BMC insurance
Caution: read the small print carefully.
BMC have changed their insurance underwriters in recent years and cover is no longer comprehensive. Last year I bought the ‘Alpine and Ski’ annual policy which, following an accident reimbursed medical costs (minus excess £100) and mountain evacuation.
In previous years other ‘actual’ costs would have been reimbursed but now there is a limit of ‘£25 per day up to a maximum of £250’. This sum is in lieu of such actual costs as; ski lift pass, ski lessons, mountain guide fees, etc. My accident was a couple of days before a Mountain Guide led course and because of the low daily limit I was effectively not reimbursed Guide fees of approx £400.
In addition, car hire is not covered. So, the extra premium for an additional driver (£65), to return the car to the airport after I had broken my leg, was not reimbursed.
Those with an eye to climate take note. The Policy is developed around the concept of a ‘Trip’. Therefore if you are trying to minimize your journeys to the Alps, and combine otherwise individual weeks, there is still a maximum of £250 for the longer ‘Trip’.
Other insurers may or may not have better cover than the BMC policy – I have yet to investigate.
sgjohnston
Another point to watch out for - the BMC insurance will not cover you if a trip is combined with a business trip. It's buried in the small print and so not very obvious. We, and several friends, have tried to do this with trips to the US, but for this SnowCard is a better bet.
Stuart
AndyGillham
Austrian Alpine Club UK membership includes insurance cover, up to limits, for rescue, medical & repatriation. Are there any Eagles who are also AACUK members and who have investigated this insurance cover in detail? What I am unsure of is whether this insurance alone is sufficient for typical Eagles trips. I don't require extras such as baggage, piste closure, delay, cancellation etc, and I certainly don't want to over-insure by taking out another expensive policy if this is not necessary. Any opinions, anyone?
Andy
Anonymous (not verified)
Andy
Like you I believe the AAC (UK) insurance to be adequate for ski touring and ski mountaineering. but I am no expert.
The only limitations I can see are 8 weeks and 6000m. And of course it does not cover cancellation, travel to, or consequenctial loss (kit or guide fees), only accident recovery medical and repatriation costs. I have yet to see the policy document (will reply here if I find anything interesting).
Anonymous (not verified)
The AAC UK insurance is a popular option, AAC UK now have >7000 members and rising, mostly people who join for insurance only.
A key difference I identified between my AAC insurance and my friends offpiste cover (I think it was a Columbus policy) was that the Columbus policy would cover evacuation by helicopter but not search and rescue. So I'm a bit unclear to what that means in practise if visibility is poor and maybe my sat nav has a flat battery or no signal so grid ref might not be v. accurate for example.
AAC UK recommend you have an EHIC card in addition to their policy ( which covers you for hospital costs once you're off the mountain). This would be advisable as backup for anyone travelling in countries where we have a reciprocal agreement.
We usually figure the AAC +EHIC is adequate for us, if we lose our bags or get ill beforehand its our own risk.
Anonymous (not verified)
At only £43.50 for a years membership it's worth joining the AAC UK for the free reciprocal rights card on it's own let alone for the insurance !
Too many people pay for the EHIC card also , Free EHIC card here
http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/free-ehic-card#how
Mark