 Poster: A snowHead
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Obviously the following is just my opinion....DYOR and all that:
From now on we will not bother with Holiday Insurance for Switzerland.
The Assurance option with your lift pass will cover you for all rescue costs for on Piste, including Heli if required.
No paperwork, no pay and reclaim....just show the lift pass with the magic word printed on it and job done.
There is no charge for proper search and rescue either....my cousin's friend got profoundly lost for several hours last season, was only found deep in the woods after taking a very wrong turn (several turns) in the early hours very cold and scared. Lots of people and services were out looking....no charge at all.
From my own experience I can tell you that your EHIC card covers over 99% of hospital expenses if you are unlucky enough to need them.
Today I found out that the GP services in Verbier are also covered under EHIC. You only pay the same as any Swiss citizen:
92chf flat rate, includes all prescription costs, all GP costs. If you needed an X-Ray, treatment, plaster cast etc etc....it is all there in that 92chf.
Just show the EHIC card, job done.
NB Not all Pharmacies are set up for this, they should be though. Most of the big ones are.
So for a flat £60 or so you have medical costs covered.
To me that makes the holiday insurance unneccessary. Of course it does leave you liable for lost luggage, stolen stuff.....but think of the premiums saved.
Third Party liability would be my only concern, but I get that as part of my Household Insurance, most people do.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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rungsp, what about repatriation? It's one thing getting all your treatment and quite another getting yourself home if you are severely injured.
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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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rungsp, that may apply for Verbier. Not necessarily the case elsewhere. Switzerland is notorious for cantonal discrepancies.
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Fair point holidayloverxx but I wonder what % of claims ever involve it?
Even in my case when I properly broke my leg I was in hospital (after Heli rescue) until fit to fly.
My wife had to stay on for a couple of extra days and extend the car rental.....those we had to pay and reclaim.
Easyjet could not have been nicer...at no charge they kept a whole row of seats free for me to have my leg up. Wheelchair at both airports (free).
So all in all out total claim was for about £375.
We will have paid that many times over in the last few years.
Obviously life is not without risk, you can't insure for all of them.
I just feel that the situation that now pertains makes Switzerland a place where the residual risks are small enough to make Insurance unneccessary.
Of course other countries are different, and I do not know about them.
Say you lived in Cornwall and you went to ski in Aviemore would you buy Holiday Insurance for the possible costs of repatriation ?
Would you suggest that somebody in that situation did?
PS Even the Swiss doctor I spoke to today said how appaled he was when in France last year when he discovered how the private clinics and ambulances effectively hold the sick and injured to ransom. "This would never happen here!"
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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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rungsp, holding the sick and injured to ransom doesn't happen in Monetier-les-bains/Serre Chevalier either.
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eng_ch, your nom-de-plume would suggest a greater knowledge than mine!
The Doc did say that the EHIC thing for GPs and Pharmacies is something quite new ("Since this year") for Switzerland.
We did chat about it a bit, he was quite clear that it is for the whole country, but he did say that some Pharmacies ("that one is owned by an elderly gentleman, he will not make the changes to his systems") have not yet adopted it....I guess the same may be true for GPs.
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Pretty certain the EHIC won't cover you for third-party liability. If the EHIC covers what basic medical insurance here covers, then yes, it will cover a lot. But actively advising people not to get insurance? Well, you're a braver man than me!
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eng_ch, I am 100% certain the EHIC does NOT provide third party liability....I thought I was clear enough above.
Most Household policies do though.....but DYOR, check YOUR policy everybody!
Travel Insurance companies are notorious for using EHIC as a reason NOT to pay your claim.
"Did you use your EHIC?"
"Err, no, I just paid the Doctor when they gave me the bill"
"Well you should have, read the full policy, we only pay the EHIC excess when you could have used EHIC. Not using it is your decision"
To be clear though:
Do Your Own Research.
I offer an opinion, not advice!
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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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My daughter in law was repatriated with a bust ACL. We were on a package holiday, but the airport was a long way from "home" and she needed three seats. Insurance arranged private ambulance to Lyon and from Bristol airport home, plus 4 seats (3 for her, one for her husband) on a scheduled BA flight.
I've also had friends need to call in their insurance policy when father, and only driver, had a fairly minor injury but one which prevented his driving.
Both would have been super-expensive, and also quite hard to arrange, without insurance. It's pretty cheap to get cover for a short family holiday. why take the risk?
And EHIC wouldn't cover things like your vehicle being broken into and contents nicked, including passports, when you're on your way home. Happened to friends, but in Spain, not Switzerland, admittedly.
