[Closed] What if you get injured in the French Alps and DON'T have travel insurance?

No they just let you off with a warning...

Of course you have to pay, there are ads all over the Ski resorts featuring the call to daddy asking for £10k+.

Do you mean the insurance is a fair bit more or the rescue? Ski rescue from the upper slopes has enough zero's to make the premium look like something you loose down the sofa

How's the credit card limit? I'd ensure it contains at least 4 zeros in it should you need taking off the mountain.

Any recommendations then? ie cheap but with loads of cover.

What are you doing out there?

Dogtag, snowcard, bmc for biking, check as DH and XC carry different weighting

If you are using lifts, you can often buy day insurance with the lift pass for a few quid if you're not going to need it every days.

I spent a few days in a French hospital - getting my kneecap put back in-

I had insurance but somehow I got to see the bill whilst they sorted my E111 - it was over

£20,000.

Get insurance - oh and the ambulance drivers wanted cash before they off loaded me.

You get left to waste away on the hill and die of a slow death...! I do a lot of climbing abroad so I have a membership with the Austrian Alpine Club which includes mountain insurance . Membership (which includes cheap huts) costs no more than £43 per year and includes medical insurance and rescue. Well worth it for any trip. NOt sure if they cover mountain biking!

http://www.aacuk.org.uk/membership.aspx

What if you get injured in the French Alps and DON'T have travel insurance?

Dogtag..... Cost me 45 quid for the top spec & i had to declare a couple of existing heath conditions too so should be cheaper if theres nowt up with you

Would you have to pay for the mountain rescue, helicopter, ambulance etc?
Just wondering as [b]it's a fair bit extra to pay[/b].

No, it isn't.

It really isn't.

Dog Tag, my pre existing were ecsma, asthma, alergies etc... But if your asthma is controlled no need to insure for that. Its 50 quid or so for sensible, responsible piece of mind. Don't be silly. get it.

Got smacked up in Italy. Was insured but the bills still came and I had to pay them. Hospital took my passport as guarentee. Boy was I glad I had insurance (Snowcard)!

I suppose if you do a runner, make it to South America to hide from the bills for the rest of your life, the worst that might happen is the rescue services start to hate mountainbikers and start not turning out to rescue calls. Great idea......Get insurance or be a baffoon.

C

I work in the insurance industry. My advice is get the best cover you can afford - AND READ / UNDERSTAND ANY EXCLUSIONS.

And take the contact details with you when you ride - don't leave then in your room.....

that's why I like Dogtag, for the actual dogtags...

Is that cos you all plan on screwing us GDRS?

Just pay and get the insurance and dont be a silly ASS.if you dont you better have lots and lots of money or a company size gold credit card.

Actually in most of the EU you will not be charged if you do not have insurance. Its just if you are insured you get taken in the private heli and private ambulance to the private clinic. No insurance you go with the public services. There is a very healthy private system based around the ski areas

The rules do vary around in different countries and even in some however France for example has free mountain rescue as a legal right.

I saw someone's bill after they got heli'd off in France. The 'parking charge' for landing the heli at the hospital for however many minutes it took to unload them was almost as much as the flight itself.

Ta, i'll have a look at dogtag to start with.

I have not read it all but: public mountain rescue is free. It's the helicopter from the resort that charges you money for the priviledge. As far as i am aware, the hospital only needs a certain paperwork from the nhs. And then you wont have to may anything.

You will however need cover if you think that you'd need repatriation following any illness or injury that won't allow you to make your own way home or travel with mates etc
You could of course simply sit it out for the duration

You will however need cover if you think that you'd need repatriation following any illness or injury that won't allow you to make your own way home or travel with mates etc

this. More likely than it may sound. Say you break your leg, and it gets put in a cast so can't be bent. Or you damage your back. That's your drive/flight back knackered, and you needing alternative short notice arrangements...

you get a bill, size depending on how hard you crash. Spend 50 quid on insurance, you know it makes sense.

I got single trip insurance for the Mega this year (specified DH racing with them) and that got me plenty of cover for only £35!

That was with these guys: http://www.insureandgo.com/

Covered for up to £10million medical, and airlift off the mountain, amongst other things. The reason it was fairly cheap was that the cover for equipment was low (only about £200 quid) but I was taking a shitty bike out there so it didn't really matter too much.

