FAQ

Yes, emergency medical treatment following decompression illness or sickness is included under the Medical and accidental expenses section of the policy

Yes, the costs of helicopter or ground based rescue is covered within the Medical and accidental expenses section of the policy (see condition 6). Your Snowcard gives evidence of medical and rescue insurance. The 24 emergency number should be called as soon as practical by you or someone acting for you. Rescue and medical fees can be guaranteed and paid directly for you if necessary. It is allowable for your guide to instigate rescue without reference to us although the emergency assistance service (see your eSnowcard) must be contacted as soon as possible. Rescue must be because of an emergency situation covered by the policy.

We do not have an exclusion for off piste skiing or a requirement that you are only covered off piste with a guide. If you are ski touring/mountaineering or heli-skiing (including snowcat skiing) you must take the appropriate higher level of cover.

We do expect clients to follow local resort safety warnings, particularly relating to avalanche risk. Wilfully ignoring safety warnings or deliberately avoiding avalanche risk warnings can put your cover at risk. If in doubt about the safety of particular runs or ski areas, you should seek the advice of the piste authorities and follow their recommendations.

WARNING! Younger skiers and boarders or inexperienced boarders are statistically at greater risk of injury, particularly off piste or in snow parks. Please seek professional guidance or instruction to ensure your skill levels help you avoid injury.

All Snowcard Policy levels include search and rescue under the Medical and Accident section of the policy unto £100,000 (see condition 06.)

Similar conditions apply as for theft from vehicles, particularly in respect of valuables. Whilst you cannot lock a tent, losses can be prevented by placing items of value in a locked car whilst you are out during the day time. We do not expect you to pack away all of your belongings but do not leave any items of value lying around in view if at all avoidable. You must report any theft to the police within 24 hours of discovery. If there has been no evidence of a theft, they may be reluctant to provide a police report which could prejudice your claim.

Only during the daytime and if the vehicle is locked. Theft of valuables and Electronic/Techno Pack Equipment (as defined in the policy, eg. money, jewellery, camera equipment, electronic equipment etc) is not covered unless from a locked room or building. If you have to leave your vehicle unattended overnight, remove your belongings and take them in to the building you are staying in. On outward or return journeys, if you stay in a motel on an overnight trip, we do not expect you to unload the whole car but any valuables should be removed.

As from vehicles and tents, if at all possible, you should lock unused equipment in your car. If this is not possible, cover is not excluded but the problem with police reports is an ever present reality. Keep an eye on your equipment at all times and do not leave it unattended if at all possible.

Yes, your ski equipment is covered if you leave it outside a restaurant/bar whilst you stop for a break. If you leave your skis outside, unattended and unlocked overnight, you may not have your claim paid. It is advisable to use ski locker rooms at your accommodation. Do not leave skis unattended in public areas for extended periods of time without locking them away. A useful loss prevention measure is to split your skis with another member of your group to deter theft. Report thefts to the police immediately.

All Snowcard policy levels include £2 million personal liability (also called third party liability) cover as standard.

Personal liability cover is included under the Medical and Accident Expenses section of cover. Confirmation is provided on your insurance policy schedule issued when you purchase your insurance.

Electronic/Techno Pack equipment, as defined here: see definitions, is covered upto the amount specified on your Insurance Schedule. High value items should be insured separately under a home contents insurance. Theft of unattended electronic/techno pack equipment is excluded, see Small print – Personal belongings and equipment for cover limitations.

https://www.snowcard.co.uk/content/mountain-biking-categories

Adventure Plus -

Cross-country cycling is defined by the terrain on which it is performed. Cross-country courses and trails consist of a mix of rough forest paths, single or double tracks, smooth fire roads, and even paved paths connecting trails together. Cross-country trails are deemed "easy" or "intermediate" and rely more on physical prowess than technical ability.