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It's always seemed to me that the Swiss in general have always been pretty good about hospital treatment etc, unlike reports I've seen about France and Andorra for instance almost everyone I've ever spoken to who have needed treatment in Swiss hospitals have usually said the hospital dealt direct with the insurer and sorted everything, the only thing they had to sign was the paperwork to say their treatment was to their satisfaction, so it would not surprise me to learn that they were happy to do the same on production of the EHIC.
Now what would concern me is the possibility of accidents going to or from the resort, hold ups or delays causing flights to be missed, possible accidents on the piste which you may well find your household insurance won't cover and so forth.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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while the medical side is superb in Switzerland, what about your liability cover. Over here the courts are far from cheap.
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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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D G Orf, The main hospital in Interlaken dealt direct with the Insurance company on production of a EHIC card. The doctors Clinic in Wengen did not accept the EHIC card and had to be paid direct and the monies recovered from your insurance .
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riverman, Ah that makes some sense to me, however I think rungsp, is saying that from this year the Doctor might well also accept the EHIC, I guess we wait and see, but I'd not be brave enough to do without insurance
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You know it makes sense.
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D G Orf, I will ask if the situation has changed when I am in Wengen next.
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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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| pam w wrote: |
My daughter in law was repatriated with a bust ACL. We were on a package holiday, but the airport was a long way from "home" and she needed three seats. Insurance arranged private ambulance to Lyon and from Bristol airport home, plus 4 seats (3 for her, one for her husband) on a scheduled BA flight.
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I ruptured my ACL while in holiday But as it was our last day decided to leave seeing a doctor till we got home. Got to the top of the gondola down with the help of a guy on a skidoo. Then still had to pull suitcase along at the airport, it acted a bit like a crutch (hubby carried and took as much we be could) and just had normal seat on chartered airline back. I am surprised she needed 3 seats unless it was more than just the ACL? I was lucky that mine was such a clean rupture without any other damage.
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Poster: A snowHead
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NickyJ, if the leg is braced or plastered you would need more than one seat as you can't bend it.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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After reading the ACL rehab thread I guess different countries treat it differently. Even after visiting the gp and then consultants here, I was never braced or plastered given lots of exercises to do to get the full range of movement back and the swelling down and crutches mainly to stop me limping it was explained it was important to not get into the habit of limping.
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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 tend to agree with rungsp. In France Carte Neige covers repatriation and household insurance covers third party liability and equipment loss. What else is there to cover? Remember the insurance company's reluctance to pay out on anything and the premium you pay just covers admin costs and profit. Sadly I thought when the government recently announced that they were to cut down on insurance fraud I thought they meant stopping the insurance companies refusing to pay out on spurious grounds - just shows how naive I am.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
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johnE, sadly I think it was fraud by the insured they were talking about, not the 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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Personally I'd much rather be over insured than under. Annual insurance plus carre neige and of course EHIC for me mostly.
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Yes, my daughter in law had a full leg brace on, and had had two days bed rest (or at least, leg completely up) before home time. The insurance company would have flown them home immediately if they'd wanted, but they opted to stay for the rest of the week, so my son could ski, and DIL could join in the chalet dinners etc. Actually, they weren't married then, come to think of it, and she had a reconstruction on her Dad's "family" private health insurance when she got back. She was stretchered off the mountain, so went into the local mincing machine. Les Gets.
The insurance is not a huge cost taken alongside stuff such as lift passes and I don't mind being over insured. I have never experienced companies refusing to pay out on "spurious grounds" but then I've never made any claims on spurious grounds either, which clearly some people do! And the rest of us have to pay. 
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If you can afford to ski in Switzerland, £100 a year for comprehensive wintersports inc offpiste with a guide etc cover is going to be insignificant. You'll be paying more than that for a couple of beers on the first night.
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| Monium wrote: |
| If you can afford to ski in Switzerland, £100 a year for comprehensive wintersports inc offpiste with a guide etc cover is going to be insignificant. You'll be paying more than that for a couple of beers on the first night. |
Must take issue with that - Switzerland is certainly no more expensive than France. We paid CHF 7 a pint here (Laax) last night right at the bottom of the piste. I think that compares favourably with any of the French mega resorts and, going by the last time I was in the UK, it's not all that much more than in a British pub
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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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eng_ch, locally in the New Forest Beer is about the £3.50 per pint mark which is closer to 5.2CHf but I agree if it wasn't for the currently dreadful exchange rates Switzerlands prices would not be a huge distance from the UK prices in a similar tourist area,as it is they're about 50% more expensive
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D G Orf, That been said I have been very surprised just how many Brits there are in resort this week.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| eng_ch wrote: |
| We paid CHF 7 a pint here (Laax) last night right at the bottom of the piste. I think that compares favourably with any of the French mega resorts and, going by the last time I was in the UK, it's not all that much more than in a British pub |
Current exchange rate suggests that 7CHF is about £4.73. Your "not much more" is my "30%+ more expensive". I've seen more charged in other resorts in France and Italy though; didn't pay that, either 
Incidentally, was was this beer that you purchased? Generic fizzy lager?
