Ski and mountain biking insurance recommendations, annual policy

Was a dog tag repeat customer for years, with a full family worldwide policy covering biking & winter sports. Two years ago they got really expensive so I ditched them. Then last year they were ok, but this year they wanted £1300 for us af renewal time  30 seconds on meerkat & I picked up a virgin money policy that appears to do everything the dogtag one did but for £280.

Will take a look. Thanks

@mrl

Also check out M&S Travel Insurance, based on my experience today I would definitely recommend them.

Paid about £300 for annual cover for the whole family including winter sports.

I was in Austria last week and my youngest daughter had an accident skiing which was extremely stressful!

I just called their claims line and have to say I am very impressed. They were super helpful and talked me through the whole process. They already settled the smaller expenses which I paid for myself, and the hospital bill (likely to be thousands) they will settle directly. No quibbles, everything covered, person I spoke to was very knowledgeable, kind and helpful.

Sorry you had to use it, but a positive recommendation. Thanks

Just be careful that they cover you for what you need. I don't know the details of what you do but I find it impossible to cover all our insurance needs.

This year I think I paid around £500 but had to tell the kids they weren't allowed in the boarder cross area at all at Christmas.

Interested, have never managed to find a single policy that covers unguided off piste (even noddy side piste) and mtb (with wording that doesn’t imply that it excludes anything beyond a forest track).

Interested, have never managed to find a single policy that covers unguided off piste (even noddy side piste) and mtb (with wording that doesn’t imply that it excludes anything beyond a forest track)

This has piqued my interest too. In the past on month long trips I have had BMC cover for offpiste ski mountaineering (unguided), and i thought (but could be wrong) that mtb was covered although it wasnt of interest on a ski trip. However I never did a years cover as it didnt work financially for me, so I cant be certain if it was included in that

edit I just checked the bmc site, they quoted me 290 for a year, max 45 day trip at a time. Full off piste unguided, touring/mountaineering. Mtb cover excluding downhill and comp. Also WW kayaking!

you need to be a member too, so another 40 quid i think

I dont know if its good value or not, but it does cover every thing I could contemplate doing in a mountain environment. Plus when I have dealt with them they clearly understand what you are doing in terms of activities and where it sits in their range of policies.

Looks like m&s don't cover off piste without a guide and mountain biking only on eat to moderate graded trails.

Virgin looks good, policy wording below.

Mountain Biking (recreational including general cross country and off road cycling)

Skiing Off-piste within the resort boundaries but excluding Terrain Parks

Skiing Off-piste within the resort boundaries

Hmmmmm. Sounds a bit 'murcan to me.

Is an odd definition but similar to the carre neige definition of lift accessible off piste.

Yep you're right the M&S policy doesn't cover off piste but that's way beyond our level anyway!

For cycling I quizzed the guy on the phone when I took out the policy and he basically said it would cover anything up to a red trail, or equivalent ungraded trail (he had a definition which he read out to me). I was going riding in Mallorca so wanted to know I'd be covered.

There's a few other exclusions to watch out for though.

Bonus tip - I have found chatgpt really good for deciphering insurance documents. Just upload the files and it'll interpret all the small print for you.