The ones that market themselves towards outdoor sports etc tend to be a bit more expensive (dogtag, snocard etc) and don't really offer you much more cover.
For the sake of £35, it's much easier than the hassle of trying to get free mountain rescue and a lift from a public ambulance down to one of the bigger hospitals. Can you imagine turning away a private helicopter while you're writhing in agony on the side of a mountain, to wait for the public services?
If you're spending £however much to go riding in the alps, you can afford insurance for it.

Also consider if you want physio / rehab covered when you return to the UK (outside of NHS) - or payment cover for loss of income due to injury. Plus there is personal liability to consider...

Me and the Mrs have been lucky over the years not to need to use the insurance we have purchased - but as we travel together it is peice of mind to know that if anything goes wrong to one of us the other has an eaiser time of sorting out any issues.

Not accident ralted - but the other year our overseas holiday breakdown cover saved a three week tour to the Alps. Our car died on day two. Got a hire vehicle for the remainder of the three weeks that would take all the camping gear and two bikes. Plus paid for my dad to come to Calais to pick us up in a transit van when we returned the hire car......£35 well spent with Axa....Our Laguna was scrapped in Reims......

dabble - Member

you get a bill, size depending on how hard you crash. Spend 50 quid on insurance, you know it makes sense.

No you don't - see above.

Before you leave get your European Health Insurance Card - its free you just have to request it, French hospital is them free. To get airlifted off the mountain you need specialist insurance.

I wouldnt go on holiday without insurance. **** valuables Im talking health.

Can you imagine turning away a private helicopter while you're writhing in agony on the side of a mountain, to wait for the public services?

Well it's not that simple. You don't choose your helicopter. You crash in the wild you get a free one. You crash somewhere covered by a private/ski resort helicopter you pay the bill.

I had a feeling it might be something along those lines. For the sake of £35-£50 though, you may as well have the coverage!

I know a couple of people who've had free helicopter rides- they were told that they'd have been charged, if they were insured, since the insurance would cover it, but that since they weren't there was no charge. Mind you no guarantee it's always like that. I take insurance.

One ski holiday, a few years back, I had 2 of my close family carted off the mountain in the first 2 days....

Despite my insurance, I had to pay 'in resort' and claim back - it came to £2650 for 2 rides down, 2 trips to the clinic, and some bandages & crutches....

Got all the dosh back a few weeks later 😀

Don't go without credit & insurance!

I wouldnt go on holiday without insurance. **** valuables Im talking health.

You need to be aware that having insurance may well mean you don't get the best available treatment
As soon as they know you're insured you'll be taken to a private clinic that may or may not have the same resources as the public hospital

In Western Europe you'll almost certainly be better off in a public hospital

You need to be aware that having insurance may well mean you don't get the best available treatment
As soon as they know you're insured you'll be taken to a private clinic that may or may not have the same resources as the public hospital

In Western Europe you'll almost certainly be better off in a public hospital

Evidence for this pls? Over the last 25 years I've had mates and customers hospitalised in W.Europe at least 2 or 3 times a year with snowboarding and paragliding accidents. I've never experienced this........

My son crashed last week, it cost €67 for the doc and X-ray and €14 for the drugs. I gave him a piggy back down off the mountain so saved on the helicopter.

Ask crazy legs.....I think he had his money's worth out of his insurance....

Would you have to pay for the mountain rescue, helicopter, ambulance etc?
Just wondering as it's a fair bit extra to pay.

The decision is yours mate, there may be no requirement to get yourself insured (some guiding companies insist on it) but you need to decide, £30 or £40 now or £20,000 later, maybe, maybe £45,000 or maybe even nothing!

Personally, I think it's well worth £30 or £40.

Ask crazy legs.....I think he had his money's worth out of his insurance....

And right on cue...
Yes, Direct Line paid out about £20,000 for an airlift off a Swiss Alp, two nights in a Swiss hospital (great nurses, shit food) and a private air ambulance flight back to the UK.
And yes, I did need it, I had a fractured pelvis and EasyJet wouldn't take me in that condition!

Not having insurance would mean I'd still be paying the bill now. Almost all insurance companies do travel insurance (not just the specialist ones like Snowcard), just make sure you specify MTBing. IIRC my one-trip policy with Direct Line cost me something like £35 (this was quite a few years ago, may have gone up substantially since then...)

