Be careful out there...

[bad_roo]

Get struck by an avy off-piste and even if your insurance specifically covers off-piste skiing, you or your survivors may well end up with a big bill; in this case nearly £20,000 for a search and rescue operation for the bodies of these two British boarders, killed this season in Tignes when a big avalanche hit them off-piste on the Grande Motte.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2316408.html


Both snowboarders were wearing beacons although I've got to question their judgement given that one was carrying the beacon in his jacket pocket which was ripped open and subsequently lost. That's why his body was only recovered in June when the avy was in April.


...from the article

Both families are incensed because their sons’ insurance policies did cover them off- piste. James’s father, Peter Rourke, from Littlehampton, West Sussex, said: “It is outrageous that the insurers are refusing to pay out. The debt-collecting firm has agreed to give us more time to try to sort things out, but the insurance firm is refusing to change its mind.

“It said from the beginning that it was not going to pay out because the accident happened off-piste. Then when we pointed out that the policy allowed them to go off-piste, they came up with this clause stating that they should not have exposed themselves to danger.

“They were both extremely competent snowboarders who were well within their capabilities to go off-piste.”

The families were told that the men had strayed too far on the Grande Motte glacier on April 21 last year, and were not covered for “exposure to danger which is reasonably foreseeable”. The families have lodged two complaints with the Financial Ombudsman Service but have initially had their grievances rejected on the ground that the pair had “courted” risk. An appeal has been lodged and the families are considering legal action.

[Mrs Roo]

Money grabbing bloody insurance companies. That's the problem with vague statements that allow subjective interpretation. We'd better check the small print.

[Mr.Scruff]

That sucks, terrible for the family

[Huck_Schmuck]

Nasty stuff. Imagine leaving that behind for your parents! Just makes it so much worse when you think you're covered. Some insurance companies will do anything to get out of paying the bills...

I'm guessing (quite a guess too) that the boys were working for the same company in Tignes (thought prompted by both guys being covered by the same insurance company, I heard they were regular seasonaires)... I'd send the bills to the employers for not providing enough cover.

[Mulletizer]

Messy situation. As said already: what a bunch of money-grabbing bastards.

I recommend Snowcard. They've done both me and Mrs Mullet proud over several big claims and have insured us when no one else would (eg our recnt India ski odyssey). Not the cheapest but by far the best IME - run by a skier and they understand serious skiers. Consider that a Mullet stamp of approval.

[The Dad]

Money-grubbing bastards, yes.

But every year that I skied the Grande Motte, I distinctly recall signs saying that off-piste was not allowed due to hidden crevasses, etc. Everywhere else in Val permitted off-piste, except that lift that goes up one side of the mountain and down the other.

If the Grande Motte still has a no-off-piste policy, the insurers may not be off the mark.

[cj001f]

Haven't used the insurance yet, but the Austrian Alpine Club has a decent policy that covers offpiste, etc. that comes with membership:
http://www.aacuk.org.uk/insurance.htm
it also gets you the UIAA hut discount.

[Mr.Scruff]

But every year that I skied the Grande Motte, I distinctly recall signs saying that off-piste was not allowed due to hidden crevasses, etc.

This is true, I was up there this April and it looked pretty sketchy, can't remember what it was like year before though :/

[Ripzalot]

CNA declined to comment. Three months before they died the men had raised £15,000 for tsunami victims by climbing the Grande Motte peak.

sound like they were not your stereotypical snowboarders too.


bummage.

[hemas]

Haven't used the insurance yet, but the Austrian Alpine Club has a decent policy that covers offpiste, etc. that comes with membership:
http://www.aacuk.org.uk/insurance.htm
it also gets you the UIAA hut discount.

Yep, thats the "climbers/skier" policy I have. Luckily haven't tested how it works yet, but I seem to remember that a few Fins have and it has worked (though took some time).

Though OeAV is not the best policy if you have family or get permanently injured (no compensation for relatives in case of death, other than recovery of the body to a certain limit... Medical compensation was also a bit on the low side, especially if you happen to get the medical stuff in the states). On the good side, the policy is valid all around the world, be it the Himalaya or your local molehill in eastern Io

[splat]

Messy situation. As said already: what a bunch of money-grabbing bastards.

