My first ever Amex.. An Amex Platinum Card

[ammer]

From my reading of the T+Cs, skiing is covered medically, but insurance for piste closure, damage to hire gear, alternate hire gear and other cki specific items are not included, but can be purchased as a top-up from the Amex travel insurance site. The limits seem to be way too low to be useful for me though, at $200 sub-limit per item. The only ski gear I have under that price is my balaclava and my gloves (just!).

I was only thinking of medical insurance but you posted a valid point so I rang them. They do not cover anything you have mentioned besides the medical. I also rang Ammi, who I had my last travel insurance with, and they only cover medical for skiing too.
Do gear rentals places not include their own insurance?

 

[ammer]

I was only thinking of medical insurance but you posted a valid point so I rang them. They do not cover anything you have mentioned besides the medical. I also rang Ammi, who I had my last travel insurance with, and they only cover medical for skiing too.
Do gear rentals places not include their own insurance?

My hubby said that most rental places offer optional insurance against loss and damage. That's what we did in Falls Creek last year.

 

[Cynicor]

I was only thinking of medical insurance but you posted a valid point so I rang them. They do not cover anything you have mentioned besides the medical. I also rang Ammi, who I had my last travel insurance with, and they only cover medical for skiing too.
Do gear rentals places not include their own insurance?

If you are renting gear and not a seasoned skiier then it is unlikely you will break anything. Skis and boards are very tough. Those I know who have snapped skis have done so on trees etc in the back country. Some shops may build insurance into the price I guess, but I have not looked as I have not rented any gear for a few years.

Piste closure is a possibility in areas where the weather in unpredictable and may be due to low snow or poor conditions, and the refund criteria on insurance may be more lenient than the mountain's own criteria. At Niseko all lifts must be stopped for a refund to be issued. I would doubt this has ever happened during the Winter.

When I next venture back to Japan for skiing, I will not be topping up my Amex Plat Charge insurance as I do not beleive there to be much value in the insurance offered.

 

[Canny man]

As with any insurance, be very careful with the small print. I skied Niseko jan last year and my mate broke his back (thankfully minor and he is fine now). This was on his last day, and meant that he had to stay in Japan for another week before being allowed to fly home. He was their with wife and 2 kids. They were insured on an amex platinum. I won't go in to detail, but they had to pay all costs up front for medical, extra accom and flight changes. They only recently managed to settle a refund from the insurer. This was for 40% of their costs.

They are financially ok so this hurt but didn't wound.
We we skied this year and took bespoke insurance - lesson learnt.

 

[Cynicor]

I (and I would suggest a few others on this forum) have not heard many bad things about the Amex plat Charge insurance so could you please go into some detail?

My main questions would be exactly which Amex Plat card? The personal charge card, which is the card being discussed here?

What issue did the insurer have with the claim exactly? I can't see anything in the PDS that would make me wary of skiing groomed runs in Niseko.

 

[ammer]

I (and I would suggest a few others on this forum) have not heard many bad things about the Amex plat Charge insurance so could you please go into some detail?

My main questions would be exactly which Amex Plat card? The personal charge card, which is the card being discussed here?

What issue did the insurer have with the claim exactly? I can't see anything in the PDS that would make me wary of skiing groomed runs in Niseko.

I was just going to ask the same question.

 

[ammer]

If you are renting gear and not a seasoned skiier then it is unlikely you will break anything. Skis and boards are very tough. Those I know who have snapped skis have done so on trees etc in the back country. Some shops may build insurance into the price I guess, but I have not looked as I have not rented any gear for a few years.

Piste closure is a possibility in areas where the weather in unpredictable and may be due to low snow or poor conditions, and the refund criteria on insurance may be more lenient than the mountain's own criteria. At Niseko all lifts must be stopped for a refund to be issued. I would doubt this has ever happened during the Winter.

When I next venture back to Japan for skiing, I will not be topping up my Amex Plat Charge insurance as I do not beleive there to be much value in the insurance offered.

Medical insurance is my priority. I'm not too fussed about the rest but would like it clarified.and I will ring them later about the add on previously mentioned. I did ask AMEX directly about piste closure and they said it would not be covered.

 

[Cynicor]

Medical insurance is my priority. I'm not too fussed about the rest but would like it clarified.and I will ring them later about the add on previously mentioned. I did ask AMEX directly about piste closure and they said it would not be covered.

The add-on is simple enough to look up online. Just go to the insurance section of the amex site and quote for add-on snow cover.

[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: t2_detail01_even, align: left"]Snow Cover# [/TD]
[TD="class: col_even_white, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: col_even_white, align: center"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Emergency Rescue^ [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $100,000 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $100,000 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Own Snow Sport Equipment [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Snow Sport Equipment Hire [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Snow Ski Pack [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Piste Closure [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,000 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,000 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Bad Weather & Avalanche Closure [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

PDS here: https://www.magroup-online.com/AEX/AU/EN/AEX_AU_en_TCs.pdf

 

[ammer]

The add-on is simple enough to look up online. Just go to the insurance section of the amex site and quote for add-on snow cover.

[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: t2_detail01_even, align: left"]Snow Cover# [/TD]
[TD="class: col_even_white, align: center"][/TD]
[TD="class: col_even_white, align: center"][/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]
[TABLE="class: t1"]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Emergency Rescue^ [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $100,000 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $100,000 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Own Snow Sport Equipment [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Snow Sport Equipment Hire [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,500 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Snow Ski Pack [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Piste Closure [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,000 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $1,000 [/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD="class: t1_detail01, align: left"] Bad Weather & Avalanche Closure [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[TD="class: t1_detail02, align: center"] $750 [/TD]
[/TR]
[/TABLE]

PDS here: https://www.magroup-online.com/AEX/AU/EN/AEX_AU_en_TCs.pdf

Great thanks! Done! quote was $66. Not bad for a little extra protection.

 

[straitman]

As with any insurance, be very careful with the small print. I skied Niseko jan last year and my mate broke his back (thankfully minor and he is fine now). This was on his last day, and meant that he had to stay in Japan for another week before being allowed to fly home. He was their with wife and 2 kids. They were insured on an amex platinum. I won't go in to detail, but they had to pay all costs up front for medical, extra accom and flight changes. They only recently managed to settle a refund from the insurer. This was for 40% of their costs.

They are financially ok so this hurt but didn't wound.
We we skied this year and took bespoke insurance - lesson learnt.

I (and I would suggest a few others on this forum) have not heard many bad things about the Amex plat Charge insurance so could you please go into some detail?

My main questions would be exactly which Amex Plat card? The personal charge card, which is the card being discussed here?

What issue did the insurer have with the claim exactly? I can't see anything in the PDS that would make me wary of skiing groomed runs in Niseko.

As per the question from Cynicor, I have to ask if they were using the insurance associated with the Amex Platinum Charge Card?

This insurance is different to what is offered by the banks etc for their Platinum cards.