WHICH TRAVEL INSURANCE SHOULD YOU HAVE AS A SKI INSTRUCTOR AND WHAT SHOULD IT COVER?
When you travel with Snowminds, it is a requirement that you have travel insurance.
We know that you have probably been on a ski holiday many times before and that the insurance is usually in order – but now it’s not just a week of holiday you are going on – you are going on a whole season where you are living and working for several months. Most often, private insurance does not provide adequate coverage for the entire travel period, which in recent years has resulted in large expenses for some travellers. There may also be a difference in what insurance you should have when you live and work in another country and are not just on a ski holiday. The legislation regarding health and travel insurance also varies from country to country – so make sure to talk to an insurance company that will give you insurance that covers your entire season and for travelling after the season if that is something you are looking into as well.
When you are on a season, you almost ski and snowboard every day! And it is not uncommon that an instructor will hit a rock or tree stump and make a scratch in their snowboard or lose a ski in the off-piste. It is therefore important that your insurance covers these extra needs – because you can not do your work without your skis or snowboard. You should also find out what precautions you need to take to ensure that your ski or snowboard equipment is covered if, for example, they are stolen outside a mountain restaurant or from your home.
Skiing and snowboarding can be dangerous and you can get into serious accidents, which are often associated with high costs of treatment or rescue. Unfortunately, we experience every year that there are instructors who get injured and need professional help. A broken collarbone or a broken cruciate ligament are frequent injuries for skiers and snowboarders, which can quickly become expensive without the right insurance.
When confirming the insurance, it is a good idea to check if it covers all winter sports, e.g. tubing, climbing or heli-skiing? There are lots of fun activities you might want to try on your season.
BEFORE THE TRAVEL – CANCELLATION INSURANCE
When booking a trip, it is always a good idea to have some financial security in case something gets in the way. This of course applies when you book an experience with Snowminds, as it is longer trips with a lot of content that involves a relatively higher price than the typical trip. Even a well-planned experience can be thwarted by a sudden and unexpected injury or illness in the family. Therefore, we recommend having cancellation insurance so that you are covered in the event of an accident or if you cannot go anymore due to an injury.
It is a good idea to first check if you have cancellation insurance in your private family insurance, which covers the type of trip you are going on and that it covers up to the amount the trip costs. It is typically cheaper if you have one of these compared to if you have to buy what is called a “single cancellation insurance”, which we offer – and is cancellation insurance that covers that single trip.
At Snowminds, we have a partnership with Europæiske ERV travel insurance which offers cancellation insurance with coverage that matches what you need on a Snowminds experience. This insurance costs 6.25% of the price for the trip and we offer it for 6%, which means that on a trip to Canada on our 3-week course for the price of 7.495 Euros cancellation insurance will cost 450 Euros. You can read a little more about what it covers here.
If you do not have cancellation insurance already, then it is a good idea to buy this, as we, unfortunately, every year see new coming instructors getting injured shortly before departure, and will not be able to go get their money back as they have not prioritized getting the cancellation insurance.
HERE ARE SOME THINGS YOU SHOULD BE AWARE OF IN RELATION TO YOUR TRAVEL INSURANCE
Coverage:
When you are abroad, it is important that you know the rules of the country you are in regarding medical coverage.
This means that you have to find out if it costs money to go to the hospital in the country or if it is free. This is important in relation to if you (hopefully not) should get injured or get sick. Your insurance must cover the expenses of doctor visits or similar. We know a lot about this at Snowminds, so if you are in doubt about it, please just write an email or give us a call.
Help from ski patrol:
Should you be that unfortunate that you would come across an accident on the mountain and ski patrol must be contacted, then it can become an expensive affair if it is not covered by your lift pass or insurance. Therefore, one should always have this part covered by his/her insurance. Especially if you plan to go off-piste, as many of our instructors do and can become very expensive if you would need helicopter rescue or other special rescues.
The length of your travel insurance:
When you choose to go on a season, it often ends in a stay of over 5 months. Of course, it is important that you are covered throughout your stay. Most normal travel insurances do not cover longer stays, especially not with work involved. That is why it is important that you find insurance that suits your needs.
Equipment:
It is important that you get the equipment you bring with you on your season covered. You can risk someone taking your skis after a trip on après ski. Of course, this will always be a pity, but it might help a little if your skis are insured. In addition, it is always a good idea to have a ski lock. If you do not know where to get one, we can easily help you in our Snowminds store.
Other activities:
Many of our instructors simply get so excited about the mountain life during a season and they find out that there are so many other cool activities you can do in the mountains. It can be anything from climbing mountains, touring or tobogganing. Like so many other activities in nature, this can, unfortunately, cause unforeseen damage. That is why it is important that you are insured against these sports too!
Let’s just summarize:
When getting travel insurance, you must research the following:
1) That it covers your entire season and your travelling period afterwards (if travelling).
2) That it covers extreme sports, such as skiing, off-piste and other extreme sports.
3) That it covers the extra needs you want to be covered such as luggage, sports equipment and travel accident.
For good reason, you might be thinking “Am I not insured through my employer/ski school?” And the answer to that is yes, but only to a certain degree.
When you work at the ski school, your ski school will typically take out travel insurance so that you are covered for liability and accidents during work. This insurance typically covers doctor visits and injuries, but not home transport, luggage, etc. It typically covers you when you are at work, but not during the course, on holidays, outside working hours and when your contract expires and if, for example, you want to stay longer in the resort or travel around. Therefore, it is important that you have good and comprehensive travel insurance which includes everything we have just mentioned.
You do not have to be afraid to have a dialogue with the insurance company to get it all under control!
MONEY BACK GUARANTEE – YOUR SECURITY WITH SNOWMINDS
Since Snowminds started in 2012, it has been our top priority for you to feel 100% safe while travelling with us – it still is!
Therefore, as a traveller, you will automatically be covered by the Snowminds Money Back Guarantee. This means that if your ski holiday or instructor course is cancelled by Snowminds before departure, for whatever reason, you can freely choose one of the following options:
- Move your ski holiday or instructor course free of charge to a later date
- Attend another ski holiday or instructor course
- Receive a full refund of the trip
Our guarantee applies to all travellers whether you have already booked your ski trip or instructor course, or are considering booking a ski trip or instructor course. Thus, you can safely book your experience with Snowminds and look forward to a great time in the snow.
Below you can read more about the Money Back Guarantee and your security with Snowminds.
What if my trip is cancelled due to Covid-19?
If Snowminds cancel your trip due to Covid-19 (Coronavirus), our Money Back Guarantee also applies, ie. that you can freely choose either:
- Move your ski holiday or instructor course free of charge to a later date
- Attend another ski holiday or instructor course
- Receive a full refund of the trip
Are there any costs that are not covered by the guarantee?
With our Money Back Guarantee you get a full refund including the initial deposit for trips not started. If you have ordered products such as cancellation insurance, ski equipment, or language courses that have been received or already taken in use, then these are not covered by the refund.
For all further questions, we refer to our terms and conditions.
If you have any questions about our Guarantee or would like to book a ski holiday or an instructor course, you are always welcome to contact us.