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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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€3.50 a "pint" here in Austria. Cheaper than quite a few places in the UK.
People keep complaining about the cost of insurance, and finding ways around it. But whilst the vast majority of insurance claims wouldn't kill you (financially) if you didn't have cover, a serious claim can easily cost £50k: are you really willing to take that risk??
I'd love to find a policy which would only pay out if the total bill was over £2k - whatever this was for.
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Serriadh, actually a rather nice beer from a small Swiss brewery. CHF 7 is currently about € 5.70. Last season, other than Laax, I was mostly in La Rosiere - not a mega resort - where I was paying € 5.50 for "generic fizzy lager". Name almost any of the French mega resorts, and you're looking at €7 a pint for "generic fizzy lager". Last time I was in Kent a pint was around £3.80/£4. Hence - if you read my post properly - "compares favourably with the French mega resorts and not much more than last time I was in the UK".
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You know it makes sense.
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eng_ch, if you know where to get a bargain perhaps. When I was in Switzerland we were getting hit for £8 a pint in every bar in resort. That was Davos, but still £100 over a season is a drop in the ocean - that does stand for whether you ski in Switzerland or any other country really.
I've only ever had to claim once on ski insurance, and it was thousands of pounds paid out for a fairly major crash but with not much in the way of consequences - a few pulled ligaments in my knee. I will be in credit for several decades buying insurance against that kind of payout. I would speculate that every active skiier over a period of 10 years will at some point need to make a claim for something. Unless the claim is for tiny amount, you have lost money on the gamble.
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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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Monium, well, you're clearly going to the wrong resorts, aren't you?!  As I said, this was right at the bottom of the slopes where French bars would typically bump up their prices to take advantage of thirsty skiers at the end of the day. And in the largest linked resort entirely in Switzerland, so hardly a no-name local hill. But seriously - going to Davos and complaining about prices is like having a quick lunch at the Chalet des Pierres in Courchevel 1850 and complaining about prices. It really doesn't compare with the real world.
No argument with your other point, mind.
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Poster: A snowHead
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pam w,
Was wondering which insurance company your daughter in law used - sounds like a good one.
Agree that to take a ski holiday without insurance would be a false economy. If savings need to be made find them elsewhere. 
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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| Quote: |
Was wondering which insurance company your daughter in law used - sounds like a good one.
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Snowcard - they were excellent, on two occasions when we had to claim (the other was when the OH had to fly home in a hurry because freak tornado took half our roof off). I am insured with them now, though there were some years when we couldn't use them as they didn't offer longer trip lengths. I like the flexibility - you can choose different levels of "risk" (ie how adventurous the activity is) and knock off stuff which isn't relevant to you, such as cancellation in my case.
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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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This is probably a very foolish thing to say, but haven't had any claims for the last 15 years.......
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pam w,
Better touch some wood quick!!  Though think you've had more than your share of bad luck what with freak tornados, etc,
Thanks for the info.
Off skiing in a few weeks and need to take out some family insurance cover. Have looked at Direct Travel but will get a quote from Snowcard. Two of family with minor pre-existing medical conditions but both very fit and ready for skiing so hopefully won't make much difference.
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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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| Monium wrote: |
| I would speculate that every active skiier over a period of 10 years will at some point need to make a claim for something. |
Pure speculation...?
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You'll need to Register first of course.
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| pam w wrote: |
| This is probably a very foolish thing to say, but haven't had any claims for the last 15 years....... |
I've never had a claim and I've skied for nearly 30 years. Fingers crossed. 
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I don't think I ever made a claim on travel insurance of any kind before 2012! Best not to tempt fate though, guys! 
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pam w,
Have checked out Snowcard and they are more expensive than Direct Travel but their policy seems better so will probably go with them.
Wishing everyone a Happy, Incident/Accident Free New Year!!!
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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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Well my daughter in law's claimed (bust ACL) wasn't mine, and it was my OH who flew home to deal with the roof, whilst I stayed on in the chalet and joined some of the other guests there in their ESF ski lessons for the week (which were very good, they were mostly rather better skiers than I, so it was quite good for me). So personally, for me, I've not claimed anything, and hopefully will have another year when my expenditure on insurance turns out to have been a complete waste of money!
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Inycon, try LV too. Just moved here from Direct Travel. Great reputation for Car insurance and the policy looks good including offpiste without a guide. (within the recognised resort area)
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FAQ
