UKC

Little while back I posted about rip off insurance companies - one had doubled my premium when they knew i climbed.

Just wanted to plug Summit Finance (they are on the BMC website). They were excellent and have real knowledge of how companies assess your risk. They have found me one and the premium is exactly what it would be if I were a non-climber.

Result!

In reply to Reds: I'm interested -will they pay out if you die climbing? I'm having similar problems with finding a life insurer to cover my mortgage, but so far nobody has come in with a sensible quote - the best we found wanted more than twoce the monthly normal premium because we climb, but would not pay out if death occurred whilst climbing.

In reply to Pontesford Needle: Yes, death while climbing is definetly covered.

It was interesting talking to Summit Finances because they explained the way weightings are added by different companies - often based on the experiences of their reinsurers and if they have paid out a lot to climbers in the past. Some do it purely on grade (and add premiums for Severe and up!) some do it by where you climb in the world and the altitude.

Apparently Standard Life don't add a premium for climbing in this country and occasional trips in Europe for up to 1000m.

In reply to Reds:

The question on all the forms I have completed has been "Do you rock climb with ropes?"

So is it better (from an insurance point of view) to leave the ropes behind?

Y.

I brought this up with the insurance company I used to work for. I spent an hour going through the ins and outs of climbing, ferratas, mountaineering and bouldering with the underwriters.

In the end they changed it to "where the use of ropes would reasonably be expected."

I thought that was even more ambiguous but they wouldn't have it.