faq
Adventure Basic policies cover up to 4 weeks of Nordic cross country skiing only, that is langlauf style cross country skiing on marked resort trails (not back country ski touring).
Adventure Plus and Max Adventure policies cover up to 4 weeks of winter sports holidays.
These policies are intended for persons who go on no more than 4 weeks of winter sports holidays a year. The ‘4 weeks’ does not refer to the number of days skiing but the travelling time on a winter sports holiday. A week’s winter sports travel will span two weekends, usually travelling Friday or Saturday to the following Saturday or Sunday. This in practice involves 7, 8, 9 or even 10 days of travel but for the avoidance of doubt we count this weekend to weekend travel pattern as being ‘one week’ of winter sports travel. The same principle applies to 2, 3 or 4 week holidays and holidays that start mid-week.
Weekend winter sports trips are normally of 3, 4 or 5 days in duration, e.g. Wednesday or Thursday to Sunday (or similar time spans). For the avoidance of doubt, we count two weekend trips as being equal to one week of winter sports holidays.
If you are going on a two or three week trip but only one week includes winter sports activity, we will just count that as being one week of the policy entitlement. If you are only skiing for one or two days on a week or longer trip, we will count that as being one weekend of winter sports activity.
In the event of a claim we might require evidence of your winter sports activity and might ask you for your ski pass as such evidence.
If you ski for more than 4 weeks in a policy year, you must take the Extreme Adventure policy, which does not limit the number of winter sports holidays although there is a 31 day single trip limit which can be extended up to 90 days. The maximum number of winter sports days in any 12 month period is 90 days.
A number of insurance companies have started to impose a higher excess for helicopter rescue in Nepal. This is because there are a number of unscrupulous private operators in the region who have been successfully defrauding insurance companies around the globe. This has resulted in insurers being asked to pay for helicopter rides as if they are a taxi service where there is no medical need for an evacuation. The UK insurance market has reacted to this by either imposing higher excess charges or increasing insurance premiums. At the time of writing, Snowcard Insurance and their underwriters are NOT imposing higher excess charges for helicopter evacuation above the excess you choose when you set up your policy. We continue to monitor the situation and in partnership with our agents in Nepal we are ensuring we only pay for valid claims where there is a medical need for a helicopter evacuation. There have been reports of insurers withdrawing cover but we do not have any reason at this time to make any rash decisions and will endeavour to maintain the levels of service and cover that our clients have come to expect. If there are any changes to the excess applicable to helicopter rescue in Nepal, these will be made public before any policy is sold and will not be retrospectively applied to existing policies. September 2018
For specialist expeditions which are self organised, or exploratory or part of a research project, we will not provide cover unless a full submission regarding the expedition organisation has been agreed by the insurers. We do not normally agree cover for specialist expeditions which are not recreational adventure holidays and normally refer proposals to the insurers of the appropriate organisation or governing sports body.
e-biking is treated the same as non-powered bikes providing the e-bike is used as per the manufacturers specification and has not been modified.
e biking e bikes e-bikes
A travel policy will cover emergency medical expenses following a road traffic accident but will not cover damage to a hire car or third party liability for damage to other cars.
If you hire a car abroad, you should speak with the car hire company about insurance options in the country you are visiting.
SKI RACING - there is no cover for ski race training and competitions for any formal teams, squads or national bodies or professional level events. Organised amateur ski races forming part of a recreational winter sports holiday are coveerd by the Pro Adventure activity level. This does not affect end of week ski school races forming part of a normal package winter sports holiday with ski lessons which are covered by Adventure Plus and above.
No. If you call the 24 hour emergency number on your Snowcard, Assistance International will guarantee and arrange to pay your bills for you. For smaller amounts which you have paid yourself, simply call the claims number (0345 122 3280) on your return to the UK and ask for the appropriate claim form.
No. You only need to call if your single trip is likely to exceed your selected trip limit or you need a higher level policy.
For policies issued after 6 November 2020 Snowcard provides cover for certain claims for Covid-19 as detailed on https://www.snowcard.co.uk/content/coronavirus-covid-19-information
If you have a European Single Trip Policy and you are travelling against FCDO advice you will be covered for certain Covid19 risks as detailed on the above link. For worldwide travel and for annual multi trip policies, cover for Covid19 is only provided if you are travelling to a country the FCDO are advising it is safe to visit.
Please refer to this link https://www.snowcard.co.uk/content/cancellations-and-refunds
If because of the pandemic your destination country moves from the green list to the red list or the destination country refuses entry to UK travellers these are your options:
If your trip is postponed we would be able to reissue the policy for later dates. Within the 14 day cooling off period, if you don’t travel and do not make a claim you would get a full refund. Outside of the 14 day cooling off period, there is no refund of premium although as noted we can reissue the policy for later dates at no charge.