 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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it's not surprising, really. It's a costly service and neither insurance companies or individuals are very good at paying up.
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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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So the Austrians have found the same as the French - that foreign visitors and their insurance companies are a PITA when it comes to paying. Maybe the NHS will be similarly switched on, one day.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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The ambulance that took julesb from Briancon to Grenoble dealt directly with our insurers.
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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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I think if you are promoting your region as a snow sports area you have to accept that you need to put in place certain supporting infrastructure and services of which, the emergency services are one.
Now if you want a good revenue raising idea why not copy the Swiss motorway tax system. Any foreign vehicle entering the UK pays £50 or more depending on type, but that's another thread
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Gilberts Fridge, stop going to Austria, then. More space for the rest of us. I note you talk about 'revenue raising'. I think the point about the Austrian ambulance service is 'cost-covering'.
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achilles, it won't stop me going anywhere really, but it doesn't stop me disagreeing with the idea for the reasons stated above. The foreign tourists are not such a PITA when they are spending £,$ or Euro's.
Its also not like any other service, ie a shop or a resturaunt, you have no choice and therefore no open market. If they would like to set the emergency services up as a revenue collector then there should be a free market to ensure we also get value for money, but then what about patient care whilst we dither about what ambulance to chose.
A lot of the infrastructure in the alps would not be there if there was no tourism. Unfortunately all those terrible German, Dutch, British, Antipodean, Belgian ski louts also pump a lot of revenue in to the local economy
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therefore no open market
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actually, I think there is quite a competitive market in private ambulances - you see a great array of them at Geneva airport, sometime.
Brits are just used to ambulance and emergency services being free. It's just not the case in most other parts of the world. And that's what insurance is for - you'd get it back, but need to be able to be a bit self-sufficient in the short term.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
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therefore no open market
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actually, I think there is quite a competitive market in private ambulances - you see a great array of them at Geneva airport, sometime.
Brits are just used to ambulance and emergency services being free. It's just not the case in most other parts of the world. And that's what insurance is for - you'd get it back, but need to be able to be a bit self-sufficient in the short term. |
Fair point Pam, but when you are laying there with a broken leg, you're not really in the mood for shopping around. To be presented with a chip and pin machine in the ambulance is a bit crass though. In most European countries you are already contributing to the local system on everything you purchase up to 20% in the form of local VAT. There may be other local taxes on top of that.
If its required that you have to pay for the service then the service providers should accept that they have to deal with the insurance companies. Its part of the business they are in and from my experience all insurance companies can be a PITA where ever they a from.
Anyway, me pontificating about it on an internet forum won't change anything no mater how much I disagree with the system.
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when you are laying there with a broken leg, you're not really in the mood for shopping around
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too true. But the insurance companies certainly do shop around, for ambulances (including air ambulances where appropriate). We had private ambulances both ends when daughter in law was invalided home from Les Gets with knee injury. The ambulance from Bristol to their home was private too - and must have cost a bomb (as did last minute scheduled flights on BA, rather than our cheap package) but the big insurers presumably have bulk contracts.
The local people in many (most.....) countries also pay loads of taxes, but that still doesn't mean that health care is free for them. And people without the means to pay are frequently left lying by the roadside in third world places - plenty of countries don't have much in the way of public ambulances and you're dependent on contacts or good Samaritans. And a serious illness can mean ruin. that's what Obama is trying to change in the US, isn't it?
We are lucky, in countries like France and Austria, that services are first class, and that having to pay "upfront" is still relatively rare. I wouldn't be too keen on a nasty accident in Bulgaria..... though I daresay services there are improving, too.
I suppose my thought is that well off Western holiday makers in well off Western countries, with a highly competitive market in travel insurance to choose from, really have nothing to moan about - we are the priveleged.
Right, sun's come out - I'm off skiing. with my credit card and Carre Neige in my pocket. 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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If you don't want to pay for an ambulance then buy Carte Niege. Simples.
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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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bar shaker, in Austria? I think not.
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You keep your insurance company informed all the time on what's going on & then claim it back on your insurance - we spent £1,000 last year in a few hours in a medical centre & 30 mins ambulance to hospital in Austria. I wouldn't dream of going anywhere without two credit cards anyway.
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You know it makes sense.
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| Lizzard wrote: |
| bar shaker, in Austria? I think not. |
Exactly.
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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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Just another reason to ski at home!
I think to underline the difference not just legally but in attitude and culture too. Just the other day on CairnGorm Mountain Ski Patrol, piste basher and skidoos set of into the Northern Corries to rescue two climbers injured after a leader took a fall in Coire an t-Sneachda. No chip and pin machines in site - like with Glenmore Lodge who have their own team and often with staff on site round the clock, that can respond quicker than the MRT, CML still accept that in having the kit and being on the mountain they have a moral duty to be first responders if they at the time are in a position to do so.
Last edited by Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name: on Sat 30-01-10 13:34; edited 1 time in total
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Poster: A snowHead
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One wonders what the rest of Europe does, given that most people don't have credit cards.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Our 'Carre Neige' type insurance that we bought at the same time as season passes this year was through, I think, Mondial, and it says it is worldwide, so supposedly will work in Austria.
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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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Pam I think it's Carre (Carte) Niege or it's not. 'Like Carre Niege' may be an insurance policy whi h requires you yo pay out and claim back, subject yo policy excesses. Did you buy it with the pass at the lift station?
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Pamski, if you bought Carte Neige insurance it is valid in geographical Europe. If what you have is Carre Neige purchased from the lift office, it is tied to your lift pass and is only valid while using that pass.
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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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Lizzard, bar shaker, actually there is an insurance that can be purchased with your lift pass, just not sure what it covers 
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?t=60334
Edit - In Solden for example there is the Sölden Slope Rescue Card which give free rescue ........ otherwise you pay the costs below
Sölden Slope Rescue Card € 11,00 per person Rescue service is free for injured persons within the entire Sölden Ski Area (Gaislachkogl, Giggijoch/Hochsölden and the Glacier Ski Area). Depending on the gravity of the injury, the rescue card includes transportation by ski lift, Akja sleds, ambulance or the Sölden Rescue Helicopter (Alpin 2) to the nearest doctor in Sölden or if necessary to the next hospital.
COST OF RESCUE SERVICES:
Pre-Winter/Winter (with the opening of the winter skiarea):
1. Transportation by piste rescue/rescue services to the nearest docor in Sölden: Rescue from zone 1(Gaislachkogl-Mittelstation, Giggijoch-Bergstation, valley areas) € 100,-
Rescue from zone 2(Heidebahn, Gampe, Golden Gate) € 150,-
Rescue from zone 3(Glacier ski areas) € 250,-
2. Transportation by the Sölden rescue helicopter (Alpin 2) to the valley and transport to the nearest doctor in Sölden:from all zones € 1.360,-
Last edited by Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do. on Sat 30-01-10 18:23; edited 1 time in total
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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We have Carte neige (season, not bought with lift pass) and it does cover countries other than France but I was told when I bought it that outside France you pay out first, then can claim back later.
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I will dig out the paperwork that we were given at the time - the cards to have in the pocket while skiing were sent in the post a couple of days later. We did not buy at the lift office, and it is valid till the end of October 2010 and also from memory appeared to be for sports other than skiing. I will look it all out as the small print is the vital part of all these things.
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FAQ
