UKC

Hi All,

I've seen a few posts about insurance and I usually just go with the BMC but after some research I have seen that some people choose not to use them.

I need insurance to cover a trip to Northern Spain, climbing in the Picos de Europa mountains.

I've been looking at the BMC and Protectivity Insurance and tried to compare the two. There's not much in it, BMC seems to pay out more but they also seem to have long lists of 'what is not included' compared to Protectivity. Just wondering if anyone has used either company and had to make a claim and how easy this was for you?

Many thanks.

I had an accident in Austria about 3 weeks ago, the BMC were very helpful about getting me home and the medical costs, the only thing which they weren't helpful about was getting my van home, however neither were my motor insurer. Eventually the AA sorted it out, however they didn't really seem to be sure about who would be responsible.

It's worth getting confirmation that what you need to be covered IS included, if it is not stated either way and you try to claim for it expect attempts to duck and dive the issue.

We made a claim against BMC insurance about 4 months ago. They not only organised all the hospital, hotel, car parking, fares, medivac flights, Manchester car park and train fare there, they paid off all the expenses incurred within 7 days. They were more than helpful, even telling me stuff I could claim that I hadn't thought about! 

The final decision will be your own of course!

I’d be careful about the things that providers omit on their websites, that could very well be excluded in the actual policy. There was a rather informative thread about DogTag here a couple of months ago.

As always with insurance, read the small print and buy what fits your needs at the time because policies and costs seem to be continually tweaked. It's a ball-ache, but it's the only way to do it. For what it's worth, Snowcard were good when I had to claim for a serious illness preventing travel.