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Hi,

I had a friend make a comment that cars with comprehensive insurance are not covered for incidents on mountain access roads. Something to do with these roads being private roads.

I can imagine the access road to a club ski field being private, however are access roads to commercial ski fields private? How do we know which roads this applies to?

Lastly, I'm sure insurance companies have covered for incidents in shop car parks which could be considered private roads, so why are mountain access roads different?

Cheers

We asked our friends in AA Insurance to provide an answer to your question.

The AA Insurance comprehensive policy covers vehicles while on recognised roads i.e. commercially or council-maintained roads.

Usually these roads are built for the purpose of handling the elements, are well-maintained and capable of dealing with traffic. If a road of this nature—even a metal road—is being used to access a ski field when an accident occurred, this would not be a factor in deciding if a claim is covered, as long as the road is a actually a road designed for this purpose.

Our policy does not cover vehicles that are being used for off-roading, e.g. traversing river beds or open farmland. These activities are typically where the vehicle is being used on surfaces not designed to take motor vehicles.

We would recommend gaining advice on specialist cover for these sorts of activities and talking to your insurance company first.