 Poster: A snowHead
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Ski holiday day #1, run #1... My 14 year old son decides he is Franz Klammer and after me saying 'take it easy' and 'control your speed', points his skis directly down hill and crashes at the end  . Struggles to stand up and eventually has to be rescued from the mountain via sled.
Turns out that he has torn some ligaments and has a small break to the knee. Holiday (for him) over.
So far we've totalled the best part of €1000 in expenses which will be claimed for via Nationwide insurance.
On top of that, my wife and I have had to look after him that has affected our holiday as well, so lift passes and ski rental have been hardly used.
I was wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and what you have claimed for? Not wanting to swindle money unnecessarily, but you pay insurance for a reason and haven't ever needed to make a claim before.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Read the policy and claim for what you have insured yourself against would be my view. And don’t feel bad about it. That’s what it’s for!
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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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@DaveyBoy76, have you already contacted your insurance company and talked to him about the steps you are taking? They can take a very dim view of people only getting in touch when they've run up big bills.
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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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Sorry to hear about your son, I hope he’s starting to recover slowly.
In regards to your insurance it all depends on what’s covered in the winter sports bit.
The best thing you can do is read the small print, give them a ring to open a claim & start collating all the paperwork you have.
Following my accident last year I claimed for pretty much everything including MrC’s unused lift pass as he had to look after me. We were even covered for extra cat sitting expenses as it took us an extra 6 days to get home. Randomly the only thing not covered was food during our extra days but a bit of nifty invoice jiggling from our hotel sorted that.
Be systematic & methodical in your submission of docs - have the exchange rate’s used available/evidenced if you’ve paid in €’s. I did all my submissions via email but you’ll be told how they want stuff.
Good luck with it.
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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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As others have said, get in touch with them and start a claim now. It’s highly likely that they will need to arrange alternative transport home if he’s done his knee (assuming you’re flying) as he’ll need 3 seats on the plane.
You should be reimbursed for any expenses related to the accident itself but not sure about lack of use of lift pass/skis I’m afraid.
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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| pam w wrote: |
| @DaveyBoy76, have you already contacted your insurance company and talked to him about the steps you are taking? They can take a very dim view of people only getting in touch when they've run up big bills. |
This is really important. You need to notify them and open a claim now. From reviews on here the Nationwide policy seems to be a good one for coverage and for claims, but get the policy out, read all of the small print and ring their claims line as soon as possible. So sorry for you and your son. It a tough way to learn a lesson about control. Spepdy recovery.
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I am currently part way through a Flex plus claim. The portal has criteria for calling them now (rather than later), being;
Do you need to seek urgent medical attention?
Have you been admitted in to hospital for treatment, or been told you need to be admitted?
Have you been told you need a referral to a specialist or to a different medical facility for treatment, surgery or further tests?
Have you been told that you need assistance on your flight back home?
Have you been given a follow up appointment with a doctor abroad?
Have you been told by a doctor abroad, that you are unable to travel or continue with your trip?
Have you sustained a bone fracture?
Although I qualified (fracture), I left it all until I was home. Absolutely no fuss for any of it (so far). My future holiday cancellations went through as a separate claim and had been paid out before I would have returned home.
The online portal is easy to use. I can't comment upon passes and hire, as I didn't need to claim, but excess car parking and dog boarding haven't been an issue.
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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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@DaveyBoy76, similar thing happened to us on our first ever family ski trip in 2016, youngest (10yo) daughter knackered her knee on day three, and was blood-waggoned off the slopes.
like others have said, i contacted the insurance company from the medical centre whilst my wife comforted my daughter.
they informed me just to keep a record of all medical expenses, which i needed to scan and email them from the office du tourism, as they needed proof of the injury to authorise a repatriation flight and various transfers for both of them.
we had driven out and the doctor had said she would not be able to return via the car for that duration of journey.
the doctor at the medical centre informed us to take her to the hospital in sallanches, early the following morning as it would be quiet the, for follow up treatment and a cast to be put on her leg, EHIC (now GHIC) was used for this.
the insurance company then advised to get records from the ski higher shop, ski school and lift pass office of any unused days for both of them, so we could claim a refund for those.
we were lucky that we were on holiday with another family, and they looked after our eldest daughter whilst we dealt with the youngest at the hospital, then i was able to ski with her and our friends the remainder of the holiday
we did not have to pay for the blood wagon (and ambulance to the medical centre from resort) on the day, but received an invoice in the post for these around six weeks later, and just forwarded them to the insurance company to pay.
from memory, i think we paid out around 500euros direct that was then claimed back, along with lost used days, from our insurance company on arrival home.
the insurance company were very helpful and efficient.
good luck and hope your son recovers quickly
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It's not so much the Insurance companies but the claims handlers that they use that you have to satisfy. Some are really good and understanding especially if you involve them ASAP others can be quite pedantic and demand paperwork for everything, Stuff like, if you've paid Euro cash for anything the proof of exchange rate that you paid. If you document as much as you can while you are there, receipts for everything then if you need them you are covered, if not then all's well.
On one of our claims my wife had to be flown home by private air ambulance, leaving me to drive home alone. Besides all the big stuff they also paid for the non-refundable hotel booking on the way home and the extra night I had to stay on the drive.
Important thing is inform the claims team ASAP and keep them updated.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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My insurance company would have flown me home and expected to do that, but I would then have had my car in the Alps. So I stayed in my own apartment for a bit then they paid for two drivers to fly out and drive me home. Two drivers meant no overnight hotel costs. They were flexible so long as cost was less than flying me home, which would have been expensive. That was Nationwide Flex Plus.
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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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Thanks everyone for taking the time to reply. It's a relief to hear that Nationwide seem to be reliable in handling claims and hearing your experience - good job we didn't cancel it and go for the cheapest option.
Will start the claim today and see how it goes.
Thanks again.
Dave.
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@DaveyBoy76
Contact your local GP Surgery and organise an appointment for assessment. Your GP may make a referral to a local fracture clinic and/or to a physiotherapy clinic as well. You can start the ball rolling on this now, rather than leaving it until you're back home.
When my wife broke her arm, we got a GP appointment for the day after we got home, and they referred her to the local osteopathy clinic for an appointment on the same day. The GP also told her to do a self-referral to the local physiotherapy clinic, and this was extremely useful - she got a session face-to-face and then a series of exercise sessions via Zoom, all of which accelerated her recovery. Having the right exercise regime for recovery is important.
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You know it makes sense.
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| LaForet wrote: |
@DaveyBoy76
Contact your local GP Surgery and organise an appointment for assessment. Your GP may make a referral to a local fracture clinic and/or to a physiotherapy clinic as well. You can start the ball rolling on this now, rather than leaving it until you're back home.
When my wife broke her arm, we got a GP appointment for the day after we got home, and they referred her to the local osteopathy clinic for an appointment on the same day. The GP also told her to do a self-referral to the local physiotherapy clinic, and this was extremely useful - she got a session face-to-face and then a series of exercise sessions via Zoom, all of which accelerated her recovery. Having the right exercise regime for recovery is important. |
This ^
it also important the details are recorded to his medical record for any future events.
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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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The only hassle I had making a claim was the insurance company insisted paying me back in pounds rather than euros using their own made up exchange rate. Once I'd changed the money back to euros I was £50 out of pocket.
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FAQ