Max Adventure -

Trail riding mountain bikes are typically ridden on mountain trails, fire roads, logging roads, and other unpaved trails. These types of terrain commonly include rocks, washouts, ruts, loose sand, loose gravel, roots, and steep slopes or ski runs, sometimes accessed using ski lifts.

Extreme Adventure -

Trail riding above 3000m

Pro Adventure -

Enduro in its most basic definition is a type of mountain bike race where the downhills are timed, and the uphills are mandatory but not timed. Riders are timed in stages that are primarily downhill, with neutral "transfer" stages in between. The transfer stages usually must be completed within a time-limit, but are not part of the accumulated time.

Downhill mountain biking (DH) is a genre of mountain biking practiced on steep, rough terrain that often features jumps, drops, rock gardens and other obstacles.

Freeride is a discipline of mountain biking closely related to downhill mountain biking, dirt jumping and freestyle BMX. The focus is on tricks, style, and technical trail features.
Please note: e-biking is treated the same as above providing the e-bike is used as per the manufacturers specification and has not been modified. e biking e bikes e-bikes

It is a general condition of cover that you follow FCO or government advice, which is available from www.fco.gov.uk
If FCO advice is that ‘they advise against all travel’ or ‘they advise against all but essential travel’ then you will not be covered for claims directly or indirectly connected to the reason for the FCO advice.
Where caution is advised, you must follow more specific suggestions like using the services of professional guides or local agents.
The FCO often advise against travel to certain areas in a country that they otherwise do not advise against all travel to. Please ensure that you have read the FCO advice and you understand these restrictions prior to travel. If in doubt, you should contact the British Embassy at your intended destination for advice.
In the event that it becomes too dangerous to visit a country you have booked to go to, in the first instance you must seek either a refund or an alternative holiday from your tour operator. It is normal that where it becomes impossible to provide travel services because of hostilities or negative FCO advice that tour operators provide such assistance.
Where you make independent travel arrangements or book directly with service providers overseas, you may not have such protection and it is advisable to use a tour operator where there is a higher than normal risk of terrorist activity interfering with your journey.

• You must always take proper care of your belongings and not leave things, particularly valuables, unattended. Leaving something behind is not covered.
• Valuables like cameras, jewellery, money (see definitions) are not covered when unattended except in locked accommodation.
• Fragile items are not covered against accidental damage.
• For equipment, we specifically exclude damage whilst being used for racing or competition.
• Damage in use of mountain bikes and cracking, scratching and denting of canoes or kayaks in use are not covered.

• The health statement is relevant to the cancellation section as well as to the medical expenses section.
• You will need a doctor’s certificate to make a cancellation claim.
• Familiarise yourself with the definition of a close relative.
• We do not cover the financial failure of your travel agent, tour operator or airline.
• Ensure you only book travel services with a company holding a bond to protect your money.
• If you have to cut short a trip, you must seek agreement with Assistance International before making return home arrangements.

Insurers usually ask you to pay the first part of a claim to keep claims administration costs down. The excess is per person claiming under each section of the policy. If you make multiple claims under different sections, the excess will apply to each section as specified in the policy wording. When you order your policy, you can select your own excess from zero to £250.

Off piste skiing is any skiing or snowboarding activity away from marked and controlled slopes. However, ski touring is a ski journey that includes the use of skins, sometimes ropes or crampons for safety but ascents of peaks that are walking ascents that do not include technical mountaineering in the climbing or alpinism style of ascent. Often the terms 'ski touring' and 'ski mountaineering' are used interchangeably but from the insurance perspective, we differentiate 'touring' from 'mountaineering' because technical alpine ascents that combine climbing with ski touring approaches present higher underwriting risks. The ski mountaineering option should therefore be used if you are engaged in alpinism, technical alpine ascents, in winter conditions where you are using traditional ski touring travel to approach your climbs.
Note: snowboarding and split boarding are included within these definitions if accessing back country areas outside of normal resort boundaries.