Skiers, snowboarders complain of refund headaches with Vail Resorts

The snow was fresh when Trevor Purvis suited up for a day on the slopes of Whistler's Blackcomb peak, about 100 kilometres north of Vancouver. 

The 39-year-old snowboarder was an experienced rider and a season pass holder, ready to catch some air with friends in January 2021. But on an early descent down the iconic mountain on Jan. 2, the leading edge of his board got caught in the snow. Purvis lost control — and rammed right into a tree.

"I didn't actually feel pain at first," the Vancouverite remembers.

"My first thought was, 'I'm probably not going to do much more riding today."

He was right. 

Purvis had fractured his right femur, a tough break that required surgery and subsequent hospitalization. He was out for the season — and out hundreds of dollars for the season pass he had purchased in September 2020. 

But soon into his recovery process, Purvis remembered that he had insurance attached to his pass. He got his paperwork together and submitted his claim, hoping to recoup at least some of the roughly $1,000 he had spent on the pass. 

He didn't know then that he would have more than a year of unanswered emails, miscommunication and administrative headaches ahead of him.

When Go Public contacted Vail Resorts, the American company that owns Whistler Blackcomb, the company said it would refund Purvis $340.22, because he had already used it to access the mountain a few times since the season began at the end of November.   

"It's vindication, but it's also like, this is silly. Nobody should have to do what I did to get 340 Canadian dollars," he said.

More than two dozen people from inside and outside British Columbia have contacted Go Public about their experiences with Vail's so-called Epic Coverage refund policy — terms and conditions created by Vail Resorts and managed by its adjuster, American Claims Management (ACM). They cited poor communication, lengthy processes and hard to understand conditions.

The terms and conditions for Epic Coverage are on Vail's website. But Toronto lawyer Bronwyn Martin, who specializes in insurance law, says the fine print and the process of applying for a refund are unclear — a common theme with insurance policies across the board. 

"The court and lawyers are alive to the fact that insurance companies are notoriously obscure," she said. 

"This story shows that consumers are having a hard time getting an answer, and they don't know who to speak to."