Season Travel Insurance | Ski Insurance
Cover for a whole winter in resort, with no limit on the number of days you ski. How to get it The season policy is a P J Hayman Longstay policy, arranged through us. Everything on this page —…
Cover for a whole winter in resort, with no limit on the number of days you ski.
How to get it
The season policy is a P J Hayman Longstay policy, arranged through us.
Everything on this page — the schemes, the activity packs, the benefits and the allowances for coming home — describes that policy, not our standard winter sports cover.
It is built for the duration, it carries gadget cover, and the rates are competitive.
Get a ski season quote
Pick Activity Pack 2, 3 or 4 for winter sports cover.
Or call 0800 043 0020
Or 01273 092 757, or email support@jsinsurance.co.uk.
Where are you going?
Most seasonaires are going to one country and staying there, so start here.
- Ski season insurance France
- Ski season insurance Italy
- Ski season insurance Switzerland
- Ski season insurance Austria
- Ski season insurance Japan
- Ski season insurance Canada
- Ski season insurance USA
Japan has become the biggest non-European season by a distance, and Canada is still popular.
We also cover New Zealand and South America for their winter months.
- Who a season policy is for
- Summary of cover
- Who can buy it
- Choosing a scheme
- The activity packs, and what is in each
- Going home during the season
- Working a season
- Travelling on afterwards
- Ski season insurance FAQs
Who a season policy is for
A season policy runs for the whole period you are away, not in 31-day chunks, and you can ski or board every day of it.
It suits you if you are:
- Working a season — chalet host, bar or restaurant staff, resort rep, housekeeping, reception
- Taking a winter out to ski, working or not
- Doing a season as part of a longer trip — a gap year, or travelling on afterwards
- Out for longer than a month, which is where an annual policy stops working
An annual multi-trip policy caps each trip at 31 days, so it will not stretch to a season however many trips you have left.
See annual winter sports insurance if you are taking several shorter trips instead.
Summary of cover
Per insured person.
Excesses are payable per person, per section, for each claim.
| Section | Standard | Longstay | Longstay Plus | Excess |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emergency medical expenses abroad | £2,000,000 | £5,000,000 | £5,000,000 | £95 |
| Cancellation charges | £1,000 | £2,500 | £3,500 | £75 |
| Curtailment | £750 | £1,750 | £2,500 | £75 |
| Personal liability | £1,000,000 | £2,000,000 | £2,000,000 | £250 / £50 |
| Accidental death and disability | £5,000 | £15,000 | £15,000 | Nil |
| Personal possessions | £750 total, £100 per item, no valuables | £2,000 total, £250 per item | £2,500 total, £400 per item | £50 |
| Personal money | No cover | £500, £250 cash | £500, £250 cash | £50 |
| Loss of passport and documents | No cover | £250 | £250 | Nil |
| Missed departure | No cover | £1,000 | £1,000 | Nil |
| Abandonment, after 24 hrs | No cover | £2,500 | £3,500 | £75 |
| Departure delay | No cover | to £100 | to £145 | Nil |
| State hospital benefit | £200 | £400 | £500 | Nil |
| Legal advice and expenses | No cover | £25,000 | £25,000 | £50 |
| Gadget cover | No cover | £1,000 | £1,500 | £50 |
| Study or work placement abroad (optional extra) | £6,000 | £6,000 | £6,000 | £100 |
An excess waiver can be added, which reduces the excess to nil on everything except gadget cover.
Who can buy it
The eligibility rules are strict and they catch people out, so check these before you go any further.
- Standard is for under-40s only. Longstay and Longstay Plus go to under 70 worldwide, or under 76 for Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
- The trip must be 30 days or more. This is a long-stay policy and there is a minimum, not just a maximum.
- You must be a UK, Channel Islands or BFPO resident and not have spent more than 6 months abroad in the year before buying.
- The trip must start and end in the UK. One-way trips are not eligible.
- You must buy before you travel. If you have already gone, it is a phone call rather than a decline — but do not assume.
- No stop-over longer than 7 days in total.
- You must travel within 12 months of the policy start date.
- You do not need a return ticket booked, but once you have one the policy end date has to be adjusted to match if it differs.
Choosing a scheme
There are three, :
- Standard — under 40s only. 2 return visits home, up to 21 days each. The thinnest cover: no gadget, money, passport, legal or delay cover.
- Longstay — to age 70 worldwide, 76 for Europe, Australia and New Zealand. 2 return visits home, up to 21 days each. Adds gadget cover and the full benefit set.
- Longstay Plus — same age limits as Longstay. 4 return visits home, up to 31 days each, higher limits throughout, and £1,500 of gadget cover.
The activity packs, and what is in each
The scheme sets the length and the benefits.
The activity pack sets what you are covered to do on the mountain.
| Pack | Snow activities it covers |
|---|---|
| Pack 1 included, no extra premium |
Bar work, restaurant work and permitted manual labour. No skiing. |
| Pack 2 additional premium |
Skiing and snowboarding. Off piste, guided or within recognised resort boundaries. Ski resort occupations — chalet and bar work, but not ski instructing. Ski instructing courses. Cross country, telemarking, mono skiing, cat skiing, sledging, tobogganing, snowmobiling, husky and sleigh rides, snow shoe walking, ice skating, dry slope. |
| Pack 3 additional premium |
Everything below, plus ski terrain parks (not freestyle), heliskiing, glacier skiing, snowcat skiing, ski randonnée, ski biking and blading, snow carting and go-karting, snow kiting, winter walking. |
| Pack 4 additional premium |
Everything below, plus off piste skiing without a guide, back country skiing, ski touring, ski mountaineering, freestyle skiing, ski flying, skeleton. |
Pack 2 covers your skiing, your chalet or bar job, and off piste inside the resort boundaries.
