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Off-Piste Ski Travel Insurance

Add off-piste ski travel insurance to your sports travel insurance policy.

  • Cover for backcountry skiing worldwide
  • Multi-trip policy can cover up to 31 days of skiing per insurance year
  • UK-based support
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Overall service rating 4.6 / 5

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Why choose off-piste ski travel insurance with Towergate?

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Off-piste ski travel insurance for UK residents

Single and multi-trip travel insurance for UK residents

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Personal accident cover

Up to £20,000 personal accident cover when skiing off-piste

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Ski equipment insurance

Optional cover for skis, bindings, ski boots, ski poles, snowboards and specialised clothing available

Worldwide

Worldwide cover available

Insurance for the ski trip of your dreams

About off-piste ski travel insurance

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Off-piste ski holiday cancellation cover

You can cancel your policy within the 14 days cooling off period if you have not yet travelled or have intentions to make a claim.

If you need to cancel your ski holiday before your trip commences you can claim up to £2,500 if you have purchased our Active Standard Cover or up to £5,000 if you have purchased our Active Plus policies.

You can cancel your policy for a number of reasons including death, serious illness, injury, pregnancy, jury duty, posting overseas or if the FCO or WHO prohibit non-essential travel. More information can be found in the FAQs below.

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Personal property cover

Personal property cover for up to £2,000, depending on your policy, if your luggage is lost, stolen, damaged or destroyed during your trip. If your luggage has been delayed for more than 24 hours and you have to purchase replacement items for necessities this is also covered.

Any valuables, including money and jewellery, is only covered if they are kept on your person or locked away safely in a deposit box or safe. Single article limits apply.

For those travelling with their own ski equipment, optional cover is available to ensure it is fully protected during your trip of a lifetime.

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Personal accident cover while skiing off-piste

Off-piste skiing comes with far greater risks than on groomed pistes but with this more challenging terrain comes with lots of excitement to be enjoyed.

In the event that something goes awry our off-piste travel insurance includes personal accident cover of up to £20,000, depending on the level of cover you have chosen on your policy.

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Search and rescue or emergency transfer for off-piste skiers

When your skiing off-piste, the thick snow can hide a multitude of hazards. If you do find that you are injured or stranded and need medical assistance our policy includes up to £50,000 cover for search and rescue or emergency transfer to hospital as long as you are injured in an activity covered in your policy.

Claims for this policy are handled by the insurer, Millstream Underwriting Limited. Therefore, claims should be submitted to Millstream Underwriting Limited rather than Towergate Insurance to be processed.

For further information on the claims process, please refer to page 35 of the policy wording.

A few keys things to bear in mind when making a claim on your policy:

  • If any medical certificates, information, evidence and receipts, are required to support your claim, these must be obtained by you at your expense.
  • Claims must be submitted within 60 days of your return to the UK.
  • Original receipts and or proof of ownership and value must be provided for any items being claimed for.
  • Damaged items must be kept by you and if requested submitted to the Claims Handlers.
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Off-Piste ski travel insurance FAQs

Unfortunately, we can only offer sports travel cover to UK residents.

We offer cover for over 100 different activities, which you'll be able to see in the policy wording or during the quotation process. Note that for ski travel insurance you will need to select level 3 or 4 when adding your sports activities cover (depending on the skiing activities to be undertaken).

  1. Select either our single or annual multi-trip cover, and the level of cover you need: Active Standard Cover or Active Plus Cover. Both offer the same type of cover but with higher limits for some areas with Active Plus cover. Please refer to the wording for further details to determine which level of cover is suitable for your needs.
  2. Pick the region(s) you'd like cover for:
    • Europe only
    • Worldwide (excluding USA, Canada & Caribbean)
    • Worldwide (including USA, Canada & Caribbean)
  3. Specify who needs to be covered:
    • An individual (just you)
    • A couple (you and your partner)
    • You (one adult) and children
    • A couple with children (you, your partner and children)
  4. Select the level of cover required from over 100 different activities covered. The level of cover chosen will depend on the type of sports and activities to be undertaken.

To gain cover for skiing and winter sports you should purchase cover for activity level 3 or 4. All FAQs below apply to those who have included these cover levels in their policy.

