Latest posts for the topic "Insurance"

Insurance

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:02:54 GMT

There's so much variety, how do you know you're getting value for money?

Anyone come across anything they swear by and use over and over?

Re:Insurance

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 16:44:40 GMT

The trouble is, Nelly, that you can only really swear by it if you have had to use it ! I guess most of us prefer never to have to find out whether our insurance is any good or not !

Re:Insurance

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 18:18:10 GMT

For about 12 years I thought my travel policy(Banks packaged account) was good-certainly worked for my husbands broken ankle about 6 years ago. However you just have to imagine every scenario possible that you might need to claim for and I've just found out I was not covered for a claim earlier this month for reasons ive put on another thread. I am currently looking for a new policy and reading the small print very carefully. AS for value for money you only get what you pay for if you have to claim.

Re:Insurance

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 21:33:18 GMT

billip1 wrote:The trouble is, Nelly, that you can only really swear by it if you have had to use it ! I guess most of us prefer never to have to find out whether our insurance is any good or not !

This is true. Suppose as long as you get the cover you want, basics really, just hope you never need it.

Re:Insurance

Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:35:21 GMT

What's the worst that can happen.......

I think that's injury, or worse.....
Anything else such as delays, cancellations, loss or theft.....all a pain in the backside and financially problematic, but in the grand scheme of things your worst scenario is getting injured on the mountain and having to cover costs to get you off, repaired, and returned to the uk. Your insurance has to cover these, and levels of cover for all other scenarios.
Excesses will come into play of course, but these days insurance companies are looking at ways of getting out of paying out rather than helping us.

Some people don't bother taking it out as they don't believe it worth the money.

Personally I get "free" cover with my bank account which covers what I feel I need, and I've claimed for losses for delays and damaged equipment and got something back for the hassle so I'm happy with that.

Don't spend unnecessary hours comparing policies. If you want ski specific insurance, take it out through something like carre neige.

As has been said, you'll only find out how good/bad your cover is if you are unlucky enough to have to make a claim.

Annoying, isn't it?

Re:Insurance

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 09:53:53 GMT

Does the carre neige cover you for repatriation? It'll get you off the mountain and get you treated but you'll still need cover to get you come if you aren't able to get home under your own steam.

Re:Insurance

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 11:50:26 GMT

One thing that comes to mind is the question of where in the world you are skiing. Most posters on this forum seem to ski in nearby western Europe, ie, within the EU (with the exception of Switzerland of course). So even if the worst (ok, not the very worst, but let's say a broken leg), happens, once you're off the mountain you will have a level of cover equivalent to that of the locals so long as you have your EHIC, insofar as I understand it. You may have to pay, but only to the same level as a local would. However, if you are skiing in the USA, or somethere even more exotic, Chile say, or Japan, then your insurance cover becomes far more critical, as I doubt those countries will provide anything free for damaged UK skiers !

Does anyone know if a scheme similar to the French Carre Neige operates in other popular countries, eg Austria ?

Re:Insurance

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 12:02:55 GMT

Bilip amd Andy are right. Carre neige gets you off the mountain and then your own insurance via EHIC kicks in.

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:10:30 GMT

How ironic that I can now report back on the insurance cover that I took out.

After my little accident last week, we contacted the insurers (Direct Travel Insurance) and they have been brilliant ever since, they called me pretty much every day to make sure I was ok and didn't need any more help, in particular assistance with getting home, the fact that I was returning by train was probably a great relief to them.

They liased with the medical centre to pay for the mountain rescue and were prompt at sending through claims forms etc.

However, as yet I haven't sent through my receipts etc so I will report back again once the whole thing has been sorted, but in a nutshell, they have been great so far.

One thing I did learn from all of this was that the Carre Neige costs something like 2 euros a day and you can reclaim money back on your unsused lift pass after an accident, however having winter sports cover with DTI also covers this, along with mountain rescue so I'm not entirely sure why else you would want the CN cover?? Am I missing something?

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:42:32 GMT

Nelly, I don't know about other travel insurance policies, but my one with PJ Hayman has a GBP250 excess for search and rescue.
So my plan, should I need this, is to claim off the Carre Neige because they don't have an excess on it. Also, the Carre Neige is instantly recognized in the French ski resorts and apparently they won't ask for a 'down payment' for the search and rescue, or kidnap my skis or anything!
And the Carre Neige will also pay for medical fees and repatriation to Europe.
But unless you live in France you can't take out cancellation insurance with the Carre Neige, but my travel insurance covers this, as well as 'end supplier failure' in case a supplier of part of my holiday goes bust.