Take Pack 3 if you are riding the park or going heliskiing.
Take Pack 4 if you are going off piste without a guide, ski touring, or outside the resort boundaries.
Two things people get wrong
Working as a ski instructor is not in Pack 2. Resort occupations are covered but ski instructing is specifically carved out of them.
A ski instructor course is. Ski instructing courses sit in Pack 2 —
-see ski instructor course insurance,
Going home during the season
Standard and Longstay both give you two visits of up to 21 days.
Longstay Plus gives you four of up to 31 days.
You are not covered while you are back in the UK on those visits.
The policy covers your trip, and a visit home is a gap in it rather than part of it.
Working a season
Resort work is covered, and so is your skiing on days off.
Chalet host, chalet staff, bar and restaurant work, housekeeping, reception, retail and rep work all sit inside the cover.
Two things are separate activities and are not part of a standard season policy:
- Ski instructing, and a ski instructor course, which are two different things — see ski instructor course insurance
- Transfer driving — call us before you buyski season jobs insurance.
More on what resort roles are covered on
Travelling on afterwards
A lot of seasonaires do not fly straight home.
A season in Japan and then six months in Australia, a winter in the Alps and then Southeast Asia, or a season inside a longer gap year.
That is one trip, not two policies.
Tell us the whole period when you buy and the policy covers the season and the travelling afterwards as a single long stay.
Two things to get right.
The activity pack has to cover both halves — your skiing and whatever you are doing later.
Pack 2 covers your season; if you are diving or trekking afterwards, check the pack reaches it.
The geographical area has to cover both too.
A Europe policy will not stretch to Australia, so you need worldwide from the outset.
Buying a season policy and then a second policy for the travelling is the expensive way round, and it leaves a gap between them.
Ski season insurance FAQs
Do you cover a full ski season?
Yes, for the whole period you are away, with no limit on the number of days you ski.
Is there really no cap on ski days?
No cap.
Plenty of policies limit you to 21 or 31 days on snow in a year.
A season policy does not, up to 365 days.
How long can a season policy run for?
A full winter and beyond.
If you are combining a season with travelling afterwards, tell us the whole period and we will cover it as one trip rather than two policies.
Can one policy cover a ski season and then travelling afterwards?
Yes, and it should.
A season in Japan followed by six months in Australia is one long trip.
Tell us the whole period when you buy, take a worldwide area, and make sure the activity pack covers what you will be doing after the season as well as the skiing.
Can I extend the policy once I am out there to travel on?
Do not rely on it.
Buy the whole period up front — it is cheaper than two policies and it leaves no gap between them.
What is the difference between a seasonaire policy and a backpacker policy?
They are close cousins.
Both are built for long single trips.
The season version carries the winter sports activity pack, which is what brings your skiing inside the cover.
Can I use an annual policy for a season?
No.
An annual caps each trip at 31 days and a season will not fit inside that, however many trips you have left.
Unless you are back and forth all season and no single trip goes over 31 days — then an annual does work.
Can I come home during the season?
Yes, within the allowance on your scheme.
Standard and Longstay give two visits of up to 21 days, Longstay Plus four of up to 31.
You are not covered while you are in the UK on them.
Which activity pack do I need?
Pack 2 for on piste and off piste with a guide or inside resort boundaries.
Pack 3 adds the terrain park.
Pack 4 adds backcountry and off piste without a guide.
Does Pack 2 cover off piste?
With a guide, or within recognised resort boundaries, yes.
Off piste without a guide is Pack 4.
Does Pack 4 cover backcountry?
Yes.
Backcountry skiing and off piste without a guide both sit in Pack 4.
Which pack covers the terrain park?
Pack 3, which also carries heliskiing.
Am I covered for working in a bar or a chalet?
Yes.
Resort and hospitality work is covered, and so is your skiing on days off.
Am I covered to do a ski instructor course on a season policy?
That is a separate activity with its own cover, and it is worth having for the course fees alone.
See ski instructor course insurance.
Is there a minimum trip length?
Yes, 30 days.
It is a long-stay policy, so a two-week trip does not qualify — that is a single trip winter sports policy instead.
What is the age limit?
Standard is under 40s only.
Longstay and Longstay Plus go to under 70 worldwide, or under 76 for Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
Can I fly home one way at the end?
No.
The trip has to start and end in the UK, and one-way trips are not eligible.
I have already arrived in resort. Can I still buy cover?
Call us.
It can sometimes be arranged after you have travelled, but it depends on the policy and on how long you have been away, so it is a conversation rather than a website purchase.
Can I get a season policy with a pre-existing medical condition?
Yes. A Longstay policy has its own medical screening, so conditions are declared and assessed rather than checked against an accepted list.
Does a season policy cover my ski equipment?
Yes, under the personal possessions cover — but not while it is in use.
That is a real difference from our own winter sports policies, which do cover equipment in use.
Longstay and Longstay Plus also carry gadget cover, which matters when you are away for months with a phone and a laptop.
Standard carries no gadget cover at all.
Am I covered off piste on a season policy?
Depends on the pack.
With a guide or inside resort boundaries is Pack 2.
Without a guide, or outside the boundaries, is Pack 4.
Do I need to be a UK resident?
Yes. Your main home must be in the UK, Channel Islands or BFPO, and you must not have spent more than 6 months abroad in the year before buying.
Call us if you are an Irish resident or hold a UK visa and we will tell you where you stand.
Get a quote
Get a ski season quote
Pick Activity Pack 2, 3 or 4 for winter sports cover.
Or call 0800 043 0020