It
is a condition of booking any of our trips,
that all clients have sufficient activities
insurance. This is to protect you in case
of any requirement for medical or hospital
treatment, mountain search and rescue.
We
highly recommend you get insurance immediately
having booked, and in case you have to cancel
or curtail your course due to injury or personal circumstances
either before or during your trip.
Once you've arranged insurance, within a week of being confirmed on your trip, e-mail a PDF copy of your insurance certificate to us, so we have a paper copy on record for you, in case you need it.
Documentary
proof of cover is provided at the course briefing.
It must be written in English, and specify
that it covers you for all the activites you
plan to undertake. Ensure you take this with
you.
At
all times when on the mountain, you should
carry your insurance card / details in a non-electronic
format, as
well as their contact details, in case any
emergency medical treatment or rescue is required.
Your
insurance documentation should specifically cover
you for all the following activities. If the policy does not clearly state
you are covered for these activities, you will not
be covered for them, and will be unable to undertake
any guiding. All of the policies must cover
you for mountain search and rescue, and medical
or hospital treatment, as well as in case of you
cancelling your course place.
Mountaineering:
e.g. Mont Blanc, Winter Intro, Matterhorn
Cover for; climbing with ropes, on glaciers,
over 4000m
Rock
climbing: e.g. Alpine Rock course
Cover for; climbing with ropes, on glaciers,
with guide
Expeditions:
e.g. Aconcagua, Kilimanjaro
Cover for; specific country, activity, altitude,
and rescue
Trekking:
e.g. Tour Mont Blanc, Walkers Haute Route
Cover for; hiking up to 3500m, non glaciated,
with guide
Via
Ferrata: e.g. Bochette Way, Intro Via
Ferrata
Cover for; climbing with ropes, with a guide
Snowshoeing:
e.g. Best of Mont Blanc, Italian Weekends
Cover for; snowshoeing off trails, up to
3500m, with guide
Off
Piste: e.g. Chamonix Off Piste, Vallee
Blanche, Verbier
Cover for; on glaciers, unmarked routes,
with ropes & guide
Ski
Touring: e.g. Haute Route, Monte Rosa,
Gran Paradiso
Cover for; on glaciers, ski mountaineering,
with ropes & guide
Heli-skiing:
e.g. Mont Blanc, Winter Intro, Matterhorn
Cover for; on glaciers, heli-skiing, with
guide, off piste
Trail
Running: e.g. Chamonix Trail Running,
UTMB recce
Cover for; hiking up to 3500m, non glaciated,
with guide
Fell
Running: e.g. Intro Fell Running, Lakes
Night Runner
Cover for; regular travel insurance for belongings
Personal
Training: e.g. UK based PT sessions
Cover for; regular travel insurance for belongings
Obtaining activities and travel insurance...
Note that we are not insurance brokers or agents, and receive no commission for any policy mentioned. This page contains links you may elect to investigate, but we cannot offer insurance advice.
Any of the links provided are not recommendations, but resources that you may find useful. The majority of the policies mentioned, have proved popular with our guests in the past.
The policies mentioned on this page, are not in any order, nor by recommendation. If you find alternative cover, please share the details with us, so we can add it to this resource for others.
Insurance companies are launching new products with some offering cover for potential COVID and / or FCO restrictions. Click on the logo on the left to see our COVID safety and travel policies, and insurance cover options.
If
you have travelled abroad without insurance or suitable
cover, you will not be able to undertake any guiding,
until such a time as you obtain cover. Generally
this will mean that you miss one or two days of
guiding as an absolute minimum. Please make life easy for yourself, and arrange
cover now!
To date we have never seen any bank or
credit card travel insurance that provides you cover
for mountaineering and glacier travel including
the use of ice axe and crampons, or for off piste
and ski touring that includes cover for skiing on
any glaciers.
