UKC

Is £65 for a week really worth it compared to other providers, which are cheaper?

Discuss...

In reply to Merlin:
many ski insurance policies from general insurance providers only cover you for skiing only on piste so this may be a consideration in your choice

In reply to Merlin:

No idea how you quantify "worth it", but the only time I've had to make a claim on a BMC travel insurance policy, they were absolutely superb, supportive, didn't quibble and paid up promptly. Since then, I've never even considered using anyone else for climbing and skiing trips.

However, I'm sure you could pay a lot less for insurance from someone else and if you didn't need to make a claim, you'd feel that you'd saved yourself a lot of money. It all comes down to that "what if?" question.

In reply to Graeme Hammond:

Untrue - you just need to specify this when buying cover.

I'd like to hear of an experience by a customer of a policy that costs approx 1/2 the price - I wonder if they received the same treatment as a BMC customer. That would answer my question.

In reply to Merlin:

3 winters ago i damaged my MCL out in austria, need sledging off the mountain, ambulance trip to A&E, x rays, pain killer and knee brace. taxi back to hotel, to airport, 3 seats on plane home and a £200 taxi ride from airport home.

some of this paid and organised by the insurance, taxis and flights, rest i just claimed back, even covered the days unused lift pass, lessons and hire.
that was with white horse who are the company thomas cook use if you organise it instore, ive used them since and cost me £14 for a week of piest skiing!

In reply to Matt Schwarz:

That's pretty good - I wonder what the difference in price would be if you included off piste, park and touring etc. I bet it wouldn't be £65.

No so long ago the BMC only offered their insurance in 10 day blocks (their climbing insurance may still be the same), which I thought was a bit a of a con considering most people go away for 7 or 14 days etc based on taking weeks off work at a time.

In reply to Merlin:

MPI Insurance seem to offer off piste cover for very reasonable amounts. They are the company used by Inghams/Ski Total/Esprit for their seasonnaire insurance, and I read the small print quite carefully to see what it would cover for my son this winter. They also cover the general public, and the description of their off piste cover is quite refreshing. http://b2c.mpibrokers.com/wintersports-insurance.html

In reply to Merlin:
My perspective may be useful as I have had the misfortune of claiming on both my ski insurance and BMC rock insurance last year-

Virgin ski insurance including off-piste(£25 for a year)-
Girlfriend dislocated elbow on Christmas day. Phone lines weren't manned but just asked us to hold indefinitely. Eventually got back home after cutting the holiday a week short but it was bloody stressful trying to sort it out over the phone. The claim was a fight and took 4 months to resolve and they charged us 4 separate excesses of £100! Their departments didn't talk to each other and they communicated solely by letter with meant a week delay when we inevitably phoned them up to dispute whatever it was they were saying this time round.

BMC rock cover for 3 weeks in France (£30ish) -
had climbing gear stolen, but didn't expect to get any money back. After a bit of back and forth to confirm our trip details I got a settlement cheque for the full market value of buying new equipment.

Bottom line- you get what you pay for I guess- cheap insurance will pay out but they'll do their best to wriggle out of it and it will be very stressful.

I'm insured for offpiste skiing with my bank account insurance now and for an ice climbing/skiing trip to the alps next month I think I will supplement it with Austrian alpine club membership.

In reply to karinbradbury:

Yes, MPI cover Off Piste and are a lot less expensive than other providers.

In reply to Merlin:

I find the BMC annual alpine/ski Europe cover good value, although costly initially it automatically covers all my skiing (inc un-guided touring and off piste) and my climbing trips. The cost per day is a lot less than for individual policies for each trip.

Having said that the BMC policy may be over the top if you're not going to ski off piste (without a guide)

On the one occasion I've had to claim; helicoptered off ice route in Cogne, all hospital bills and replacement of Gortex cut off in casualty dept I found the BMC to be extremely effective and supportive

In reply to Tom Briggs or anyone else: Do you know if MPI cover ski mountaineering? Can't see what they cover/don't cover in their policy documents, apart from on and off-piste skiing. Will call tomorrow, just wondered if anyone knew now so I could book tonight.

In reply to NottsRich:

They cover 'Ski Touring'. I don't think they like the word 'mountaineering'!

In reply to Merlin:

Hi Merlin, how are you? Have a look at French or Austrian Alpine club membership as insurance is included. CAF was great for me when I broke my leg in the Alps!
All the best, Jeremy

In reply to Merlin:

I'm happy to pay the mid premium of BMC insurance as I'd prefer them to make some money out ot than not.

It's a shame Bear Grylls pushed the premiums up but hey ho.....

In reply to karinbradbury:

Thank you for this, useful info.