I recommend Snowcard. They've done both me and Mrs Mullet proud over several big claims and have insured us when no one else would (eg our recnt India ski odyssey). Not the cheapest but by far the best IME - run by a skier and they understand serious skiers. Consider that a Mullet stamp of approval.

I wish these asshole US insurance companies would get on a program like that.

Did they have Carte Niege, roo?

[hutash]

Messy situation. As said already: what a bunch of money-grabbing bastards.

I recommend Snowcard. They've done both me and Mrs Mullet proud over several big claims and have insured us when no one else would (eg our recnt India ski odyssey). Not the cheapest but by far the best IME - run by a skier and they understand serious skiers. Consider that a Mullet stamp of approval.

Too bad it is only for UK residents. Anybody know of any US policies for Europe?

[Franz Klammer]

I have OeAV and Elvia ... (but don't ask me what my dad does).

[Toby]

I don't know if there's fine print that I'm missing, but I'm pretty interested in getting this. Cheap, seems like good starting cover and the cost goes towards something worthwhile if you don't use it. Austria and the Christophorus network have mountain rescue nailed IMHO.

[Arno]

Too bad it is only for UK residents. Anybody know of any US policies for Europe?

if you're in France, get the insurance they offer you when you get your lift ticket. covers you for rescue anywhere on the hill (including off-piste) and if you have to use it, they just write the number down and deal directly with the insurance company. you can buy it for the whole season (carte neige i think it's called) - about EUR45 for worldwide coverage. never tried to use it outside France but definitely worth it if you're spending a reasonable amount of time there

[splat]

I've inquired about filing a claim with Carte Neige from another country. You have 15 or 30 days to file a claim for reimbursement. Virtually all traveler's insurance policies operate on that tenet. And unless you got room for $20K on your plastic, it can get sketch. In Argentina, you pay cash, straight up. PY could have lost his leg a few years ago there, considering the lack of service he got when he broke his femur in Lenas. Nothing good happened until French filmamker Thierry Donan located some sort of agency in BA that acted as an intermediary between the hospitals and doctors and his traveler's insurance. With payment guaranteed at a more local level, PY got the best orthopeod in the country to rod his femur within days. When Joe Lammers went to visit PY in the hospital before those arrangements were made, Joe said PY was languishing in a bed without his leg even being elevated and no antibiotics administered. When Joe asked to talk to the doctor, he was told the doctor had gone skiing to Las Lenas.

For me, the key thing is to have a policy that will say in writing that they'll wire money to a hospital, if necessary, to make care happen immediately.

[Arno]

yes - i expect that carte neige works at its best in France where everyone is familiar with it. elsewhere it's just like any other insurance policy

[subtle plague]

im a member in the german alpine club DAV .(which sucks for everything else ) for such reasons, covers helirescue and other things. But i believe just like the OeAV they only cover rescue missions in Europe.(maybe Franz has got something extra from the OeAV, but usually the normal membership covers only europe)
I got an extra health insurance thing for travelling as well. includes transport back to germany etc...

is it just me or does "experienced snowboarders" usually include NOT putting you beacon in your pocket?

[hemas]

im a member in the german alpine club DAV .(which sucks for everything else ) for such reasons, covers helirescue and other things. But i believe just like the OeAV they only cover rescue missions in Europe.(maybe Franz has got something extra from the OeAV, but usually the normal membership covers only europe)
I got an extra health insurance thing for travelling as well. includes transport back to germany etc...

Nope, atleast in the past (and this years) OeAV's insurance (by Uniqa or somehting like that) is valid around the globe, no restrictions except the upper costs.

[bad_roo]

The Guardian stated that the get-out utilised by the insurance company was based on the fact that the avalanche warning was 3 out of 5 (deemed 'considerable').

3/5 to me says be on your mettle, don't ski slopes with major exposure/terrain traps and do your homework first on what aspects/elevations are likely to be suspect.

If they were where I think they were, it probably wasn't a level of risk I'd have been comfortable with.