Carte Neige Insurance and X ray costs; advice needed

A snowHead

A friend staying at our apartment, with carte neige insurance bought with a lift pass, took a major tumble on her snowboard yesterday, hit her head very hard and hurt her neck. She was wearing a helmet, but was still woozy and a bit sick, and brought down to the medical centre by the pisteurs. The doctor was unsure and sent her to Albertville for X rays of her neck. After a long and boring time, all was well, and we returned. We spoke to the piste people today to sort out the paperwork. The Carte Neige pays directly for the trip down the mountain, and in the ambulance to Albertville. I paid the doctor his 30 euros but we have no bill, and no medical report of any sort from the hospital (just a prescription for painkillers which she doesn't need, especially as our apartment is stuffed with Paracetamol and Ibuprofen. She found a few vins chaud did the trick, once it was clear she was not concussed). She had 6 X rays, so a bill is going to be payable. I should probably have asked last night, but at 23.30 when finally allowed out, our instinct was to head for the door.

The helpful woman at the piste office said she had no idea what the routine was with the X ray bills, for foreigners (there aren't many, round here), but that they would surely arrive, maybe 6 months later. They are not dealt with under Carte Neige, but under the "social". She suggested that I might telephone the hospital, but my French, which is usually just about adequate for this kind of face to face transaction, is a bit dodgy for telephoning a big bureaucracy like a hospital. I thought we could just wait for the bills to arrive, then see what could be done with an E111 (she didn't have separate UK travel insurance).

Any advice?

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

spyderjon, my son was x-rayed in the local clinic in La Ros.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Just for information - On 31 December 2005, your E111 will cease to be valid. From 1 January 2006, you will need a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) to receive healthcare that becomes necessary during your visit to an EEA country or Switzerland.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Sage, mine came automatically as I had recently renewed the e111.

You'll need to Register first of course.

yes, she has a card, and it was a state hospital - Centre Hospitalier Albertville. As a matter of interest, my husband and myself have UK annual travel insurance and a season Carte Neige. I could not find an annual insurance which covers as many days as we are in the mountains each winter, hence the Carte Neige as well. If we have visitors who arrive without insurance I insist they buy Carte Neige with their ski pass. That covers the rescue costs and repatriates you if you are too badly injured to travel normally. I am never too sure what Carte Neige does and doesn't cover compared to getting hurt on the pistes with a UK policy - hence my belt and braces approach in our own case. The thing is, we have not paid for any X rays and we have no bill, or medical report for that matter. So, when a bill arrives in the next 6 months time, as it presumably will, will the EHIC come into play then?

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Hi folks,

i have got carre neige with my ski pass next week in Tignes, and we have therefore bought 'standard' (e.g. non-winter sports) insurance....is this risky, i perhaps foolishly thought that carre neige would be good for injury related stuff and we got the other insurance for lost baggage/delays etc.

Upgrading our insurance to include winter sports would double what we paid so if its uneccessary i would rather not, but of course if i upgrade it then the carre neige was a waste of money really! (although it does include replacement pass if you lose it i think, so maybe that isnt too bad!)

hmnm, what to do...any one have any knowledge?!!

After all it is free

tomski01, I'm no expert but I'd be very surprised if you would be covered for the cost of medical treatment for a winter sports accident if you haven't included for it. If in doubt ask your insurer, it isn't worth the risk otherwise.

tomski01, did you get your standard insureance from a TO or internet?
There are good bargins on the internet and the cover is as good, look to see who the underwriters are and check them out.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Carte Neige is a French 'mutuelle' insurance - it covers what your social cover/private insurance doesn't. It pays immediately for transport off the mountain and drops you into the local health system. You will then need either a) lots of money, b) a private health insurance policy which covers you for wintersports or c) an EHIC/E111. Once you/your insurance/the NHS has paid for treatment, Carte Neige will then cover any outstanding cost (eg insurance excess). However, you must fill in the Carte Neige claim form and send it to them within a week of the accident or these outstanding costs won't be covered.

The hospital in Albertville should either send your friend a bill, in which case she'll have to pay and then claim the costs back from the DSS, or claim the cost themselves direct from the DSS. Cost of x-rays is usually about 40€ to 60€ each one.

Carte Neige insurance is great if you're covered by the French health system, but a British visitor is always best advised to take out proper private wintersports insurance. Do you really need to be dealing with two sets of opaque bureaucracy when you're in hospital with a serious injury and morphined to the eyeballs? There are plenty of annual policies which will cover you for anything up to a whole season in the Alps - try ski-insurance.co.uk, Fogg Travel, Dogtag.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

insureandgo.

used them before but no real experience!!

so what does the carre neige cover then? maybe i shouldnt take the risk and just pay up eh! Embarassed

shows how much time i have had to think about this holiday!

thanks...!

snow reports

Lizzard, many of us SnowHeads have started getting the Carte neige in addition to our insurance becos of others difficulties when injured on the piste. I think it;s worth it for the couple of extra euros it costs. My kids go off on their own now, and at least they'll be assisted off the mountain wothout having to produce large amounts of cash or credit card.

from my experience of a broken collarbone in VT last season, and a friends broken leg in Morzine... ( yepp quite a season ! )

Carte neige covers getting your body off the slope and to the nearest medical centre

the local 'medical centre' will almost certainly only accept cash, not credit card, not e111, not insurance documents.. Just cash...
Even if it means getting someone else to go to the cash machine for you with your card....

Private skiing insurance will reimburse you when you get back to the UK, but you'll probably need your e111 to avoid them sticking an excess charge on your claim..

I would say to be on the safe side, you need to have, and carry with you..

carte neige
e111
private skiing insurance
couple of hundred euros cash, to pay for any ambulances to main hospital etc

Otherwise, in the event of an injury / accident, you may well end up with a load of extra stress you just dont need at the time...

You know it makes sense.

The entire Carte Neige T & C's in English with small print blown up to a legible size can be read from the links on this page.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

This has been aired before I am sure.......

However for the unitiated could the snowHead

panel describe the difference between Carte Neige and Carre Neige?

Thanks

A snowHead

CP, no significant difference. Carte Neige is an annual policy, Carre Neige is a fixed duration policy (normally the duration of your lift pass). Same levels of cover with both.

A snowHead

Help!!

Carte Neige Insurance and X ray costs; advice needed

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