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Buying ski insurance has got to be the
least fascinating part of doing a season – forking out yet more
money (quite a lot of money), and on something very boring and which
obviously you’ll never need (fingers crossed).
So why not just roll up at the lift office and buy Carte Neige for
a mere 35€? Covers everything including off-piste doesn’t it?
Well, not exactly! Season worker, Christa Jackson, brings us up
to date with the real story regarding insurance cover and Carte
Neige:
‘Over the past few seasons I’ve seen several people come unstuck
with Carte Neige, mainly because they bought it because it was cheap
and didn’t understand what it covers and how it works. So here’s
a basic users’ guide…’
What it covers:
Carte Neige covers you for transport off the mountain, either on
or off piste. If you show your card to the pisteurs they will take
the policy number and their costs will be met by the insurance –
you have no further involvement.
They then drop you off at the doctor’s surgery in resort. At this
point, your Carte Neige is of no help to you at all. Carte Neige
is not a full insurance policy – it’s a top-up cover designed to
act in tandem with your state or private health insurance. It will
reimburse only those costs not covered by your main insurance.
How it works:
The treating doctor will want to see your NHS documents (E101/E111)
or a valid private insurance. He will probably charge you for treatment,
and you will then have to claim this amount back from the DSS or
your insurance company. If you need to go to hospital, they will
also need to see your documents, though hospitals will usually reclaim
costs themselves rather than asking you for payment. However, your
NHS cover doesn’t always entitle you to 100% of the cost of treatment,
so if that’s what you’re using, you might still have to stump up
a bit of cash.
This is where your Carte Neige comes in again – it will cover anything
the NHS doesn’t, and any excess if you’re using private health insurance.
But remember that they won’t pay until they see receipts for everything
you’ve spent, as well as proof of the amount which the NHS or your
insurance company has reimbursed. Lots of paperwork! In practice,
this means that you could end up out of pocket for several months,
since you have to wait until the DSS/insurance company processes
your claim before you can send anything to Carte Neige.
What to do when you ski or board into a tree:
Show the pisteurs your Carte Neige – they will then dump you at
the medical centre.
Fill in the Carte Neige initial claim form (you will be given one
when you buy the card) and send it to their address in Grenoble.
You MUST do this within seven days of your accident or your claim
will be void.
Give the doctor/hospital your insurance documents, get your treatment
etc. Get receipts for everything you have to spend and keep all
the documents you get from the doctor/pharmacist. Send a claim off
to the DSS/your insurance company.
Once you have been paid, send your claim to Carte Neige along with
any outstanding receipts and proof of the amount you have already
been reimbursed.
Common pitfalls:
Q: I’ve been off-piste – I’ll use Carte Neige to get off the
mountain and then use my company-provided ski insurance.
A: Watch out! Some employers do not provide
insurance which covers you for accidents off-piste, and they certainly
won’t cover you for any accidents ‘out of bounds’.
Q: I couldn’t afford wintersports insurance – I’ll use Carte
Neige to get off the mountain and then use my health insurance.
A: No you won’t. If your employer hasn’t provided specific wintersports
insurance, their policy will exclude injuries suffered while skiing
or boarding. Back to the NHS again, I’m afraid. If you’re travelling
on your parents’ private policy, you need to check before you go
that it covers wintersports.
Q: I didn’t realise I had to get my claim in within seven days:
A: Bummer. That’s just cost you money.
There’s nothing wrong with Carte Neige insurance, but it’s designed
only to get you off the mountain and drop you into the local health
care system. This is all very well if you’re a part of that system
(ie if you have a French social security number), but if you aren’t,
then you will have a million forms to fill out, a lot of shouting
at jobsworth bureaucrats to do, and possibly some bills to pay.
And do you really need all this when you’re in a cast, in pain and
having trouble dressing yourself, let alone anything else?
If you’re on a French contract and in the system, by all means go
with Carte Neige – it’s universally recognised and the pisteurs
are happy to accept it. But if you’re bumming it or working for
a UK tour op it’s worth forking out for full insurance – you can
then lie on your hospital bed taking morphine and drinking tea while
someone else deals with the paperwork.
Make sure you’re covered…
Seasonal Insurance/Gap Year Insurance - Anyone heading out
without a job or wanting to top up your employer insurance (make
sure you check the details of what is included in any policy offered
by your employer), must get seasonal insurance. Ski
Insurance have a small price advantage, but you might like the
idea of having a DogTag
with you at all times as proof of insurance, particularly when travelling
on a Gap year.
Annual and Weekly Insurance - Experienced and regular riders
should get an Annual Policy, which offers anything from 17 days'
ski/board cover a year. Again Annual
Insurance has a price advantage, but DogTag
looks better off the slopes!
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