Is there anything more exciting than planning a ski season? We think not. Sorting out the insurance for your ski season – maybe not so vibey. You know you need it, but the jargon and overwhelming choice can be confusing. When it comes to asking “what insurance do I need for an instructor course?”, we can help.
Let’s look at it like this:
What kind of fun stuff do you want to do? Is it more than normal travel insurance covers?
How long do you want to do it for? Is it for longer than normal travel insurance covers?
On a ski instructor course or snowboard instructor course, that fun stuff includes: riding on and off piste and going in the park. But it may also include: larking about in snowtubes, on ice rinks, cross-country skis, toboggans, hiking and potentially even venturing out to a heliski trip. Basically, you need to check that anything you might want to do (on and off snow) will be covered by your insurance because, accidents can happen anywhere and you don’t want to let anything ruin your fun on the course.
The other thing that’s important to consider, for insurance for an instructor course, is that you’re going to be there for a few months and want to be covered for all of them (even more if you’re travelling before and after).
Now, SnowSkool have to be careful when it comes to ‘recommending’ insurance policies, providers and advice. We have to tell you that nothing we say is final and you must be totally satisfied with the policy you choose and what it covers. However, we do want to help you navigate the confusing world of insurance, so we gave Chris at Big Cat Insurance a shout. Lots of SnowSkoolers in the past have used Big Cat, and Chris is actually a SnowSkool student himself – who could be better to help explain!
We pretended to be a wide-eyed, soon-to-be SnowSkooler and asked the following questions:
Are there any differences between ski holiday insurance and ski season insurance?
“It would depend on the specific travel insurance policy you were purchasing, generally speaking, many insurance policies will provide the option to cover for 'Winter sports' to some degree, ranging from activities such as Skiing, snowboarding, sledging, off-piste skiing, ski touring etc. However, you should always double check that your insurer would be happy to provide cover whilst doing a ski season, often advertised as 'seasonnaire insurance'. One other important thing to consider is the duration of your trip, many insurance policies have limits of 30 / 70 days per trip which obviously would not be suitable for a Ski season spanning 4/5 months, but may be suitable for a smaller ski holiday. So, ensuring that you find a policy offering coverage for an extended duration outside of the UK as one trip is vital, often called 'Single trip policies'.”
Is there anything specific for an instructor course I will need my policy to cover?
“The most common aspects of cover you should be looking for in an insurance policy when doing a Ski instructor course would be things such as, Emergency medical expenses (including Helicopter rescue / Mountain rescue & Repatriation) in the event of an accident or injury whilst on the slopes. Cancellation / Curtailment, should you have to cancel your trip before you leave due to something such as an injury, family member falling seriously ill at home, contracting covid-19 etc. We are all aware that Ski instructor courses cost a pretty penny, so being adequately covered for the cost of your course in the event something was to go wrong before you leave is important. Additionally, if you were to have an accident half way through your course, meaning that you missed out on a portion of the pre-paid course, having cover for this is also useful (typically called Curtailment). Most importantly, make sure that you have included Winter sports coverage onto your policy!”
Can I add extra cover mid-way through my instructor course? For example, if I decided to do a heli-ski trip.
“This would depend on the policy that you had purchased, some insurance policies allow for amendments / additions to be made after purchase and others do not, so again something you should make sure to ascertain before purchase. Some policies (such as Big Cat Travel Insurance) offer Heli Skiing as part of their Winter Sports add-on, so everything is covered from the start and no need to make changes later on.”
I want to travel before/after the course - could I get insurance that covers both?
“Yes, many policies will offer a policy that provides flexible coverage and permits travel to other countries before/ after your course, again this would typically fall under a 'single trip policy', so make sure to select the appropriate area of cover (to include places you may wish to travel after the course) and select a suitable duration which is slightly longer than the duration of your course to cover travel afterwards. It is also worth noting, some policies offer the option to 'extend' your coverage whilst abroad (such as Big Cat) so you can always wait until you have finished your course and decided your subsequent travel plans before extending.”
How far in advance of my course should I get insurance sorted?
“Generally speaking, purchasing a policy after you have paid your deposit for your course is advised so that you are covered if you have to cancel your trip before you leave and cannot claim back the costs of the course from the course provider. *Make sure to clearly read through your policies cancellation section of cover to get an idea of what kind of circumstances would be covered, also note that cancellation cover does not always come included automatically and an additional premium may be required in order to cover a large cost such as that of a Ski instructor course.”
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Ready to book a ski instructor course or snowboard instructor course?!
Give us a call if you'd like to do it over the phone, alternatively, you can book via the booking form link on the course page. If you'd like more info, you can request one of our brochures via this page and we'll send it over.
If you have worries, questions or special requests - drop us a messge here!