UKC

I'm heading out to Costa Blanca for some climbing in November - I was just wondering what the recommendation for insurance was. Is the basic E-111 enough to cover any problems as I don't think my normal annual policy will cover rock climbing. Or is it wise to get some sort of specialist policy?

In reply to BarrySW19: I don't know what the E111 will cover but I normally get some rock climbing cover. My usual (columbus) had stopped climbing cover last time so I went with a specialist ski outfit that did climbing too. I stripped down other aspects of the cover to get it down to about £20.

In reply to BarrySW19:
The E-111 has been replaced by the EHIC (a long time ago!) and I would never travel with that on it's own. You may find your annual cover won't be valid if the main purpose of your trip is climbing, talk to them! Take out additional cover if necessary.

In reply to BarrySW19:
Last time i looked at commercial insurance there was a clause saying it didn't cover stuff covered by ehic, hence if you didn't have ehic you were effectively uninsured.

In reply to BarrySW19:

I use snowcard. Also you shouldn't rely solely on the EHIC card for healthe insurance, it may not cover you for everything, (I an not including climbing related incidents)

In reply to elsewhere:

I haven't seen this, but have seen several policies where the excess increased if you travel without an EHIC.

Would still not want to be caught without insurance. EHIC will get you fixed, but not home. If you're going anywhere where search and rescue, additional transport, repatriation etc could be involved, the bills could be very large.

In reply to BarrySW19:

http://www.moneysupermarket.com/travel-insurance/ehic/

In reply to BarrySW19:

Some more info here

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/travel/7929688...

In reply to BarrySW19:

EHIC will entitle you to the same level of health care that the locals get, which may not be the same as the NHS and may not be free. It won't cover rescue or get you home if things go wrong.

http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/countryguide/Pages/healthcare...

You need a specialist policy

In reply to BarrySW19:

This is simple. The Spanish NHS does not treat serious sporting injuries free of charge, even for Spanish people, which is one reason why there is a a strong culture of national sports federation membership in Spain, which come included with medical insurance to cover any invoices from their own NHS !

There is also the other issue of some land owners and national parks requiring thrid party cover by climbers on their land.

Get insurance and in the unfortuate event of a serious injury, get back to the NHS as quick as possible.

Mountain rescue in Valencia/Alicante/Murcia is free, as far as I am aware.

In reply to ht2:

And yes, most definitely take an EHIC/E111. This should enable you to get things like prescriptions for of any illnesses you could get while abroad, such as a bad cough...pneumonia etc.

As people have already said, the EHIC could be more apropriate for these types of problems than climbing/dangerous sports insurance. Spain has a very good public health system, which the EHIC in should give you access to in case of illness.

In reply to BarrySW19:

About four years ago I fell off whilst sport climbing in Mallorca, and took a longish (for a sport climb) fall which involved falling through a tree which was growing off a ledge to the right of the route. I speared my left calf with a two inch piece of branch, which stung a bit(it broke off inside my leg). I went to A and E in Alcudia and they were fantastic. I simply used my EHIC card and there were no problems. I got treated, given antibiotics, they cleand the wound again next day, and gave me a very involved note for my GP for when I got home (although it was in Spanish). However, I did still have BMC insurance which in this case I didn't need, but the point is that your card is still worth taking.

In reply to pamph:

EHIC can be used for in and out visits to public A & E too, yes, for minor climbing injuries. One could possibly use it for serious injuries too, but you might get big bills to pay after. An EU national visiting Spain for climbing needs to have both, an EHIC card and specialist climbing insurance.

Just the same really for someone like me living here paying Spanish tax/NI. For climbing, I need my Spanish public health service card and private medical and third party insurance.