BMC
Insurance
Snowcard
Insurance
Other
Insurers
American Alpine Club
Travelex
(US clients)
Insure4less
(Australia)
DogTag
insurance
Global
Rescue insurance
World Nomads insurance
Click
on logo above to book this insurance
Click
on logo above to book this insurance
'Alpine
& Ski' cover is suitable for all our
Alpine mountaineering trips including Mont
Blanc or Intro courses.
'Alpinist'
insurance is required for all our Alpine
climbing trips such as Mont Blanc or Alpine
Intro courses.
&
&
'Trek'
insurance is ideal for the Tour du Mont
Blanc, trail running and winter snowshoeing
trips.
'Trekker'
insurance is ideal for the Tour du Mont
Blanc, trail running and winter snowshoeing
trips.
'Alpine
& Ski' cover is suitable for all of
our off piste and ski touring trips including
Haute Route ski tour and all our Off Piste
courses.
Off
piste courses generally require 'Lift Served
Freeride' cover, and ski touring courses
should get 'Ski Mountaineering' cover.
£10
million medical and emergency expenses.
£100000 rescue and recovery. £1000
hospital inconvenience expenses. £10000
personal accident. £2 million personal
liability. £2000 personal belongings.
£5000 cancellation. £100 delayed
departure. £500 missed departure.
£25000 legal expenses or advice. £5000
curtailment of journey or trip. £500
catastrophe cover. £500 personal money.
£250 loss of passport. £1000
hijack.
£10
million: Emergency medical and other expenses
cover, including repatriation to the United
Kingdom. Up to £500: Physiotherapy
and dental treatment cover. Up to £250:
Early return home benefit. Up to £250:
Car hire return benefit. Up to £100,000:
Search & Rescue expenses. Up to £300:
Ski / Dive / Golf / activity Pack. Up to
£1000: Hospital benefit. Up to £25,000:
Personal Accident cover. Up to £2
million: Personal Liability cover
UK residents only.
UK residents only.
We specifically advise against policies such as Austrian Alpine Club, as we do not consider that it provides sufficient medical cover, and there is no provision for cancellation. It is your responsibility to ensure that you have sufficient cover in place from the time of booking. In over 20 years of operations, we've found the vast majority of insurance claims made by our guests, relate to occurances that have happened before the course started, which is why we advise you get insurance the moment you book.
The
details of the insurance policies detailed
above are correct as of the date of creation
of this page. You are responsible for checking
if they have changed, and for making sure
that you have suitable cover before travel.
There are other insurers who you may use.
We record the details of your insurance at
the course briefing, in case of emergency.
This does not signify us confirming that your
insurance will pay out in event of a claim,
but it is our record of you supplying insurance
which you deem covers you...
We
are not insurance agents, and so infortunately
cannot advise on the suitability or guarantee
of cover, of any activities insurance. If
you've any questions, please contact the insurers
direct. However, we have had experience of
people with suitable insurance making successful
insurance claims for their course and all
associated travel costs, for wide ranging
reasons including; injury to a knee before
the trip, getting pregnant, and family emergencies.
The insurance to suit you is out there. Get
it NOW!!!
UK trips - Lakes / Scotland
If you participate in a Lake District or Scottish Winter course, there is NO requirement for you to have activities insurance as mountain rescue and NHS medical care is free. Double check if you are travelling from abroad, to the UK, for one of these courses, as you might find that there is a limit to medical cover. We reiterate that UK residents don't need activities insurance for a UK based course, but you may already have extra cover through private healthcare plan, or via your bank / card insurance.
Pre-course ropework
If you wish to practise any ropework or knots before your trip, you can watch the video below, and for more skills and ropework, please visit our key safety knots & ropework page; click here.
A
key part of choosing a company is being able to come and
talk about your plans with an experienced course advisor
face to face. In an increasingly virtual world, we know
our clients value speaking to real people, getting open
and honest advice. The vast majority of our clients are
British, and our office and outdoor store is based in
Windermere in the English Lake District.
Get
in contact to arrange a meeting, and come in for a coffee
to discuss your course in person with a trip
advisor.