What happened when you were taken down the mountain? At what stage did they ask for some money?
I am very sorry you got hurt, but as you said, it was an ideal way of testing out the system!

I've never had to claim on my travel insurance, or the Carre Neige, so I don't know what actually happens, in practice.

I hope you're back to ski-ing fitness soon :)

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 18:06:10 GMT

Thanks for the update Nelly.
I am pleased that DT have been looking after you, I have used them for years and sort of taken on trust that they are quite good.
:)
I will be interested to hear how it all pans out, and if you had to pay anyone in France anything up front.

PS:
Hope the knees are doing ok.
:thumbup:

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 19:19:07 GMT

B'ah!..Sorry to hear about your injury Nelly. We had a minor disaster in that we missed the Eurostar home..Managed to get all our gear including tickets and passports locked in the ski lockers at ARC 1600..They close at 6.30 pm apparently!..grrr. Doubt any insurance will pay out for that one given it was largely our own fault :(

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:25:52 GMT

shipjack wrote:B'ah!..Sorry to hear about your injury Nelly. We had a minor disaster in that we missed the Eurostar home..Managed to get all our gear including tickets and passports locked in the ski lockers at ARC 1600..They close at 6.30 pm apparently!..grrr. Doubt any insurance will pay out for that one given it was largely our own fault :(

What a pain though! Assume you got home by some other means? It's possible that the reason I managed to get two seats to myself and stretch my leg out was down to you missing the train!

Ally, I was quite surprised by the whole thing, no one asked me for any money until I'd been seen by the doctor and xrayed, and he was the first person to ask about insurance and Carre Neige, he seemed more concerned about me getting the money back on my lift pass.

There was no mention of mountain rescue until a couple of days later when the medical centre rang me to ask if I could get my insurance company to fax over confirmation they would pay for the blood wagon, that was it. I guess every resort is different.

Knee is doing ok, still hobbling around on crutches but getting easier every day, got first physio next week so should be back up and running in no time :)

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:35:36 GMT

I've been doing some research into travel ins since ours failed to pay out for cancelling our holiday. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. Direct Travel seem to bethe best I've seen and will be using them in future. Glad you are on the mend Nelly and got everything sorted ok.

Re:Insurance

Wed, 20 Feb 2013 21:55:44 GMT

What a pain though! Assume you got home by some other means? It's possible that the reason I managed to get two seats to myself and stretch my leg out was down to you missing the train!

Maybe!..I guess that's something. Yeah, had to fork out for a flight from Chambery..these things happen I suppose.

Re:Insurance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 09:22:46 GMT

Just a quick report on a great response from an insurance company. I went skiing before Christmas, fell, and as a result was unable to go on my next booked ski holiday in January. I finally got together all the doctor's notes, receipts, hospital certificates etc and sent them off to my insurer on Monday this week. I received a letter yesterday (Friday, the same week) telling me they had paid the claim, and on checking my bank account I can see that my refund is already in there. So I'm happy (although I'd rather have gone skiing!)

The insurer? Tescos (via Ageas).

Re:Insurance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:09:59 GMT

Glad I choose DT for my ski insurance for a new one this trip.

How it all pays out ok

Re:Insurance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:22:33 GMT

There are a number of insurance policies for 'local' europeans who do not need travel insurance when skiing in their own country. They use things like Carre Neige, AssurSki etc, to ensure they don't have to fork out Euro4,000 for a helicopter off the mountain. When you buy your ski pass, buy the insurance for Euro3 a day, that way you know you're covered on the slopes. The travel insurance may cover the rest (standard restrictions apply. Your home, sanity and family are at risk if you do not comply with the small print).

Re:Insurance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:32:03 GMT

Volf wrote:There are a number of insurance policies for 'local' europeans who do not need travel insurance when skiing in their own country. They use things like Carre Neige, AssurSki etc, to ensure they don't have to fork out Euro4,000 for a helicopter off the mountain. When you buy your ski pass, buy the insurance for Euro3 a day, that way you know you're covered on the slopes. The travel insurance may cover the rest (standard restrictions apply. Your home, sanity and family are at risk if you do not comply with the small print).

Do Austria & Italy have an equivalent to the Carre Neige ?

