Ski Insurance

Hi All. Can anyone help with this one. I live in UK and ski regularly in Austria. Being a member of the Austrian Ski Association I automatically have insurance cover for heli evacuation off the mountain and a variety of of other stuff which is great. What this doesn't include is the actuall medical costs once off the mountain - hospital charges etc. Until now I was covered by my normal travel insurance which included winter sports. I have used up my 21 days and am off again next week so need to get some extra cover. I have tried asking for extension from current insurers but told I have to take out another full travel policy...expensive......

Anyone else had a similar issue or can point me towards an insurer that can deal with this.

Any help/advice appreciated

Try alpha travel insurance, they cover for up to 30 days winter sports per year I think and cost is reasonable. I have been with them for several years. Never had to make a claim though.

I guess the obvious question is: are you an EU citizen? If so, my understanding is that you are entitled to medical treatment in any EU country on the same basis as citizen of that country.

Billip2 wrote:I guess the obvious question is: are you an EU citizen? If so, my understanding is that you are entitled to medical treatment in any EU country on the same basis as citizen of that country.

That is in part true. If you end up in a private hospital (like in many resorts) your EHIC card is as useful as an ice scraper. My wife bust her shoulder, ended up in resort hospital, waved EHIC and received "non non non we do not accept that...". Credit card, not EHIC - claim when you get home

To answer OP question, sounds like a new policy, but surely an expensive policy is better than an even more expensive hospital stay??

You are correct Iceman, EHIC only any good in NHS type hospitals, local xrays, treatment etc in private clinics (which are the only local ones) are not covered, and once out of the EU it's going to private all the way! We have used L & V for years as they are one of few that cover all our ailments and don't charge an arm and a leg for doing so! Not sure what their long-term policies are like though.

ladywhoskis wrote: and once out of the EU it's going to private all the way!.

That's not strictly true, there are some non EU countries that do benefit from the equivalent of EHIC - Iceland being one. It's one of things that's still up for grabs as far as I understand. TBH, every time I have needed hospital treatment abroad I have started off in an expensive private hospital/clinic before being transferred to a 'state' hospital.

I personally don't think that travel insurance is something that you should do 'on the cheap'. I had a £12 policy, I had a serious accident in Germany - the cost to the insurance company was £12,000. Well worth the £12 - they declined my EHIC as I was in a private hospital, then got a private ambulance to a state hospital.....that was the start of the £££££

Hi I am in Austria for all the season early December to mid April and I take a seasonaires policy with ERV. I am also over 60 so think that if you are young you might get it cheaper than me but even if not this year its good for the future if you are skiing quite a lot.

Thanks for all the responses to this. The point made about the need for insurance to cover private medical facilities in resort is spot on and also medical evacuation back to UK should it be needed. I'm over 65 so will follow up the advice from Nadiaon ERV for next season.