Also, in America we were told to have our passport and insurance documents on us all the time we were biking, rumours abounding that they wouldn't even pick you off the trail if you weren't insured.

The rules do vary around in different countries and even in some however France for example has free mountain rescue as a legal right.

Not true my dear not true.

TJ you seem to be saying that most health insurance for EU active holidays is effectively a scam...any links to establish this?

Actually in most of the EU you will not be charged if you do not have insurance. Its just if you are insured you get taken in the private heli and private ambulance to the private clinic. No insurance you go with the public services.

Hmm my uninsured friend had a seizure and was helicoptered to hospital, cost him several thousand pounds, and they did a good job of tracking him down in the UK seeking payment.

I was air lifted off a French alp into Switzerland for some pretty good bed baths (mmmm swiss nurses) and the flown home on a private jet to the cost of £40k, I never paid a penny and had some new kit waiting for when my broken back had healed. A friend messed up bouldering and is still paying it off today. Guess who had insurance?
Get travel/activity insurance!
Neil

"have not read it all but: public mountain rescue is free. It's the helicopter from the resort that charges you money for the priviledge. As far as i am aware, the hospital only needs a certain paperwork from the nhs. And then you wont have to may anything".

You clearly have not read it all then. Don't listen to people who don't know what they are talking about, anecdotes from idiots who were too cheap to get insurance are not to be trusted. And please don't give advice if you don't know either. It's far too serious to cock up.

You need at least £2 million in insurance cover, I'd go for £5 million. And if you can't pay, you'll have to declare yourself bankrupt. Why so much? If you are running up bills at that price you are clearly very sick. You do not want your insurance company to insist on repatriating you because you're running out of insurance if you're that sick.

You would definately need cover for repatriation (cost of plane/heli, nurse, doc, full ICU equipment etc) let alone rescue, hotel bills. Your E111 may cover things but not everything, and even if they cover 90% the 10% can be a lot.

Health insurance is a total bargain compared to the actual cost. Because of the great NHS you have no idea how much things cost in real life.

 

Think I'd better get some insurance then.
For me, my wife and son, looks like it will cost £100 to £120 for the week. Not bad considering the cover you get and the piece of mind.

Bargain at £100. Enjoy. 😀

Sorry to dredge this up again.. it seems there are conflicting views on here. From what I can understand, if you have an EHIC card the only use for insurance is in case of an airlift or repatriation?

if you have an EHIC card the only use for insurance is in case of an airlift or repatriation?

Well I don't know about the other alps but in France, if you going through the public sector yes you'll only need an assurance for the repatriation.

If you're going on a guided holiday most if not all guides won't take you if you're not insured.

Before you leave get your European Health Insurance Card - its free you just have to request it, French hospital is them free. To get airlifted off the mountain you need specialist insurance.

Not correct. The European heath insurance card will give you 60-70% off the hospital costs. Insurance picks up the rest if you have it.

I got insurance through Virgin and topped it up to include "Extreme" MTB cover. Might have to use it to claim after an accident a few weeks ago, but will depend on the excesses.

I had a fall climbing in the Chamonix area a few years back. Ambulance, x-rays, MRI scans. would have been expensive but had insurance with British Mountaineering Council. Cover was very good. Only paid an excess which was about £200. They may cover biking?

As soon as they know you're insured you'll be taken to a private clinic that may or may not have the same resources as the public hospital

In Western Europe you'll almost certainly be better off in a public hospital

I crashed in Spain and ended up not claiming on the insurance as it wasn't worth it.

Guiding company minibus got me off the mountain
E111 covered the public hospital

[u][b]HOWEVER[/b][/u]
If I'd been out of walking distance it would have been a helicopter job £££££

If I'd stumped up the £50 excess I'd not have had to spend 6 hours surrounded by vomiting kids, old people shitting themselves and drug addicts only to be told there was nothing they could do apart from stabilise it and wait for surger once I was back in the UK.

Apparently the private hospital phone's the insurer's once they've got you under anastetic and already opperating which would have knocked about a month of my recovery time!

Next time; stuff the excess I'm getting in the whirly bird and a spongebath off the nurse in the private hospital.

