Hi, Simon Calder here from The Independent and BBC Fast Track. I'm looking at ski/snowboard insurance: ever been flummoxed by a firm refusing to meet your medical bills after an injury, citing small print? Let me know. s@hols.tv is the quickest route
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
SimonCalder, welcome to SnowHeads. I suspect there will be plenty of stories for you.
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
I've moved this to the Piste, where you will get a better response.
SimonCalder, I Like your stuff - you seem to be the only travel writer who doesn't just write advertorials after going on freebies...
You're report should be a good read - although I can't offer anything myself
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
SimonCalder, welcome to a proper travel journalist. Sadly for you I've always been thoroughly satisfied with my insurers paying out or direct biilling when I've needed them to although it does seem to take a bit of persuasion that repatriating early is in everyone's best interests rather than sitting out the remainder of a 2 week holiday bored in a hotel,
Coo! we're famous SimonCalder, welcome to the asylum.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
SimonCalder, Welcome. I'm sure that there will be many a tale to tell.
My only negative experience in over 30+ years of skiing and 4 claims was with the claims handlers who 'lost' my paperwork twice but suddenly found it when I said I would personally deliver photocopies to their office! They still took 7 weeks to pay out....
Whilst on another claim a specialist ski insurer paid out within 10 days!
After all it is free
After all it is free
Sorry to disappoint you but I used ski-insurance.co.uk for my pre-Christmas trip. They picked up every penny of my claim - mountain rescue, medical treatment, alternative travel home. I insured 3 of us for around £56. I have looked into what it might cost next year with the same insurer, given that I now have a pre-existing medical condition (ACL) and the quote was £108. Good value, in my book.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Yes, my insurer is currently in the process of paying my claim, and I don't expect any problems. They agreed that instead of repatriating me, they would meet the costs (to the same amount) of flying someone out to drive me home. Flexible and helpful. They have already met a number of costs direct.
But there probably will be some horror stories. Hope so, or it's gonna be a very dull article.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
SimonCalder, does seem a bit strange for a stoically independent journalist like you to only go looking for those who have been 'flummoxed' - I would have thought you'd get a better balance by asking for the whole spectrum of experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly. If you don't do that you don't know the proportions.
It's a regulated industry with Financial Ombudsman and FSA there to ensure fairness. People also get plenty of time to study what they have bought and ask questions of their insurer if needs be. Nobody actually needs to be flummoxed, but I'm guessing they (a) don't read and understand what they've bought and (b) leave it too late before their trip. They make a claim thinking they are insured for something they aren't as a result. And I'm sure they never blame themselves. Easier to blame "small print" - but then aren't all legal contracts in small or smallish print? Just because it's on the small side doesn't mean the person shouldn't read and understand it does it? In fact, with delivery by PDF as many policies are now, the print can be almost any size you like.
On this forum, if you do a search using the forum search facility, you'll find loads of stuff on insurance. What's amazing is how deeply people look into their insurance here. There's a wealth of knowledge and I doubt very many get flummoxed at all. Quite the opposite, I reckon they are in the main exceptionally clued up and the knowledge gets shared.
Welcome, by the way. Don't be a user, you are commanded to contribute.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Bode Swiller, I've had a quick search through the forum, and there's very few if posts on claims being disputed and none on medical claims being refused. I had some difficulties with my hubby's claim, mainly because it was complicated by driving to the resort, and needing to get home earlier than planned, but it was all paid out in the end, and none of the medical costs were disputed.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Are you also interested in the medical (and other) mountain rescue element?
I've generally had good experience of ski insurance but had one annoying moment (it may not be the sort of thing you mean since technically they may have been right).
I once ricked my back soon after starting the many miles down the back of La Grave towards St Christoph. I managed (not so stoically) to ski slowly down to the nearest road above St Christoph and got a taxi back to the hotel in La Grave (which is a very long ride) and had to miss the last couple of days of skiing. I tried to claim for the taxi but they said my insurance didn't cover it because it wasn't rescue off the mountain. If I'd spared myself the pain and sent for a rescue helicopter they would have paid the (vastly larger) bill. In future I won't try to save them money: I'll call for the helicopter.
Last edited by And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports. on Wed 30-01-13 15:33; edited 3 times in total
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Hells Bells, yeah, I would think a medical claim is a lot different from, say, a stolen pair of skis where the circumstances of the loss could easily lead to some dispute. Hard to dispute emergency hospital treatment.
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
Quote:
I'll call for the helicopter.
piste rescue would decide whether to call a helicopter. Could just be a sledge but yes, it is definitely better to let yourself get rescued than to hobble down yourself - the piste rescue gets the whole paper trail started because they will take you to a medical centre, not just to your hotel for a stiff medicinal spot of something. I can't imagine any insurer paying for a taxi in that situation, with no medical report.
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
There isn't any piste rescue at La Grave is there?
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
pam w, rather doubt they would send a sledge down the back from La Grave. Very off piste: I once had to take my skis off and cross a river getting down there.
I did go to the La Grave doctor and they paid for that.
Last edited by Poster: A snowHead on Wed 30-01-13 16:15; edited 4 times in total
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Claude B, no there isn't, but they would send out mountain rescue helicopter (which would actually be free of charge) if you rang the appropriate emergency number which as snowball is a hardy off-piste regular should be in his mobile phone .
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
SimonCalder, Welcome to snowheads I hope you get enough input or your research.
As a follow up article how about "I booked a transfer and they didn't turn up!!"
I regret though that I am another satisfied customer of our ski insurance policy. Being a snowHead I did of course have the correct cover that we required for our skiing About 3 years ago my partner had an accident on the slopes in Austria. At the private medical centre in the ski resort I contacted our insurance company straightaway. We had to pay the costs in the medical centre ourselves before he was taken to the hospital in the nearest town. The costs there were covered by his EHIC card which, being a good partner of a snowHead, he of course had The insurance company kept in touch with us the whole time. Our claim of about £1,000 was paid within 4 weeks, including the policy excess as we had used EHIC.
