Displaying items by tag: Ski Insurance

MPI Brokers heads to Morzine for the second of its six big ski event sponsorships this season – Snow-Camp's eighth annual Alpine Challenge.

The two-day charity snowsports endurance event helps raise funds for Snow-Camp's work among inner city young people. Teams of four aim to exceed 150km of skiing and reaching all 35 checkpoints across the 15 reasorts in the Portes de Soleil during the event.

If you choose to ski a closed run, are you still insured? This is a question that all skiers should consider before passing a sign like the one in the picture.

It is particularly pertinent in view of last winter's tragedy of a party of French schoolchildren being caught in an avalanche while skiing on a closed run.
The answer is usually in the conditions of the skier's policy. But beware – some insurers' conditions can be confusing. For example, below is an exclusion in a ski travel insurance policy, recently drawn to our attention:

‘... off piste activity undertaken against local authoritative advice.’

Closing a run technically makes it off piste, but off piste is neither open nor closed (unless it is an itinerant run). It therefore follows that skiing a closed run would breach the example above and the skier would be skiing it with no insurance.

In MPI’s view, this example places a restriction on a skier’s activity – and unless he was to read the policy wording and understand it he would be unware of the risk he was taking. In the event of an injury on a closed run the rescue services would still attend, but they might charge more – and the skier in this case would have to pay.

Leading ski journalist Peter Hardy (The Telegraph and We Love To Ski), writing after the French tragedy, says: "Skiing outside the patrolled area is not illegal in France. Entering a closed piste is the same as going off-piste. Any notice telling you that it is closed is advisory rather than mandatory. It’s a matter for the individual."

Michael Pettifer, Managing Director of MPI Brokers, says: "If you decide to ski a closed run think carefully of the consequences. Why is it closed? Are they blasting and is there an avalanche danger? Has it been pisted? Is the lift shut at the bottom? Is there a lack of snow – or is it just the end of the day?

"In the event of an incident you may have to justify your decision to ski the run. That said, here is an extract from MPI’s policy:

‘...... your deliberate exposure to unnecessary danger, except in an attempt to save human life or whilst participating in an activity covered by this insurance’
[in this case skiing]."

MPI Brokers Managing Director Michael Pettifer was interviewed by BBC Radio Solent in a follow-up to the 'no snow' report on today's The Times. Listen to the full interview.

When I started skiing the only people wearing helmets were ski racers. Tourist skiers simply didn’t need to, as speeds were some much lower.

The accompanying comments above from both Dr Alan Griffiths and Steve Wells are full of interesting facts and if you are a racer I urge you to read Steve’s more detailed article. I thank them both for their contributions.

One hundred and eighty young British skiers from 12 independent schools are heading for Les Deux Alpes this month for five days of intensive snowsport.

They are taking part in the Independent Schools Ski and Snowboard Championships (ISSSC) – and MPI Brokers will again be there as a sponsor of the annual event, from 14 to 20 December.

Event Director Linley Lewis says the number of participants is similar to last year’s figure, but the overall event is bigger as it has been extended from four to five days.

“The skiers will have two days’ training to fine-tune their technique before three days of competitive skiing, with a day each for giant slalom, individual slalom and parallel team slalom races,” he says.

The events are mixed and open to skiers aged from eight to 18, and many participants return several times during their schooldays.

Linley Lewis says: “It is great to see them developing as skiers, and as people. In addition to having a lot of fun, the experience helps set them up for many future years of enjoyable skiing – whether competitive or purely recreational.”

One former ISSSC participant, Sam Todd-Saunders – a five-times winner for Hurst College in Sussex – has gone on to become a FIS-recognised Alpine racer.

ISSSC was first staged in 2006 by the ski training organisation Basecamp – which, since 2010 has been part of Linley Lewis’s gap-year travel business, the Ticket to Ride Group.

“We were already in touch with MPI Brokers, through its sister company Mind The Gap Year. MPI is a leading provider of ski insurance, so it was logical to invite it to sponsor ISSSC,” he says.

MPI Managing Director Michael Pettifer who, like Linley Lewis, is a long-time keen skier, will also be on skis at ISSSC.

He says: “I first skied at nine and was fortunate to do a lot of skiing during my teens. It is good to see today’s youngsters getting expert help and the opportunity to practise their skills in a competitive environment. They will be well set up to enjoy the mountains through their adult lives, as I have.”

Recent comments on an online skiing forum suggest some skiers are unsure about how much time they can spend on the slopes without breaching the conditions of their insurance policies – and possibly losing out if they have to make a claim.

Policy conditions vary, so it's important to understand the cover before you buy a policy – and certainly before you travel.

MPI's Annual Multi Trip policies place no limit on the number of days you actually ski. However, we do limit the duration of a ski trip to 17 days – and that’s counted from departure to arrival back in the UK.

The 17-day limit is is a widely accepted standard for a typical two-week stay in-resort, plus outward and return travel.

MPI's AMT policies also allow non-ski trips of up to 30 days, UK-UK.

These periods can be extended.

In the first signs of the coming winter, this month sees two key UK trade events at which ski companies, suppliers and snowsports writers meet to prepare for the new season.
The events are Ski-Launch, in London, followed by Listex, the London Inter-national Ski Trade Exchange, at Hemel Hempstead Ski Centre.
As a leading specialist insurance provider for the travel industry, especially the winter sports sector, MPI Brokers will again be participating in these annual events.
MPI Managing Director Michael Pettifer is a keen skier with more than 50 years' experience. He says: "These events showcase the latest in ski holidays, providing opportunities for providers to talk about new developments as well as the service their reputations are based on.
"This year, we will be promoting MPI's new online purchasing system together with the YourMPI.com portal that enables existing individual customers to manage their insurance from anywhere, at any time and on any device."
The MPI website now also has live snow reports from all the main resorts in Europe.
"These developments are designed to enhance the  travel insurance experience – and complement the in-house claims service we introduced last year.
"I am also reminding ski companies of their duty to 'signpost' travel insurance to their customers." (see next page)
MPI's preparations for the 2016-17 season include the introduction of a dedicated Twitter account – @MPIWinter – and a strong presence at The Telegraph Ski & Snowboard Show, to be held at London's Battersea Park.

Read our response to the Foreign Office/ABTA report that a third of people do not check their wintersports insurance before they travel. It's in PlanetSKI's story

Ski and travel insurance specialist MPI Brokers and its sister company Mind The Gap Year are back at Flaine in the French Alps this week for the companies’ sixth successive sponsorship of the annual British Schoolgirls’ Races (BSR), run by the Ladies’ Ski Club.

More people with medical conditions are turning to MPI Brokers because other Travel Insurance providers are rejecting their applications outright.