Types of Ski Insurance

We encourage all students to take out medical insurance for the full duration of the course which covers them for skiing and ski instructor training. On top of this insurance, we also recommend that they have:

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). With this you will benefit from the reciprocal health care arrangements which exist between countries within the EU/EEA or Switzerland.
Carte Neige (French) / Snow Assist (Swiss). This is available to buy in resort and costs around £40 – £50 for the whole season. This insurance covers you for the cost of mountain search and rescue on and off-piste. We can help you to buy this when you arrive in resort (this insurance actually donates 50% of its profits to local sports clubs which help to train the local children in mountain sports, so you’re supporting your local area when you buy).

What to look for when purchasing your insurance

When choosing your insurance for your ski instructor course always read the small print and make sure you know what is and isn’t covered by your policy. We recommend that you check that your insurance will cover you for the following:

Emergency medical cover but also you may want to consider that it covers non-emergency medical costs too. (In particular, physiotherapy sessions). Often, minor injuries require physiotherapy treatment before you can start skiing again. These are very important to your fast recovery to get you skiing again and joining in the course again and if your insurance company does not cover these costs then this can become very expensive.

Curtailment of the course (compensation for if your trip is cancelled or cut short). When considering curtailment cover you should find out for which situations they will reimburse you. Most curtailment packages will reimburse you if it is medically necessary for you to return home. But will they reimburse you if you are injured and cannot ski for the rest of the course, yet it is not medically necessary for you to be sent home for treatment?

Also, what will they reimburse you for? Some will just cover flights and accommodation but will they reimburse you for course fees too (which consists of BASI exam fees, New Generation training fees, cost of lift pass)?

Mountain Rescue – If you were to be injured whilst skiing and rescued by a ski patroller in a toboggan, the cost is normally around £500 and a lot more by helicopter! You should check that this cost is covered and what the excess is (if there is one). If your insurance does not cover this or has a high excess then make sure that you buy the Carte Neige/Snow Assist in resort as described above.

Off-piste skiing. If your insurance policy covers you for this whilst skiing with an instructor or guide then this is all you will strictly need for the course. However, if you are likely to ski off-piste in your own time then you should consider that you may be doing this with friends and not a guide or instructor and should make sure that you are covered. The ‘carte neige’ will still cover you for rescue from the mountain if you are off-piste without a guide and your EHIC card may cover some of the medical costs should you need hospitalisation but please be aware that these two may not cover all associated costs.

You may also wish to insure your ski equipment such as skis and boots. These can cost a lot and if they were to break or get stolen you would need to be able to buy replacements as soon as possible to continue with the course.

Which companies have our students used in the past?

This is not an exhaustive list as we are not specialists in insurance. These are just some points that through experience we have found would have been good to find out at the time of buying the insurance. We do not specifically recommend anyone insurance as we are not experts in this field. But if you don’t know where to start looking then these are some companies that our students have used in the past:

Please remember to check the small print, ask the above questions and know what you are and are not covered for before you pay!

*With A Plan, it’s not possible to book cover for a ski instructor course on their website, so you must call them at +44 1252 728316 to get a quote.

Im not sure yet if I will be going home straight after the course, what duration should my insurance cover?

Many students choose to stay on in resort after your course has finished to make the most of their season’s lift pass. Other students will end up working for Interski in Italy for 1 to 4 weeks after the course. With either situation it is important to make sure that you insurance covers you for the full duration of your stay. To be safe, if you are not 100% sure when you will return home it is worth you purchasing insurance that will cover you until the end of the winter season as it can be hard for you to extend the duration once you are outside of the UK.

How much will my insurance cover cost?

The cost of insurance varied with each insurance company that you contact and the price will depend on the level of cover that you take out. Having chatted to a few students about the insurance they purchased £300 – £400 seemed to be the average amount paid.

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Get more information

Becoming a ski instructor may seem a daunting task and the variety of courses available certainly does not make it any easier, but here at New Generation we have over 10 years experience of running ski instructor training courses and during that time we have come across most situations, problems and variables.

We are available 7 days a week and will be able to guide you through all steps of the BASI system, at every level. So contact us today and find out more.

Note: If you contact us regarding a specific course we can also send you a full brochure, so don’t forget to enter your address details.

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