At the private medical centre in the ski resort I contacted our insurance company straightaway
a key point. If you fail to do this, and just present them with a big bill several weeks later, they can take a dim view of it.
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
I'm a little disappointed , I know he's a busy man . . . all those trips to take, oh the pain of it . . . but just to drop in, plop yer email in a post, leave us to do your research and buggеr off is hardly giving me a warm fuzzy feeling . . .
Just a little time on here would show him that this community is well informed, information rich, and full of caring and supportive people ... (I did just keep a straight face while typing that) ... but essentially it's true so it would be fair to think that we would be the last place to find people who had bought cheap or inappropriate travel insurance.
After all it is free
After all it is free
Masque, it pains me but have to side with Masque as of right now, google ski insurance. Snowheads comes up, drop a note and then quote anectodal evidence in article....
Simoncalder, i have respect for e way you report and present travel issue. A notable case was during the iceland volcanic issue when you clearly identified that if people really wanted to get home they could via car hire and ferry.
So tell us what you really want and the many people here will help.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Masque wrote:
...fair to think that we would be the last place to find people who had bought cheap or inappropriate travel insurance.
People buying the right thing, understanding it and it working as it should when needed, simply isn't a news story. What he needs are hapless idiots who take no responsibility for themselves and then take it out on whoever "allowed" them to buy when it inevitably goes pete tong. Then the Beeb can do their usual corporate bashing, get their facts wrong, mistake turnover for profit (they do that all the time) and generally run a muck without consequence.
If he doesn't drop by and say something soon I'll be passing this over to my Corporate Affairs Lawyer, Goldfish Goldfish Goldfish & Goldsmith.
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Bode Swiller, Not one to suggest filling his inbox with . . . 'stuff?"
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
Journalists have always fished for sources in this fashion (in the old days they had to pay for small ads) and in my experience they are very partial to fish sauces.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
Bode Swiller wrote:
Then the Beeb can do their usual corporate bashing, get their facts wrong, mistake turnover for profit (they do that all the time)
Or quote profits without reference to turnover.
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
So if you're just off somewhere snowy come back and post a snow report of your own and we'll all love you very much
Quote:
If he doesn't drop by and say something soon
he only posted yesterday afternoon - possibly he has stuff to do, other than constantly monitor snowheads
You know it makes sense.
You know it makes sense.
pam w, sacrilege! STONE THE BLASPHEMER
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
And it probably wasn't him at all, but a researcher...
Poster: A snowHead
Poster: A snowHead
... who, by a remarkable coincidence, has exactly the same name.
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
pam w, listen, he had time enough to do free research and look smug:
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Not had much time for Simon Calder since his article on pilot fatigue in the Independent. The man showed he had a complete lack of understanding of the working patterns of the average pilot - possibly a bit more rigour in his research of the article might have helped him write a more informed and less contemptuous piece.
FWIW I've used my travel insurance only once, and they were marvellous. Got me repatriated very quickly.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
pandora, rather than take your word for it, I hope you're not mortally offended if I ask you to link to the article about pilot fatigue. I'd like to read what he said about it, and what you say about it.
Sorry about the format of the links, I am fairly agricultural when it comes to the internet. But they are worth posting. A man who by his own admittance is paid to 'go on holiday' and sits in the back cannot be expected to realise what goes on at the front. Especially if he listens more to Michael O'Leary than he does to the people who actually do the job.
Bizarrely, given my SH history, I actually find myself agreeing with Bode Swiller when he says:
Quote:
SimonCalder, does seem a bit strange for a stoically independent journalist like you to only go looking for those who have been 'flummoxed' - I would have thought you'd get a better balance by asking for the whole spectrum of experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly. If you don't do that you don't know the proportions.
Simon Calder comes across as a reasonble man on the TV, but that doesn't mean his journalism isn't flawed. Just my tuppenceworth. Anyway, back to trying to find a sensationalist story. You won't find one of those from me, oh, no!
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...
Bode Swiller wrote:
SimonCalder, does seem a bit strange for a stoically independent journalist like you to only go looking for those who have been 'flummoxed' - I would have thought you'd get a better balance by asking for the whole spectrum of experiences; the good, the bad and the ugly. If you don't do that you don't know the proportions.
+1. Also, '*Please* let me know'?
After all it is free
After all it is free
pandora, I've got to say - have only got through the Simon Calder piece (which you've kindly linked above) so far - that it's one of the wittiest and most informative/original things I've read about travel for a while. I think he deals with the subject of pilot fatigue in a type of balanced discussion-type journalism that is rare these days.
Don't get me wrong. Calder's gambit, which kicked off this thread, was slightly cheeky and I agree with other posters that he owes us a few bon mots ici before we proceed any further.
Also: travel insurance articles don't set the world on fire, and Calder's outstanding writing is best devoted to less arid subjects.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
Probably a research intern doing the trawl leg-work to find out if theres a story worth writing about...
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Ski the Net with snowHeads
Email just sent to Simon Calder at the address above:
Quote:
Dear Simon
Your name appeared on this research posting on snowHeads ...
There seems to be a consensus view that a little more would be welcome from you, with some suspicion that a 'research intern' may have posted in your name.
Do you enjoy sliding down surfaces of snow?
Regards
David Goldsmith
FAQ
Poster: A snowHead
, I know he's a busy man . . . all those trips to take, oh the pain of it . . . but just to drop in, plop yer email in a post, leave us to do your research and buggеr off is hardly giving me a warm fuzzy feeling . . .
