Travel Insurance & Winter Sports

tech

Hi Guys

Just wondering whats the best travel insurance to use, I have a private Healthcare Aviva Policy but had Ace Travel Insurance last year and when I went to claim, I had an excess of €75

Just wondering what Travel Insurance the rest of ye guys use?

I also have a Valid E111 Health Card

Oh I need winter sports also.

Thanks

Fattes

Multi -Trip do the best Winter sports cover here in Ireland, cover the most stuff in terms of off piste etc.

Ski-Club.co.uk Do a really good winter sports one but it is pricey!

Duriana

Fattes wrote: »

Multi -Trip do the best Winter sports cover here in Ireland, cover the most stuff in terms of off piste etc.

Have you made a claim with them? Or anyone?

Fattes

Have you made a claim with them? Or anyone?

Thankfully nothing major, managed to get a couple of days back on my lift pass once when the lifts were closed. Their policy wording for Multi Trip is quite expansive the were happy to clarify wording for us that VHI would not clarify or expand on.

You having issues claiming with someone?

CardinalJ

One thing to look out for is how much your policy will cover 'Any one item' for.

Some policies (Aviva's I think) will only cover an item up to €200, which is pretty useless for a pair of €600 skis or a laptop etc. Watch out for that. Some house insurance policies will cover items that are out of the country for a short period of time. Obviously if you crash skiing and destrpy your skis/board, you're probably on your own.

Duriana

No, but I'm trying to find a reliable but not the most expensive one:-)

I'm not going to get into anything serious. To be very honest, all I need is to be covered in the case of emergency (say, road accident due to, say, crazy drunk driver or alike) so not to pay 1,000 EUR a day in Bangkok Hospital. I don't even ride a scooter:-).

For my first trip I used Nomads. But didn't need to claim. For the 2nd I got (not sure now but seems it was GetCover) but due to the misspelling of my 1st name needed to cancel the 1st policy and got my 2nd straight away. So it was about 5 months after they made a refund for the 1st one. So I don't want to deal with them.

And now I'm going away again. On the Multitrip web page I read that you have to send the application forms with all the original documentations within 30 days of an event. How can I do it if I'm still outside of Ireland. I'm confused probably due to the lack of experience... Read something like "one phone call to the VHI and we were sorted..." but can one give a call to Multitrip? I am confused really!..

Sorry for the off-top but I'd really appreciate any help/comments!!!

Fattes

Duriana: We had an incident in a small island in the middle of nowhere a few years back where my wife required medical treatment. She has VHI God cover it really did only take 1 phone call and a fax for her to be fully treated by the hospital.

I think it is all dependent on what level of cover you have also.

CardinalJ

I think VHI is generally the best, but also the most expensive.

I treat winter sports cover like winter sports gear, in that you get what you pay for. Really the most important part is what they cover medically as its potentially most expensive part.

hawkwind23

maybe someone could answer me this...
ive heard that if you have an accident in a resort then you need insurance as your e111 wont cover you
however if you can sort of crawl to the road outside a resort then your covered by the e111
is this true?

kinda wondering as im only learning and a broken arm or leg be the worst would happen so reckon i could make it to the roadside handy enough and save the expensive insurance which i would deem essential if your off piste and on icy reds and blacks.
fannying around on motorway blues it seems a bit overkill

fannymagee

Friend of mine decided to try boarding last year & ended up in hospital with internal bleeding caused by the repeated falls while she learned to stand. Ya just never know!!

Fattes

The E111 covers you for near carry medical treatment in other EU countries regardless of why you need treatment.

It won't however cover the cost of your rescue or any extra costs associated by repatriation due to your injuries.

The number of injuries in snow sports are actually a lot lower than perceived. With over 600 teaching hours I have had to provide first aid to maybe 2/3 people & outside if that maybe the same again in general circumstances around the mountain!! That said I have gone to the aid of maybe twice that in resort villages

hawkwind23

so basically if you fall over and break an arm....

get a taxi to the state hospital and from that moment on your covered by e111
as long as you dont miss the flight your not out of pocket.

im not in any way suggesting that anyone should travel anywhere without insurance btw!

however if you fall on a slope and need a skidoo down to the road and then an ambulance and treatment at the nearby private hospital your into the "winter sports" basic package?

all the off piste etc should be made clear in the terms? and additional premiums may apply?


i spent a fortune on insurance the 1st year and i felt it was a waste of money , simple travel insurance would of done rightly.


what about the skis and that?
does travel insurance cover that? or only winter sports?
what about the rental firm , do they not provide their own insurance?

Fattes

all the off piste etc should be made clear in the terms?

The VHI fall down here big time even though I am qualified to teach and lead in non Glacial off piste I am not covered for myself to ski off piste on VHI insurance I need a local guide!!!

so basically if you fall over and break an arm....
get a taxi to the state hospital and from that moment on your covered by e111
as long as you dont miss the flight your not out of pocket.
however if you fall on a slope and need a skidoo down to the road and then an ambulance and treatment at the nearby private hospital your into the "winter sports" basic package?

Basically the E111 covers you for anything the national health service in that state covers, so say in Italy ambulances are part of healthcare its not included but if they charge locals you will be charged.

Some are better than others about piste rescue the Austrians are less likely to be aggressive about chasing you for rescue costs but the French are absolute sticklers for it.

what about the skis and that?
does travel insurance cover that? or only winter sports?
what about the rental firm , do they not provide their own insurance?

Some winter sports packages have specific coverage for equipment, but some of it would not even cover the bindings on my skis never mind the skis themselves!

Rental shops will offer insurance at point of sale.

hawkwind23

thanks for the informative reply fattes.

i think it really highlights the small print in the insurance terms!

it really pays to be particular over your insurance and weigh up the risk factors and make sure if you are paying for the insurance that your getting covered!

im in the UK but maybe worth putting a link up for the relevant forms to obtain the E111

for those in Northern Ireland or UK

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC/Pages/about-the-ehic.aspx

Fattes

This is the Irish one I think

http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/1/schemes/EHIC/

CardinalJ

Was having a look over of the Multi Trip Policy. Which is here.

If you have your own board/skis the premier plus is the one to go with. Covers your gear up to €600 but has a single article limit of €300 which isn't the best.

CardinalJ

Just looking at the AXA policy. They cover any one item up to 500 which would be a good chunk of most skis. By farvthe best I've coke across so far. Mainly applicable to anyone owning skis or a board.

Prob the one I'll go with.

sassyj

Question re multi trip, I have selected the winter sports option, do I have to also selected Grade 2 activities (or is that only for an extended trip)

Fattes

Grade 2 will cover thinks like ski racing, heli skiing and other more risk based activities there should be a bit on their site that shows what Cat 2 covers

sassyj

thanks Fattes, wasn't sure what that was for, I'm just skiing so I don't need to select that?