Best place for insurance?

Hi,

I'm planning a trip to Spain in February (flying to France) and looking to purchase a single trip policy to cover the 8 days we'll be away. Obviously need winter sports cover. Would be nice to think that if my £500 snowboard was stolen, I could replace it, but most of the policies seem to offer 20% or even "nothing" for equipment over 4 years old. I've only used it a few times for 1 week / year, so it's got a fair amount of life left!

Of course the main thing is medical cover.

Moneysupermarket (EHICPlus) £25, but I'd get "nothing" for my board. Aviva £148.93, and I'd get 20%.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Steve Button

Good luck with trying to find "new for old" cover for your board. I suspect it will be difficult to find, not least because it would be very much open to abuse (you can imagine someone "losing" a really battered 15 year old board for the insurance money). Be good to know if you do find it, though. Whomever you go for, make sure you abide by their conditions e.g. locking-up board or whatever. As you say, the main thing is the medical cover.

I spent a long time looking at insurance for skiing last year it's a nightmare. Sadly there are more important issues in my opinion than how much you might get for lost equipment. You need to read the small print. For example some companies cover you for medical but NOT getting you off the mountain. Therefore you could have a bill of several thousand pounds if helicopter transport is required. Some companies consider off piste to be anywhere off the marked runs I.e 2meters of marked piste no cover. Also ask if they settle the claims themselves or pay another company to handle claims I.e they try not to pay out anything.
Good ski insurance is not cheap but I found single trip compared to annual to be almost negibale so Annual is often a better buy.
All the best
Andy

dobby wrote:Good luck with trying to find "new for old"

Yeah, I thought that might be the case. Although I'm surprised people would risk getting a fraud conviction for the sake of £400 (once excess taken out) and the hassle.

But really I was just looking for some general advice on which companies people have had a good experience with. (if such a beast exists)

Andid wrote: You need to read the small print.
Andy

Thanks good advice. I'll make sure I check that they don't farm out claims, and about what they class as "off-piste"

Andid is spot-on - check the small print, and you are right to ask about people's experiences.

I would also very carefully check what EHICPlus is too. An EHIC card is totally free, and anyone who wants to charge you to get one for you is simply ripping you off. From some of the comments I have read about EHICPlus, they do not seem to offer anything on top of the EHIC base card, so is it something you can rely on?

For what it's worth, I find that the Ski Club insurance is ideal for what I need, including medical conditions. There are almost always introductory offers available each year as well, where you get a heavily discounted Ski Club membership which then allows you a discount as a club member on the insurance. Never used the club services, but got many discounts from it, which have more than paid for the membership.

Another vote here for the Ski Club of GB insurance, including the Fogg medi-card.