While it’s easy to get wrapped up in the moment and focus on choosing the exciting things like your destination and course of choice, don’t forget winter sports insurance. We want you to have fun and rip up the slopes like nobody’s business, but if you get injured and have to cancel your course early, insurance can protect your course and trip costs. Plan ahead, do not leave getting insurance last minute!
Use the helpful information provided on this place to start your research and help your winter plans come together in harmony with ensuring that you have the best policy in place to suit your individual needs. *There are others many other insurance providers out there that may be just as suitable for your winter program so please be sure to do your research and compare what is best for you.
Basecamp cannot legally provide any recommendations towards specific insurance policies or assist in guiding you to what is best for your course or situation. It is your responsibility to ensure you are covered with the best policy for what you’ll be getting up to. Please take time to research, compare and educate yourself on what is and is not included so that you can relax knowing you have made the right decision for your winter insurance coverage.
Trailfinders Travel Insurance
Up to £10 million medical expenses and repatriation (with 365/24/7 emergency assistance), including COVID-19 cover
Up to £5,000pp cancellation cover, with option to extend up to £20,000pp, including COVID-19 cover
Extensive COVID-19 cover (including cancellation before travel, if your trip is cut short, quarantined cover before and during travel if instructed to isolate, and medical expenses)
21-day no-quibble cooling off period
All children up to 21 years* are included free of charge
Wide range of adventurous activities included at no additional charge
Easy to understand and simple to book
Sympathetic and personal approach to the handling of claims
Please make sure that your cancellation/curtailment winter sports insurance cover is appropriate for your course fees. If it isn’t, you can top it up.
* Children aged 19–21 must be in full time education.
JS Travel Insurance
Jade Stanley Insurance has issued policies to over 750,000 customers and continues to offer first class customer service. They aim to provide instant cover but at the same time provide full details of the policies available and the highest level of customer service.
Whether you’re looking for a single-trip, multi-trip or backpackers type policy Big Cat have you covered.
Big Cat even offer a specialist IEC Travel Insurance policy to cover those heading to Canada on a 2yr IEC Visa.
Big Cat’s Winter Sports Extension provides great-value cover for those wishing to make the most of the snow. As well as standard skiing and snowboarding, you’ll be covered for cat skiing, snow skiing, cross-country skiing, off-piste skiing / snowboarding, and snowmobiling.
The True Traveller was set up in 2010 by three travellers who first met each other when they all worked for a very well-known travel company in Earls Court, London in the late 1980’s. All three eventually went their separate ways but came back together to set up The True Traveller which was again a travel company specialising in adventure holidays.
At the time of setting up the holiday company, they knew the importance of having really good insurance, as if you’re travelling to Mera Peak in Nepal or travelling overland through Africa, your average high street insurance may not be sufficient. So, as well as doing the adventure holidays, they also set up their own insurance scheme.
So, essentially, we’re travel people who just happen now to be insurance people, but we think of ourselves as travellers. That’s why we called the company The True Traveller, and that’s why our strapline is “Travel Insurance designed by travellers”.
MPI Brokers is a leading winter sports insurance provider, on or off-piste. You can get covered from 3 days to 12 months whether you’re a skier or snowboarder.
“We understand the implications of skiing off-piste (intentionally or unwittingly) and therefore do not exclude off-piste skiing. More details about this can be found in our policy wording.
We also appreciate certain actions cannot really be avoided, such as leaving your skis/boards outside a mountain restaurant, or sneaking through a snowpark for a quick jump. Therefore there are no exclusions regarding snowparks or loss of skis up a mountain.”
Key policy features
Single trip, seasonaire, annual multi trip, and long stay options
A choice of three packages
COVID-19 cover available
Emergency medical expenses up to £5 million
24-hour emergency medical assistance incl. repatriation
24 hour claims line
Mountain rescue (including by helicopter)
Local ski racing (including inferno, junior training, and masters)
Off-piste skiing or snowboarding (with or without a guide)
Snowpark cover
Skis left outside a mountain restaurant
Personal liability (including voluntary ski hosting)
Working cover under seasonaire and long stay policies
Getting covered with EV/ERGO is easy. Just follow these three easy steps:
1) Select base cover: Red or Black cover for both Single Trip or Annual Multi Trip policies. With Black, you can increase your cancellation cover to your course fees.
2) Select product level: Rookie, Adventurer, or Pro. Both Red and Black base covers protect you with the Rookie level. You can also upgrade to Adventure or Pro if you think it would be the most appropriate choice.
Rookie level: ideal for those planning on cruising the groomers and perfecting those carved turns.
Adventurer level: ideal for off-piste skiing (we understand that off-piste skiing is the epitome of adventure for most snow sports enthusiasts).
Pro level: ideal for the experienced skiers who are planning on tearing up the back country solo. Our pro level winter sports insurance covers back country touring, heli-skiing, cat skiing, and now park and pipe.
Heading for fresh white snow on the slopes this winter? Then specialist winter sports insurance is essential.
Basecamp has partnered up with World Nomads Travel Insurance to offer you a tailored Explorer Policy for peace of mind on your out of world experience. Protect yourself with specialist ski cover during your ski season if you get injured or need to end your course early.
Austrian Alpine Club (UK)
Members insurance
As well as travel insurance, it is a smart idea to join the Austrian Alpine Club (Österreichischer Alpenverein) to experience additional benefits.
The Austrian Alpine Club provides winter sports insurance cover for those needing rescue services from an accident. These policies cover repatriation, transfer, and medical treatment costs worldwide – not just Austria. It is worth noting that third-party insurance and criminal law legal protection insurance are restricted to Europe (see AWS document for Europe definition). Austrian Alpine Club insurance provider is Generali Versicherung AG.
This is members insurance, not travel insurance. Discover whether you need to take out additional insurance with the AWS document.
Sums insured
Rescue Costs (in one’s country of main place of residence and abroad) up to €25,000, per person and claim. Year-round, worldwide, during leisure time.
Repatriation (without cost limitation) and medical treatment costs abroad (up to €10,000 per person and claim).
European third-party liability insurance up to €3,000,000, year-round. Europe-wide.
European criminal law legal protection insurance up to €35,000, year-round. Europe-wide.
European damage compensation legal protection for damage compensation claims after accidents involving personal injury to max. €500 per insured event.
Mountain rescue services are not free and are charged to the injured party.
Snowrisk is available at the ski lift sales desks of partner resorts, in some French ski schools, and gives you all the insurance coverage and assistance that you will need to practise your sports with total peace of mind.
NB. This insurance directly covers all search and rescue fees and repatriation for medical treatment. Depending on the insurance options that you have selected, your insurance will cover cancellation (subscription in advance of the trip) and you will be reimbursed for the price of your ski lift pass or your Nordic access pass and any French ski school (ESF) lessons that you have booked and paid for in advance. The insurance will also cover any case where your trip is cut short due to an accident, illness (with hospitalisation), and you will be reimbursed for the price of your ski lift pass or your Nordic access pass and any ski lessons on a prorata temporis basis in relation to the days missed.
