Posted 16 December 2024

This blog post does not constitute as professional advice, and is given as information purposes only. The content is provided for the reader to make their own decision and you should seek professional advice.

Do I need Ski Insurance to ski?

Guaranteed you wont injure yourself or others, or be a victim?

As all insurance, its about managing risk, and Winter Sports are inherently risky, hence the insurance premium for winter sports is so much higher than regular holiday insurance.

What are the costs for having an accident?

Lets assume your on piste, you have the most common snowboarding injury - you break you wrist. You arn't too far up the mountain and are able to walk into the on-resort medical center.

Nearly all resort medical centers are private, that means you cannot use your EHIC, so you'll be paying private costs.

• €325 X Ray, Cast application and non urgent on-site medical treatment (i.e not referred to a hospital)
• €75 Pain Killers, plaster cast, shower sleeve

But wait we can now no longer ski?

• €350 unused lift pass
• €170+ Unused lessons
• €90+ Unused ski hire

What if you injure your leg instead of your wrist?

• €430 Ski Patrol Rescue
• €150 Taxi ride back from nearest A&E

What if you were off piste and needed a helicopter?

• €5000+

Hopefully you can start to see why the insurance cost is what it is, its really common to get injured and if you do it's really expensive.

Can I just get Carré Neige?

Carré Neige is a focused insurance product sold in France, you normally add it on to your ski pass at a 'day rate'.

If you are locally based, it makes perfect sense and is nearly always worth the extra €4 a day .

However if your booking from abroad and traveling as part of a holiday package, its less clear cut as you'd enviably want a more comprehensive product to cover the other components of your holiday.

What does Carré Neige cover?

• All Costs getting you from the Slope to Medical Center
• All Costs once in the medical center
• Off piste skiing (so long as you used a ski lift to reach the area)
• Refund on days remaining of lift passes
• Optional Lesson refund
• Optional Hire refund

What does it not cover?

• Carré Neige does not cover you for the eventualities as a result of your injury.
• If you need specialist transport back to the UK, its not covered.
• You don't get any injury money to spend in the resort
• If your family need to also cut their holiday short its not covered.
• Baggage / equipment theft
• Airline failure / damage
• Piste closures / adverse weather

These little things start to add up and make a more comprehensive travel package generally worth it.

Are there any Insurance Providers that offer off piste without an instructor?

Yes!

1. You can go for more expensive specialist insurance from dedicated ski insurance providers.
2. RAC travel insurance is one of the only providers that do not stipulate 'with a qualified instructor' for off piste. The only caveat with the RAC policy is that it does not cover anything in a Snow Park, which a lot of other providers do as standard, so you'll need to choose carefully.

Otherwise you could buy Carré Neige for the days you are off piste without an instructor, but you absolutely will not be covered by your travel insurance policy, even if your not claiming the 'off piste parts', i.e you wont get repatriated to the UK under the cover as the injury stemmed from an excluded activity.

Can I have Winter Sports cover and Carré Neige?

Yes, but be aware of the pitfalls of double insurance, strictly speaking both insurers are only liable for 50% each, and you're stuck in the middle during this. In reality how it plays out will depend on the circumstances, and still could be worth it to prevent any shock bills during.

Whats the process when I have an injury?

If you have a Carré Neigé simply show the ski patrol your lift pass with the sticker, you wont need to pay anything! Later, go to the lift pass office to be refunded for the unused days under this scheme.

If you don't have a Carré Neigé, you will be asked to front all the costs and you'll need to claim back later on your insurance policy once back in the UK. Most ski resorts have a 'no refund' policy on their Ski Pass - if that is the case, keep it and claim on insurance (you might be use it to visit mountain bars etc). Lessons are nearly always 'no refund', again claim on insurance when your back in the UK. Hire shops ARE usually refundable for the remaining time, unless you pre-paid though a travel agent (score -1 for travel agents).

What is there to do in a Ski Resort when I'm injured?

Surprisingly not much! Depending on your injury (wrist or leg) you might be able to go:

1. Swimming (Having a cast may prevent you)
2. Cinema (expect foreign language films)
3. Bowling
4. Restaurants and bars, enjoy all day apres ski!
5. Spa / Wellness
6. Husky Riding (Cast Prohibited)
7. Snow Trekking (Cast Prohibited)
8. Gondolas to mountain viewpoints and mountain restaurants

Do pack some entertainment incase this happens!