The Insurance Minefield ~ Chapter 2

EmmaEvs wrote:

Maybe the ski resorts should introduce compulsory rescue insurance (including for off-piste) and add it to the price of the lift pass, so that we all know we're covered.

Brilliant idea IMHO. :thumbup:

Emma,
Not convinced that would be a good idea with the cost of lift passes being what they are at the present time. It begs the question what are we paying for exactly when it comes to ski insurance? It appears that some of the weasel wording in these policies are designed purely to part people from their cash however, they get away with it because we must have insurance. Talk about loaded dice/rip off etc. :evil:

AllyG wrote:

Maybe the ski resorts should introduce compulsory rescue insurance (including for off-piste) and add it to the price of the lift pass, so that we all know we're covered. As I said before, I buy the Carre Neige insurance anyway in France to top up my British travel insurance. I don't know if there is a similar insurance scheme in the other ski countries.

Ally

I think more to the point, is to consider the economic benefit that ski resort communities derive from skiing. The cost of rescue services is very small weighed against the income. If the local communities object to funding rescues, they could close the resorts. They seem to want their cake, and to eat it too.
I think this is a big factor in not charging for rescues in the US. If a State started charging, people would go to another state. That, and the concern that people won't call for help when they need it.

EmmaEvs wrote:

Maybe the ski resorts should introduce compulsory rescue insurance (including for off-piste) and add it to the price of the lift pass, so that we all know we're covered.

Brilliant idea IMHO. :thumbup:

It exists in france it is called Carre Neige but it is not compulsory it is optional. It pays for rescue but is not enough for medical bills. you can buy this as a supplement to British ski insurance. This will pay for your rescue and basic medical costs and in some cases repatriation. However, to have larger medical bills covered you still need insurance that pays out for an off-piste accident.

Chris Radford wrote:

EmmaEvs wrote:

Maybe the ski resorts should introduce compulsory rescue insurance (including for off-piste) and add it to the price of the lift pass, so that we all know we're covered.

Brilliant idea IMHO. :thumbup:

It exists in france it is called Carre Neige but it is not compulsory it is optional. It pays for rescue but is not enough for medical bills. you can buy this as a supplement to British ski insurance. This will pay for your rescue and basic medical costs and in some cases repatriation. However, to have larger medical bills covered you still need insurance that pays out for an off-piste accident.

Hi Chris,
How much does this Carre Neige cost on top of the normal lift pass price?

The CN costs about 2.50 Euros a day or 50 -60 Euros per year. If you have private health care like BUPA you should be ok with that and your EHIC card. Or if your credit card has insurance attached then again it should pick up the difference between the CN and EHIC cover. But you do need to check. These are all quite cheap options without doubling up on Insurance.

The carre (it has an acute on the 'e') neige insurance is very cheap. I think it's about 3 euros per day, purchased with the lift pass in France. Or you can buy the seasonal one, called carte neige, and it's about 50 euros (it's on sale now at Tignes).

If this was compulsory we would at least get rescued and taken to hospital. In the EU most of the medical expenses should be paid for us, as EU citizens, anyway, as long as we have our EHIC cards with us.

I was wondering why the resorts don't do this, and I wondered if it's against EU competition laws or something, as in you wouldn't get to choose your rescue insurer, so the Carre Neige people would have a monopoly on it.

Edit
Sorry, Snowcrazy, you beat me to it :D

Ally

Thanks Snowcrazy and Ally - That is in fact is a lot cheaper than I thought. Perhaps it could be consolidated within the pass.

In the October edition of the Ski and board magazine, there is a small piece about leashing your snowboard to your leg, or arm. They say that all 5 Scottish ski areas are advising that long leashes should be used, so that runaway boards don't injure people below.

In light of this information, it seems to me that it is likely that insurers may refuse to pay up if you have a runaway board that injures someone.

When I was in Tignes recently someone totally lost their board like this, and it was one of the 'new' fancy Edge to Edge ones. Presumably it went off-piste somewhere. Luckily, there were no reports of anyone being injured by it, although at least one person had a near miss with it.

Ally