Friend crashed heavily a couple of years back, big bang on head, coma for two weeks etc, just about ok now thank god, touch and go for a while.
Anyway he wasn't insured, heli'd off mountain to hospital, bill was getting expensive at £1500 odd per day in hospital.
E111/European card covered 80% of costs, his family paid for repatriation by private jet with nurses, that was expensive! approx £10k

The balance 20% was eventually paid/ignored/netted off against the French running up bills in UK hospitals

Tried to use insurance and an EU health card, the doc said Cash Please

Good luck finding the right/free medical centre in an alpine village.

columbus direct, voucher code rt20. i got my weeks insurance with the helicopter rescue and all that malarkey for £26 i think. and they pay for everything, instead of having to pay and claim it back.

Wow - just got 5 weeks insurance for the two of us for £31. Covers MTB and kitesurfing too...

Next time; stuff the excess I'm getting in the whirly bird and a spongebath off the nurse in the private hospital.

Except in Spain if the injury is serious enough you'll be taken to a public hospital anyway, they're a lot bigger and better equipped.

Good luck finding the right/free medical centre in an alpine village.

this. When youre bundled semi conscious into the back of a (private) ambulance who take you to a (private) hospital, who's negotiating to get you into a public hospital for free treatment?

Not sure TJ has the personal experience to extol The Truth. I was carried off le Pleney in Morzine by pompiers with a broken knee, and put into a private ambulance, who took me to a private clinic in Thonon le Bains. I discovered on leaving 5 days later we'd driven past the public hospital on route. I was in no position to argue haggle or negotiate in English let alone french, I was sick and semi conscious with pain. I had surgery out there, was driven onto the runway in an ambulance, carried onto the plane by paramedics where I had the entire front row of the plane to stretch my braced leg out, and met by a MPV taxi at Luton and driven home.

I'm sure* TJ will list how all of this can be obtained free, but I'd have paid someone more than my £60 annual fee just to deal with the hassle whilst I coped with the pain.

Posted before, but my only 2 pics from Morzine 2009 (thats 2 pics of the same leg I wasnt [i]that[/i] unlucky...

[IMG] [/IMG]
[IMG] [/IMG]

*not really

I run my insure & go policy all the time and cover the family, I like it in case of a crash at home or abroad.

Insurance costs seem to have gone up, but as said, still a bargain to give you total peace of mind, rather than trying to skimp while still buying that new mech you don't need. £50 or so for the Wife and I for ten days in the alps with Dog Tag and their top scale insurance.

Except in Spain if the injury is serious enough you'll be taken to a public hospital anyway, they're a lot bigger and better equipped.

Probably true, I was taken tot he local medical center/hospital, then transfered by ambulance down to the big one in Malaga. Apparenlty the private center next to the public one does oppertions there without having to ship you off elswhere.

A more subtle question - I have travel insurance with my bank account (Co-Op - 'privilege' - costs c£8 a month for our joint account). It definitely covers on-piste skiing. Pretty sure it covers 'cycling'.

At what point is cycling no longer just 'cycling'? Lift assisted? What if you ride to the top of the hill? What if you're on 'paths' rather than purpose built trails? What about riding TDF cols on a road bike?

Some years i've got extra cover, some years I just rely on the co-op policy (and E111). Any thoughts?

Any thoughts?

Phone them and ask.

I was carried off le Pleney in Morzine by pompiers with a broken knee

I am not sure that is very legal. Firemen have IIRC a duty to take you to the PUBLIC hospital. If you want to go private you have to specify it to them.

One of the problem is that as far as I understand it, there is a very profitable business of private doctor, hospitals and companies in ski resort. Most of them relying on the brits having insurances.

A more subtle question - I have travel insurance with my bank account (Co-Op - 'privilege' - costs c£8 a month for our joint account). It definitely covers on-piste skiing. Pretty sure it covers 'cycling'.

At what point is cycling no longer just 'cycling'? Lift assisted? What if you ride to the top of the hill? What if you're on 'paths' rather than purpose built trails? What about riding TDF cols on a road bike?

Different companies will be different, but with Virgin they cover "Mountain Biking, not including extreme terrain or racing" as standard.

I questioned them what it meant and they said anything off-road would be classed as "extreme terrain". So be very careful as your definition will almost certainly be different to theirs. Given they have just said "cycling" I would say anything off road won't be covered.