Re:Insurance

Sat, 23 Feb 2013 11:51:39 GMT

Not sure about carre beige, but plenty of online insurance such as sci sicuro http://www.assicurazionesci.it in Italy which covers ski accidents and DSV http://www.skiversicherung.com.

In Sestriere they have Protezioneneve which you can probably buy with your ski pass.
In St Anton they have Alberg Safety card

Re:Insurance

Tue, 26 Feb 2013 08:41:28 GMT

Bilip amd Andy are right. Carre neige gets you off the mountain and then your own insurance via EHIC kicks in.

:thumbup:

Re:Insurance

Sun, 3 Mar 2013 19:37:35 GMT

I just wanted to add that i've been using Direct Travel insurance for years.
A few years ago we had to cancel a holiday (medical reasons)and they paid out over GBP6000 without any hassle.
some friends also use them, have claimed for a ski accident, and they cant praise them enough too.

Re:Insurance

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 03:07:41 GMT

My woes claiming through Drakefield, the claims arm of AA Travel Insurance, are described at length on another thread on this site. I recommend against using them. I'm now with Direct Travel.

Also be aware that Switzerland has reciprocal health arrangements with the EU but this won't cover transfer off the mountain nor repatriation. The main effect is to accelerate insurer's payouts as they can claim any medical expenses back via the reciprocal arrangement. So this places CH on a par with the rest of the EU in terms of what you're looking for from your insurance.

Re:Insurance

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 19:13:31 GMT

me.mrs.c wrote:I just wanted to add that i've been using Direct Travel insurance for years.
A few years ago we had to cancel a holiday (medical reasons)and they paid out over GBP6000 without any hassle.
some friends also use them, have claimed for a ski accident, and they cant praise them enough too.

Did the premium go up like it does with car/home insurance when you claim? I'd use them again, still waiting for the repayment but been great so far.

Re:Insurance

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 20:35:02 GMT

Just looked at the lift prices in Obergurgl & it had the mountain rescue costs.

Marked piste Euro90

Freeride Euro175

Helicopter Euro90

Sounds very cheap to me.

Re:Insurance

Mon, 4 Mar 2013 23:29:21 GMT

brooksy wrote:
Just looked at the lift prices in Obergurgl & it had the mountain rescue costs.

Marked piste Euro90

Freeride Euro175

Helicopter Euro90

Sounds very cheap to me.

Sounds very wrong to me

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 12:00:23 GMT

It is suspect but on their official page, it cost me 155 Swiss francs for the blood wagon for me 2yrs ago in Engelberg, how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 15:28:08 GMT

brooksy wrote:
... how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

Maybe it means rescue for skiers who have been helicoptered onto the slopes ?

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 15:28:15 GMT

brooksy wrote:
It is suspect but on their official page, it cost me 155 Swiss francs for the blood wagon for me 2yrs ago in Engelberg, how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

I'd go with the helicopter then 8)

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 15:43:11 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:

brooksy wrote:
It is suspect but on their official page, it cost me 155 Swiss francs for the blood wagon for me 2yrs ago in Engelberg, how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

I'd go with the helicopter then 8)

You cant Ian, its in Austria -)

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 15:50:39 GMT

brooksy wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:

brooksy wrote:
It is suspect but on their official page, it cost me 155 Swiss francs for the blood wagon for me 2yrs ago in Engelberg, how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

I'd go with the helicopter then 8)

You cant Ian, its in Austria -)

I am getting better Brooksy.. As I am skiing Germany at the mo :mrgreen:

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 16:04:48 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:

brooksy wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:

brooksy wrote:
It is suspect but on their official page, it cost me 155 Swiss francs for the blood wagon for me 2yrs ago in Engelberg, how can a helicopter be the same price as the blood wagon?

I'd go with the helicopter then 8)

You cant Ian, its in Austria -)

I am getting better Brooksy.. As I am skiing Germany at the mo :mrgreen:

:thumbup:

Re:Insurance

Tue, 5 Mar 2013 21:32:45 GMT

NellyPS wrote:

me.mrs.c wrote:I just wanted to add that i've been using Direct Travel insurance for years.
A few years ago we had to cancel a holiday (medical reasons)and they paid out over GBP6000 without any hassle.
some friends also use them, have claimed for a ski accident, and they cant praise them enough too.

Did the premium go up like it does with car/home insurance when you claim? I'd use them again, still waiting for the repayment but been great so far.

The premium did not go up.
They weren't atall interested about previous claims when we phoned to renew the policy.