UKC

Hi - I'm off on a 10 week road trip to the Alps, and the BMC alpine insurance quote comes to £198 - ouch; I won't be doing non stop Alpine stuff, but usually take out their insurance (on shorter trips). 

Any alternatives? Or advice? I do support the BMC, & am a member, but that seems quite steep for insurance for a trip (IMO). Thanks in advance! 

(just rung car insurance - my policy covers me 3rd party in Europe anyway, so may just leave it at that & hope my car doesn't get stolen ....). 

In reply to Phil Murray:

I think DogTag Insurance is meant to be decent.

BMC is always best though.

Is that price for a single trip or year? I am fairly sure a single trip is around the £70 mark and the price you mention is  annual cover.

In reply to Phil Murray:

Austrian alpine club membership is 90 eur for a year if I remember correctly. Very good insurance policy as a member, plus all of the benefits in Austria and reciprocal benefits throughout the alps.

In reply to GarethSL:

AAC is £50 a year.

In reply to Phil Murray:

Read the small print carefully before you opt for the Austrian AC insurance, it may not cover everything you might expect, likewise Dogtag, their wording regarding the use of 'guides' is a bit vague I recall.

Another alternative is Snowcard

https://www.snowcard.co.uk/

In reply to Phil Murray:

I've recently had to claim from the AAC after an accident in Kalymnos.  They were excellent.  There was always someone to speak to at the end of the phone, they sent out a paramedic to escort me back to the UK and flew me Business Class with Lufthansa.  Be advised however that it only covers rescue and repatriation.  I reclaimed medical costs through EHIC and the additional expenses I incurred, taxis, extended accommodation etc. were not covered but should be with normal travel insurance.

Al

In reply to GridNorth:

This is why I've always been wary of using AAC insurance. You will need to take out a 'normal' holiday insurance policy for the things not covered by the AAC but you may well find they will not pay out for those costs since they arise from an activity which that policy doesn't cover.

 

In reply to pec:

I agree if you want the best cover go with BMC but even with my extras it still turned out cheaper for me than BMC cover. You also have to compare like with like.  AAC is annual, BMC annual costs me a lot, last time I looked.  I understand however that they may have changed their Underwriters recently.

Al

In reply to Phil Murray:

AAC will now only cover you for  FIRST 8 weeks of your trip.  You then need to take out the Premium Single Trip additional insurance, which covers you for up to about 4 months at quite good sliding scale rates.  ( 125 euro for 3 months total, less for shorter trips).

The good thing is that this additional insurance also gives you 500 Euro cover for medical expenses the entire trip, no matter how they are incurred (eg car accident is covered).  So the additional insurance is more than just a length extension.

The only BIG problem is that to take this out you must live permanently in Europe.  Ugggg!  So another great blow from Brexit, this is the last year we can use it.

(Edit)

Link to Insurance FAQs (the PDF doc linked within covers details):

https://aacuk.org.uk/p-faqs-insurance

In reply to GridNorth:

Hi Al, good to hear from you again, but very sorry to hear of your recent troubles. I shall investigate the AAC insurance.... sounds not bad! Repatriation/rescue is my main concern.... as opposed to normal holiday cover. 

Thanks! 

Phil

In reply to BruceM:' The only BIG problem is that to take this out you must live permanently in Europe.  Ugggg!  So another great blow from Brexit, this is the last year we can use it.'

Really ? Because even after Brexit you will still be physically living in Europe

As the insurance leaflet states 'Every member of the OAV having paid their membership is insured. ' Since the UK section of the AAC has been going a lot longer than the E.E.C./European Community I doubt that this is the last year you will be able to use it unless you're aware of something else ?

 

In reply to leon 1:

I can't remember where I read it, nor find it on their Website, but I'm sure that someone from within the AAC stated that it was by no means certain that cover would be available after Brexit, and that it depended on the nature of the agreements reached.

In reply to Simon Caldwell: Oh Bugger ! Dont suppose that will get clarified anytime soon then

In reply to Phil Murray:

Definitely AAC. I've used it for 20 years and wouldn't consider anything else. As you need membership of this or something similar to get reciprocal hut rights, for many the insurance is effectively a free bonus! Personally, I still join the AAC every year solely for the insurance as I already get the reciprocal hut rights elsewhere. The AAC insurance has covered me and others I know without problems. Cheap and reliable - it's rare to hear bad experiences with it, which is not the case for some others.

In reply to leon 1:

Yes, I'm really talking about the additional Single Trip Premium Insurance top-up, which clearly states that you must be a European resident.  However, the standard annual club insurance most people talk about ( <8 week trips only) is provide by the same KNOX insurers, so I imagine the conditions would mirror each other.  But then their may be a push to somehow keep UK members in the system somehow, given the long history of the UK section of the club.  That would be great.

In reply to pec:

Had a chat today with my insurance broker about the interaction of normal travel insurance and AAC insurance. His view was that since the purpose of travel was an activity excluded by normal travel insurance then a normal travel policy would not pay out, even though a claim had nothing to do with the excluded activity (such as an accident while sightseeing in a city).

I couldn't really care less about loss of luggage, cancellation, etc but does AAC insurance actually cover you for the big non-mountaineering risks such as medical/repatriation for being hit by a car, or is this a 'gap' impossible to cover?

AAC FAQ says

2. Repatriation and medical treatment costs abroad

Valid worldwide during the first eight weeks of any journey abroad, for leisure and occupational accidents as well as illness.

which seems to cover it, or at least not exclude it

In reply to mysterion:

My friend was repatriated after serious accident in the Swiss Alps, using AAC, nothing but praise for it.

In reply to mysterion:

 

Hi. I have always been suspicious of the additional "normal travel insurance" being valid for the reasons you suggest.  And like you, loss of gear is just a suck-it-up thing.  It's big ticket medical stuff that's important.

I can't say for sure about the standard AAC insurance covering ALL non climbing related accidents.  Their info does explicitly state that a car accident whilst travelling to a club authorized activity (eg. climbing) would be covered.  However, their Single Trip Premium add on does cover you for all such non climbing events during the period of cover.  I asked them about some issues and their reply is below (and as everybody says, they are very friendly and easy to discuss stuff with):

<quote>

Thank you for your mail.

Please note that the exclusion in Art. 18 (3) only applies to search and rescue costs. It is under the topic B. Search and Rescue. But with the ÖAV Premium Single Trip Protection you also have cover abroad for medical treatment costs for up to 500.000 EUR. This also includes cover for medically necessary treatment and medically necessary transport to a hospital. That means if you have an accident abroad with a motor vehicle then there is cover for your transport to the hospital and your treatment there included in the 500.000 EUR for medical benefits abroad.

That means that within the ÖAV Single Trip Protection you already have the necessary cover for treatment/transportation after a motor vehicle within the 500.000 EUR for medical benefits.

In case you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

</quote>

In reply to Phil Murray:

Rescue is not subject to the 8 week limit.