Other activities we cover that are likely to be found at a ski resort include (but are not limited to):

  • Dogsledding
  • Ice skating
  • Sledding
  • Tobogganing
  • Snow biking (on and off-piste - within resort boundaries)
  • Snow kiting
  • Snow rafting
  • Snowmobiling

Our insurance can cover a wide range of sports, from cycling to quad biking, but premiums will range according to the sports you need cover for. You will be able to find this out during the quotation process.

Our multi-trip policy can cover up to 31 days of cover for these activities per insurance year.

Yes, we cannot offer cover for any competition; free-style skiing or snowboarding; ski or snowboard jumping; ski-flying; ski or snowboard acrobatics; ski or snowboard stunting; ski racing; national squad training; or the use of skeletons. See your policy wording for full details.

Yes, levels 3 and 4 cover up to £500 of winter sports equipment (skis, bindings, ski boots, ski poles, snowboards and specialised clothing) and £300 for replacement equipment hire, if your equipment is lost, damaged or stolen, or if it delayed for more than 12 hours on your outward journey.

Our multi-trip sports travel policy can cover UK trips which are pre-booked in paid accommodation for one night or more.

We can offer our annual multi-trip policy to people up to the age of 75 and our single trip policy to people up to the age of 80. Note that the maximum trip length for the multi-trip policy drops to 31 days (as opposed to 60 days), for policyholders over the age of 65.

This will be assessed on a case by case basis. The medical screening experts will ask you several questions relating to your health condition and this will determine whether we are able to offer you cover. Please be reassured, everything you tell the team is treated with the utmost confidentiality and your details will not be shared with anyone outside of the organisation.

We can cover people with many common medical conditions. An extensive list of medical conditions covered can be found in the policy wording. However, if you are unsure, please call the Medical Screening Service on +44 (0)330 660 0563.

MoneyHelper have developed a directory of specialist travel insurance providers to ensure customers with pre-existing medical conditions are easily able to obtain access to affordable travel insurance.

If you would like to check the quote provided by us is the best for you, you may contact them for details of these providers to obtain a comparison by calling 0800 138 7777 or visiting their website.

You can also see more information on OK to Travel.

If you are travelling in the EU, you can apply for either:

  • a UK Global Health Insurance Card (UK GHIC)
  • a UK European Health Insurance Card (UK EHIC), if you have rights under the Withdrawal Agreement

Find out more about the Withdrawal Agreement on GOV.UK

For most people, the UK Global Health Insurance Card (UK GHIC) replaces the existing European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) for new applications. You can apply for one at: nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/healthcare-abroad/apply-for-a-free-uk-global-health-insurance-card-ghic

No. The UK’s reciprocal health agreements (E111 / EHIC) with the EU came to an end on the 1/1/2021.

You can cancel your policy within 14 days of receiving it, if you have not travelled, made a claim, or intend to make a claim.

Our sports travel insurance includes £2,500 cover for standard single and multi-trip policies and £5,000 cover for our 'Plus' policies.

If your holiday is cancelled due to reasons covered under your policy conditions, you may be able to make a claim. A number of covered reasons:

  • Injury, serious illness, death of yourself or anyone you were intending to stay or travel with, an immediate relative or close business associate
  • If you become pregnant after policy purchase or booking trip (whichever is later) and will be more than 26 weeks pregnant at the start of or during your trip. Or if a medical practitioner advises not to travel due to pregnancy complications.
  • If you are called to jury service, court as a witness (excluding expert witnesses), or redundancy.
  • If you are posted overseas or required for emergency or unavoidable duty and work in the: medical, nursing, armed forces, police, fire, or ambulance services.
  • If FCO or WHO advice prohibits all but essential travel.

Please check the policy wording for further details on holiday cancellation cover.

If you have an accident or are ill, you will be covered for the unused portion of your ski school, lift pass and winter sports equipment - up to the value of £150 per week.

Yes, the standard excess per claim is £150. Please note that a higher excess of £875 applies in respect of medical emergency repatriation by air ambulance or helicopter service in Nepal.

If your return is unavoidably delayed for an insured reason, cover can be extended free of charge for up to 30 days.

We cannot include car hire excess cover as part of this policy. However, our sister company insurance4carhire offers single trip and annual car hire excess cover.

No, this policy is only for leisure skiers.

We have provided a summary of the key features of the policy, above. For details of the terms and conditions applicable, please refer to the insurance product information document and policy wording, which are available during the quotation process.

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