appeal goes independent. If you feel that you are in the right, an independent reviewer, (normally an ombudsman), will have to take a fair view. It costs the companies a lot of money to deal with an ombudsman, and that is the point where you may get movement ~ ie prior to ombudsman action.

Keep your appeals short, and relevant. Ask plenty of questions that need work to find out the answers. If they are slow to respond, in all subsequent mailings, list their slow responses.

We should not expect European police to act any differently from our own. They will apply the law. The UK Blood Alcohol Limit is 0.08%, generally one to one and a half pints.

For Austria, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, it is 0.05%. Less than one beer?

If you are going to Socchi, don't drink at all, the limit in Russia is zero.

Dave Mac wrote:

tspill wrote:In my view if your insurance states this then they will try to wriggle out of a claim if there is ANY alcohol taken.
I have just had an insurance claim turned down on a TINY technicality that was not even relevant. So I don't trust insurance companies at all.
There is plenty of evidence that points to the fact that ANY alcohol impairs. In my view they will absolutely use this not to pay a claim. For me it simply isn't worth the risk of being uninsured.

Tspill, your insurance company should have provided you with a complaints/appeals procedure. If they have not done so, they are committing an offence. Basically just keep appealing until you reach the point where the appeal goes independent. If you feel that you are in the right, an independent reviewer, (normally an ombudsman), will have to take a fair view. It costs the companies a lot of money to deal with an ombudsman, and that is the point where you may get movement ~ ie prior to ombudsman action.

Keep your appeals short, and relevant. Ask plenty of questions that need work to find out the answers. If they are slow to respond, in all subsequent mailings, list their slow responses.

As I said, there was a small technicality where we didn't conform to the policy. And that is the point - insurance companies are saying that you can not drink on the slopes and then ski. Hence if you have an accident they will absolutely use this NOT to pay.
You need to conform exactly to every letter of any insurance policy to be safe.

FYI if you are over 70 then make sure you get ski insurance BEFORE you reach the ski pass office because they won't give slope insurance to over 70's (at least not in Andorra). I take the easy way out and just don't drink when I ski (or drive) - sounds boring but to me it sounds sensible.

Is it illegal to have alcohol in your system when skiing? There may well be a moral argument to support this but there isn't a legal one as far as I can tell, i dont think drink driving limits can be applied to skiing. You could be done for reckless endangerment by the police but you would have to be really pissed. UK Gov travel website has no guidance on alcohol limit when skiing.
This is your holiday, having a pint at lunch or before the last run of the day is not reckless behaviour having six pints & four jäger tees would be.