2010-11 Winter Plans

bandit wrote:Anyone following AllyG's advice and buying their insurance after they have booked any elements of their trip will find that their insurance will not provide retrospective cover in the event of problems of any nature.

HMMMMMMMM, now that has me thinking.
I have an annual policy that will expire in october but have already booked for January.
Do you think my renewal will cover my booking?

Thanks for the advice. At the risk of stoking the insurance debate fire I think i'll sort it out as i book the holiday- ie on the same day. Hopefully that will be the best compromise!

Sauze d'oulx seems to be coming up quite reasonable. Any reviews?

Other than that Arinsal is looking to be a likely destination again- DIY this time! I've priced up to about £1200 all in for the two of us. This includes apartment, flights, trans, ski school, lift pass and ski hire. Its the ski school which kills the price but we still have a lot to learn! That said the odd private lesson may suffice but ski school is good fun as well and my OH still isn't confident when tackling new runs without an instructor.

Right, back to looking for deals.

I am not sure if Bandit is correct on this, although the Bandito is almost always right! It does raise a point though. I have kept my annual Travel Insurance with the same company for about 6/7 years. They do not bump up the price at renewal time. Moreover, on the one occasion when I made a claim, they paid out without any questions. I imagine that when you submit a claim, they can see on the screen strong repeat business, with little claim history. They may then take a view that the claim generally will have merit.

Insurance: If you are renewing an annual policy with no gap, then you have continuity, and should be covered. If you are buying a new travel policy, then you should check the small print as I've never seen one that will cover retrospective expenditure, as the risk may have changed since purchase. If you want retrospective cover, talk to an Insurance Broker f2f.

I learned this stuff when Snowcard pulled my cover for 1 knee and any conditions vaguely(remotely) connected, as I was having an MRI Scan. They seemed a bit miffed that they were obliged to continue cover when I gave them my flight dates...which were waaay back :twisted: Not been a customer since! Bit shortsighted of them really on a £200 annual policy, especially as my consultant's summing up consisted of these 3 words "You're getting old", and declared no treatment needed :D

If in any doubt talk to the insurer 1st.

ClipperJon,
£600 total per person sounds a pretty good price to me :D
It's about half what we had to pay in Courchevel Feb half-term for self-catering. I reckon you'd probably get something cheaper last minute, but then I wouldn't like a last minute holiday myself. I like to plan everything ahead.

What worries me about insurance, is that, as far as I know, you have to pay up front for whatever it is, and then you get the money back later from your insurers (assuming they agree to the claim). My bank has just cut my overdraft allowance right down to practically nothing, and I don't have a credit card, only a debit card, so I would have to have the money in my current account, just in case I had an accident or whatever.

What's the maximum anyone has ever had to pay out on the spot during the holiday for helicopter rescue or whatever?

Ally

Never thought about having to pay up front- I bet helicopter doesn't come cheap either! Definitely worth thinking about though. (Un)Fortunately I have plenty of credit cards.

£600 each all in is the best I've found so far but I must admit I got slightly bored of Arinsal last year so it might have to be Sauze this time. Just found £660 all in- but hotel describes itself as basic and lively - sounds ominous!

I would change your consultant, Bandit. They should not be slandering their patients.....

Hey sorry if this is a bother to you but I'm new to skiing and I'm going on a ski trip to Les Deux Alpes next march any tips would be really helpful? Thanks a lot :)