Winter's coming, time to get insured
Whether you're coming to resort on holiday for a week, you have a holiday home here, you're a seasonnaire or you live in the area year round, it's a very wise thing to get insurance for your skiing and boarding adventures on the mountain.
If you are booked in just for a week, you may already have your own personal travel insurance that includes skiing, but make sure you're covered for everything you want to do (for example, many aren't actually covered for skiing off-piste). If you have any doubts, or don't have cover for your skiing, you can buy your lift pass with Carre Neige, which is a daily insurance from the Federation Francaise de Ski. Only usually costing a couple of euros a day, the insurance covers you for accidents, search and rescue, immediate medical costs and even providing a driver if you can't drive your car. Well worth thinking about. Just ask for 'avec assurance' when you buy your lift ticket - note it can't be added after a purchase.
For those in resort longer, it might be worth your while thinking about Carte Neige, which is the annual version of Carre Neige running from the 15th Oct one year to the 14th Oct in the next. Again, administered by the Federation Francaise de Ski, there are various packages available, but all disciplines are covered both on and off-piste throughout Europe.
Prices vary from resort to resort as there are three elements combined in the Carte Neige price. There is the subscription to the national FFS and the insurance element, both of which are fixed by the FFS and therefore the same everywhere. The third element is the included subscription to your FFS-member ski club where you buy the Carte Neige and this cost is determined by each individual ski club, therefore prices will vary. A quick scan of the internet showed prices as low as 42 euros in some resorts and over 60 euros in others.
Despite the price variations, the insurance is exactly the same and covers you throughout Europe. One thing to remember is to put your home address on the subscription form, so if you're a seasonnaire intending to head back to the UK, make sure you put a UK address down and not your address in resort - it's a bit grim, but it's for repatriation of bodies in case of death!
All that grim talk aside, Carre Neige and Carte Neige are two best-value ways to make sure you're insured for your mountain exploits this winter. Carte Neige is available from places like Tourist Offices and ski schools at all French ski resorts.
