Mountain Insurance.

Although we maintain a clean safety record with regard to serious injuries, the mountains are nevertheless a hazardous environment, where even minor incidents such as illness or a sprained ankle may result in the need for a costly helicopter evacuation or medical treatment. For this reason, for all overseas courses you must purchase specialist mountaineering – off piste/ski mountaineering rescue, medical and repatriation insurance to cover the dates, areas and activities involved as a condition of your booking.  (Ie many ‘standard’ ski policies do not cover the off-piste skiing and glacier skiing activities that we do).
Details of your insurance must be brought to the course briefing at the start of each week. We also strongly advise that for all courses you purchase cancellation insurance (most insurance packages include accident and cancellation insurance to gether). You are strongly advised to buy insurance immediately you book the course, rather than last minute – as cancellation cover is only effective from the date you take out the policy.

European Residents

Austrian Alpine Club Available to all European residents. AAC insurance is cheap and works ok for minor accidents and rescues, but is not as comprehensive as many other insurance providers. The medical cover included would not be enough for complex treatment or a prolonged stay in hospital. It also doesn’t include cancellation cover. If you choose to use AAC we recommend you take out extra medical cover with another provider, to ‘top up’ the AAC medical limit, as well as a separate cancellation policy.

USA residents

Travelex For US citizens – a range of policies with comprehensive cover.

UK residents

British Mountaineering Council The gold standard in insurance for UK residents. Very competitive single trip or annual cover for all climbing activities. Use this link to book your BMC insurance.

European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). This gives you reciprocal health care in European countries. You can apply for an EHIC card online here or from most Post Offices. You need an EHIC in addition to your travel insurance.

Any Nationality

Global Rescue. Cover offered to all nationalities via a combination of GR membership and their separate insurance policy.

If you choose an alternative provider, or if there is any doubt about the scope of your chosen policy we recommend that you send your insurer the link to the relevant Alpine Guides trip webpage, and ask them if cover extends to those activities and has the required components (search/rescue, medical, repatriation and cancellation). It’s worth mentioning that rescue and medical expenses in Switzerland can be significantly more expensive than in other countries, so a decent level of cover is required for Swiss tours.

We recommend that you send us your insurance details before the trip commences, and they must be brought to the course briefing at the start of your trip. However, we cannot check the detail of every individual policy, and it is your own responsibility to ensure you are adequately insured.