 Poster: A snowHead
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We are travelling around in Germany this summer and I fancied visiting the Bottrop snow dome as it has the longest snow slope in Europe at 640m.
http://www.alpincenter.com/bottrop/en/
So, my question is do we need winter sports cover?
Also can you get the extra cover just for the days we'll be skiing rather than the whole trip?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@Drammeister, never thought about it before, but I would assume the answer would be yes, as you run the same (admittedly lower) risk on being injured under a roof as out in the open and would need the same level of assistance whilst abroad.
it has got me thinking about my income replacement (am self employed) plan if I ever sustained an injury when I visit a fridge in the uk.
am off to check my policy pronto!!!
I must admit at the moment I am severely p!!!!d off with insurance companies at the moment, I was called at work yesterday by my new home and contents policy provider to be told that my policy is being cancelled with immediate affect. as a few years ago we noticed a crack in a wall on our house, contacted the provider at the time who sent out an engineer to take a look, we were informed that it was not subsidence and there was nothing to worry about. but on the insurance data base it was noted down as "claim declined".
our new provider did not want to know that it seemed to be a clerical error, obviously i had to get cover sharpish as knowing my luck a tree would have fallen down on my house whilst not insured.
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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?
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I think we'll need insurance as well...
Your predicament sounds very annoying. I have been lucky with insurance companies on the whole.
Swiftcover were excellent when our car was written off a couple of years ago; paying out in full in before the other driver admitted liability.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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@Drammeister, I'd think they'd sell daily cover themselves. Ask.
Wintersports cover seems to me to usually cover piste closure, etc. most of which will be useless anyway. The problem would be a specific exclusion for injury/liability etc. while snow sporting.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Presumably you will have travel insurance anyway, phone the insurer and ask them if they would cover snowdome use.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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Drammeister interesting question. I use Ski Dubai occasionally and I have never thought about the insurance angle.
However until recently, when I was employed here, I had comprehensive medical cover paid for by the company. Doubt if any hospital hereabouts would ask how you were injured? As long as you can pay, they will treat. 
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My LV policy contains the following types of skiing within the definition of Winter Sports Activities:
"Skiing, big-foot skiing, cross-country skiing, mono-skiing, glacier skiing and indoor skiing"
(emphasis mine)
The wording of the policy is such that those activities are excluded from cover unless one has purchased winter sports cover.
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Damn good question. My John Lewis policy underwritten by Ageas makes no mention whatsoever of "indoors in a fridge" (my words) under the list of winter sports activities that could be covered if relevant premium paid but does cover piste skiing so would hope it would be covered in that definition.
Interestingly it specifically includes without having to notify them or paying additional premium Dry Slope Skiing........Risk to self and others still exist albeit lower.
I can feel a phone call coming in the morning.
To the OP, you should be able to buy a separate single trip winter sports policy just for a couple days for modest cost.
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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.
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| Dubaian wrote: |
Drammeister interesting question. I use Ski Dubai occasionally and I have never thought about the insurance angle.
However until recently, when I was employed here, I had comprehensive medical cover paid for by the company. Doubt if any hospital hereabouts would ask how you were injured? As long as you can pay, they will treat. |
I used to frequent skiDubai as well... in fact I was the kind of saddo who shelled out 1000 Dhs a month for a membership. (What can I say... we lived in Barsha and there really is nothing else to do. It was that or take up skydiving). I did hurt myself there once (I'm sure you'll sympathise... annoying local teenager jumped off drag lift at the top of the steep section without looking up the hill. Daddy wore a pristine clean dishdash and a tea towel on his head so it was obviously my fault).
Anyway the trouble with my medical cover provided by company was that it was basically their own sort of insurance. My employer calculated that buying health insurance for all it's employees was going to be expensive, and it would be cheaper not to buy any insurance and instead to just pay the bills whenever they arose. Which is after all what the insurer basically does... assumes that a monthly premium will be higher than the payout rate, so there must be some logic in it. Anyway my concern was that in that injury I got a small fracture in my cheekbone which was basically treated with ice and rest, so my employer didn't have to pay out much - just a doctors appointment and some over-the-counter ibuprofen. But it did occur to me, if I'd say, banged my head big style or broken my neck... would be employer be so supportive, or would they try to worm there way out of it? There was no mention of exclusions in my contract, but faced with a sizeable bill for brain scans or ambulances or whatever... I didn't trust my employer enough to think they wouldn't try to spin it that they only covered me for medical issues at work, or something. You know what they can be like, they'll try anything.
I'm not saying you did right or wrong, but personally, I got insured explicitly for it by a ski insurer. Plenty of Dubai employers have proven on many occasions to have no morals when it comes to money.
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But Germany's in the EU and we have reciprocal health care. So for the original post, the question is a bit different. Would you buy insurance to cover skiing in Milton Keynes?
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| philwig wrote: |
| But Germany's in the EU and we have reciprocal health care. So for the original post, the question is a bit different. Would you buy insurance to cover skiing in Milton Keynes? |
What would be the chance of being taken to a private medical facility that would not be covered by EHIC rules? For skiing in a dome I'd say that you are almost certainly going to be taken to the nearest state clinic or hospital and therefore will be entitled (for now at least) to the same level of medical treatment as a German citizen would be (which I think is reasonably complete coverage?). That's different to a ski resort where the minor injury clinics in the resort itself are often privately run and therefore fall outside EHIC coverage. Interesting question though...
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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.
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You might well get appropriate medical treatment under EHIC rules, and you probably aren't going to get helicoptered off the slope. But if you're travelling and break your leg doing an activity that your travel insurance doesn't cover there are other considerations - like travel back to UK, and assistance with travel, getting your car back if driving etc. or costs of changing flights etc. etc.
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That's why I have an annual policy that covers all manner of activities. Although there are some strange explicit dangerous sport inclusions (snooker, croquet) and exclusions (via ferrata).
Also ADAC (German equivalent of RAC/AA) coverage is rather comprehensive too, including pan-European repatriation of me and car separately, in case either I or the car are incapacitated. Perhaps AA/RAC etc. policies also give such coverage, when the "Europe" bit is added on?
Don't *need* insurance, but I guess it's always wise. And that insurance may be provided by existing policies (AA, bank card, etc.)
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You know it makes sense.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@rob@rar, I split my lip playing croquet on a Duke Of Edinburgh Outward Bound week! Everything else was easy after that.
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Poster: A snowHead
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@chocksaway, trying to get my head around croquet being a part of an outward bounds week.
Tried, but failed.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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There was actuslly serious accident (collision) on the slope at Snowworld
Nethelands last year.
Third party insurance (sports) would be recomended.
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